Beauty and the Wolf Read Free Page B

on her friend’s face and wondered what she should say. She’d heard rumors for several month s now, rumors that were so far fetched she knew they couldn’t be true. But…
    There were just too many things that while explained away with a perfectly logical explanation , were just a little off. That didn’t stop her from trying to fix her best friend up with her boss. Despite all the crazy theories she might have about exactly who or what Jake Anderson was, she also knew he was one of the best and most decent men she’d ever met.
    “Exactly what happened?” Maybe if she knew a few more details she could come up with the next plan of attack . She knew her boss liked Sophie, was even slightly obsessed with her. He was always asking about h er, subtlety , but still enquiring. If she mentioned a date Sophie might have had, he was in a bad mood for the rest of the day. She s miled thinking of all the little white lies she’d told him over the last few months. Sophie hadn’t been on a date since she’d started work at Anderson Trading. She knew her friend had fallen in love with h er boss the day she’d seen him in the gym without his shirt.
    “He told me to leave. Not just told me to leave, ordered me to leave. He didn’t even ask why I was there. He was, uh, acting strange. It looked as if he had just gotten out of the shower. Why would h e take a shower in the middle of the day?”
    Mary Ann couldn’t suppress her laughter this time . She knew what her boss had been doing in the bathroom. She had five brothers after all. Sophie, despite her ripe old age of twenty eight, was still woefully naive when it came to men. Which wa s why she needed to get her best friend and boss together , fast. Sophie needed a protector and Jake Anderson fit the bill.
    “Well, t he first thing we have to do is get you alone with the man again.”
    Sophie shook her head. “No. I’m done with that. I’m just going to have to accept the fact that he doesn’ t want, never could want , me. Y ou didn’ t see his face, Mary Ann . You didn’t see his face.”
    Both women lapsed into silence each lost in her own thoughts. Mary Ann was mentally shaking her head at her friend. She knew her boss was attracted to Sophie and she knew if they were able t o spend some time together that attraction would flame into a white-hot fire. There had to be a way, she just had to think about it.
    Mea nwhile Sophie was thinking m ay be Cupid didn’t exist after all . What she hadn’t realized was who needed C upid when she had a determined best friend?

 
     
     
     
    CHAPTER TWO
     
    Sophie turned, trying to see her backside in the full length mirror attached to her closet door. Against her better judgment, she’d allowed Mary Ann to talk her into trying to attract Jake’s attention again. She hadn’t revealed exactly what this great plan was yet probably because she didn’t want to be reminded of the dismal failure of the week before. Her friend had only warned her to dress cute.
    The pinstriped pants and vest coupled with a white t-shirt was about as cute as Sophie could get while still lo oking p rofessional. In fact, she was looking a little too unprofessional. Taking a hand full of bobby pins she twisted her hair in to a bun at the back of her neck.
    There, what looked more professional than a nun bun?
    She rummaged through the plastic container that acted as her jewelry box until she found the chunky red earrings she’d bought on sale on Valentine’s Day. Talk about a dismal day that had been. The earrings were not very professional but the outfit just screamed for them.
    Satisfied that she had done all she could to make herself cute , she stood in front of the mirror studying her reflection. She wasn’t bad looking. She had a nice nose, a full lower lip that some men had found attractive and her eyes were a pretty brown. Unfortunately, her hair was also brown. Brown hair, brown eyes. A mouse. Nothing glamorous about her appearance. Nothing