Enticed (Dark Passions) Read Free Page B

change.”
     
        
Sarah let out a raucous laugh. “ ‘Couging?’ Nice. We should use that in the
Sliver Vodka ad.”
     
        
I smirked at her. “Yeah, nice and subtle. The 40 something single women it’s
targeted at will be sure to love that approach.”
     
        
Running a hand through her thick brown curls, Sarah fluttered her eyelashes at
me and whispered in a husky voice, “And by the way, it’s ‘baby cougar.’ I’m
only 30,” then hissed at me and made a little clawing motion with her hand.
     
        
“Oh my god, you kill me,” I said, shaking my head. Just then I heard the phone
ringing in my office, and my shoulders tensed.
     
        
Sarah shook her head and said, “You better get that. It’s been ringing off the
hook all morning.”
     
        
I sighed deeply, smoothed down my skirt, and strode towards the phone. I looked
at the caller id, but it said private. “Ms. Winters speaking, how can I help
you?”
     
        
“Mel.” At the sound of his voice, I got a queasy feeling in my gut, followed by
a surge of anger.
     
        
“Steven, you have to stop calling me. It’s over.” I heard him sighing on the
other end.
     
        
“I still don’t understand why,” he said. “We’re perfect for each other. We both
want the same things.”
     
        
I shook my head and started furiously rubbing my forehead. “Like what, Steven?”
     
        
“You need stability, Mel. I can give that to you. I know deep down, you still
have that wild streak in you, but I can help you tame that.”
     
        
I let out a long, hysterical laugh, so long and loud that Sarah actually peeked
her head inside my office to see if I was alright. I gave her a pained look;
she nodded in understanding, and pulled close my door.
     
        
“So excitement.
     
        
I heard a long, frustrated sigh on the other end of the line. “I’ve invested
two years into our relationship, Mel, and I’m not will to just give up on
that.”
     
        
I let out another short laugh. “ Invested ? Right, you see me as a form of
investment. Kind of like a business transaction. We’ll let me put it in terms
you might understand. You invested in the wrong stock, sweetheart. And your
capital gains rate just plummeted hard core. Pull. Out. Now. Before you lose
your dignity and self-respect along with the rest of it.”
     
        
I swear I could hear him gritting his teeth on the other end of the line.
Finally he said, every syllable laced with anger, “You’re not the woman I
thought you were, Mel. I’ve given you several chances to see some sense, but
you’re obviously too thick to see what’s good for you. Good bye, Mel. Take good
care.”
     
        
I felt all of the tension suddenly release from my shoulders. “You take good
care too, Steven,” I said. After I hung up the phone, I sagged into my chair
and breathed a sigh of relief. Then, almost instantly, I felt light and giddy,
and I was tempted to get up and do a little happy dance right there in my
office.
     
         
The rest of the morning was business as usual. I started working on slogans for
a luxury car ad campaign, and Jen came up with several alternative ad copies
for the Sliver Vodka account. Just before lunch, I was looking over her work
when my cell phone rang. I looked at the caller id, and once again the number
was private. I felt a moment of dread, thinking Steven might have gotten hold
of my new cell phone number, but then I got over it and answered the phone.
     
        
“Hello, Ms. Winters,” said the husky voice on the other end of the line. My
stomach did a flip of joy, and I felt that same slow, sultry thrill rush up my
spine. Just his voice alone made me melt and my whole body quiver with
pleasure.
     
        
“Well, if it isn’t the eagle-eyed real estate mogul,” I said, pleased with
myself for maintaining such a smooth voice when my insides had turned to jelly.
“To what do I