Lisa Jackson's the Abandoned Box Set Read Free

dark strands, his eyes intense blue, his nose aristocratic. For a man pushing sixty he was in good shape, with only the trace of a paunch near his waistline. And right now he was beginning to seethe.
    â€œI don’t know what’s gotten into you,” he said when the elevator doors had whispered shut and with a lurch the car sped down sixteen floors only to jerk to a stop at the subterranean parking lot.
    â€œI just think it’s time I stood on my own.”
    â€œAll of a sudden?”
    She slid a glance in his direction. “It’s been coming on a long time.”
    â€œEver since that business with Drake,” he surmised with disgust.
    â€œBefore that,” she insisted, though it was true that nothing had been the same since Adam Drake had been fired. There had been a change in attitude in the offices of Montgomery Inns. Nothing tangible. Just a loss of company spirit and confidence. Everyone felt it—including Victor, though, of course, he was loathe to admit it.
    â€œAnd then you decided to break up with Kent,” her father went on, shaking his head as he searched the pocket of his jacket for his pipe. “And now you want to leave the corporation, just walk away from a fortune. When I was your age, I was—”
    â€œâ€”working ten-hour days and still going to night school, I know,” Marnie cut in. Her heels clicked loudly against the concrete. Low-hanging pipes overhead dripped condensation, and she had to duck to escape the steady drops as she hurried to keep up with her father’s swift strides.
    She stopped at the fender of Victor’s Jaguar. He unlocked the doors and they both slid into the cushy interior.
    â€œYou should be grateful…”
    Marnie closed her eyes. How could she explain the feeling that she was trapped? That she needed a life of her own? That she had to prove herself by standing on her own two feet? “I am grateful, Dad. Really.” Turning to face him, she forced a wan smile. “This is just something I have to do—”
    â€œRight now? Can’t it wait?” he asked, as if sensing her beginning to weaken.
    â€œNo.”
    â€œBut the new hotel is opening next week. I need you there. You’re in charge of public relations, for God’s sake.”
    â€œAnd I have a capable assistant. You remember Todd Byers—blond, wears glasses—”
    Victor waved off her explanation.
    â€œWell, if he’s not good enough I have a whole department to cover for me.” That was what bothered her most. She didn’t feel needed. If she walked away from Montgomery Inns, no one, save Victor, would notice. Even Kent would get by without her.
    Her father fired up the engine and shoved the Jag into reverse. “I don’t understand you anymore.” With a flip of the steering wheel, he headed for the exit. “What is it you really want?”
    â€œA life of my own.”
    â€œYou have one. A life most women would envy.”
    â€œI know,” she admitted, her spine stiffening a bit. How could she reach a man who had worked all his life creating an empire? A man who had raised her alone, a man who loved her as much as he possibly could? “This is just something I have to do.”
    He waved to the lot’s attendant, then nosed the Jag into the busy streets of downtown Seattle. “A few weeks ago you were planning to marry Kent,” he pointed out as he joined the traffic easing toward the waterfront. Marnie felt a familiar stab of pain. “But now, all of a sudden, Kent’snot good enough. It doesn’t matter that he’s practically my right-hand man—”
    â€œNo, it doesn’t,” she said swiftly. Surprisingly, her voice was still steady.
    â€œWhy don’t you tell me what happened between you two?” he suggested. “It’s all tied up with this whole new independence kick, isn’t it?”
    Marnie didn’t answer. She didn’t