Missing Read Free Page A

Madison. I won’t let you
down.”
    “I’m sure you won’t. And everyone calls me Lynn. Now get
going. Don’t waste time.”
    Beth jumped up, grabbed her sweater and bag, and then turned
back to Lynn, practically brimming with excitement but clearly trying to rein
it into composure. For a girl who seemed so perfectly contained, it was
touching to see her so overjoyed. “Thank you so much, Ms….Lynn.”
    With a laugh, Lynn shooed the girl toward the door. “You’re
welcome. Now go!”
    Beth disappeared out the door with a flutter of sleek dark
hair.
    Lynn chuckled and shook her head. Then she glanced at the
clock. It was after seven-thirty now, and she needed to get going.
    She returned to her office to close down her computer and
grab her stuff. She was leaving when Matt wandered by.  “Heading home?” he
asked casually. “Did you want to grab some dinner?”
    “I can’t. I’ve got plans.” She double-checked to make sure
her office was locked and secured the strap of her satchel on her shoulder.
    “Ah,” he murmured, giving her a careful inspection. She’d
gone home to shower and change in the middle of the afternoon, and now she was
dressed with more care than normal, in heels, a pencil skirt, and a moss green satin
blouse which she’d found in a second-hand store the previous weekend. “No
wonder you look so nice. Hot date?”
    Sometimes Matt seemed genuinely interested in what passed
for her social life, and sometimes he expressed lingering jealousy or
possessiveness. A quick look at his eyes revealed he was trying to be mature
and reasonable this evening.
    “Something like that. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
    “So you’re not even going to give me a clue about who he
is?”
    Lynn laughed as she walked away. “Not even a clue.”
    ***
    She took a cab over to the hotel,
but traffic was backed up so it took longer than normal.
    She was going to be late.
    The week had seemed interminable, and the day had lasted
forever.
    Now that it was finally eight o’clock on the 24th, she was
trapped in a traffic jam.
    She was so annoyed she wanted to scream.
    She’d been suffering from sexual fantasies about what would
happen tonight for days now. Her body was primed and ready, from nothing more
than anticipation. As she finally got out of the cab and walked in through the
front doors of the exclusive hotel, she realized her cheeks were flushed and
her breath was coming out in little pants.
    Her blood pulsed in her veins, somehow matching the pulsing
of her expectations.
    She tried to talk herself down a little. Reality was rarely
as good as fantasies, and Nathan might not even be here tonight.
    They’d never made any promises. It was always understood
that their meetings would cease whenever one of them started a relationship or
had some other reason to no longer get together for a night of sex. They never
contacted each other between their nights together, so she wouldn’t know until
she arrived whether he would be there or not.
    Her intense flash of nervousness at the possibility of his
not showing up dispelled as soon as she entered the hotel lobby.
    Nathan was already there, standing near the front window and
evidently absorbed by something on his smart phone.
    Lynn ignored him. After thanking the doorman for holding the
door, she headed calmly for the main elevator.
    She waited with the other people for one of the elevators to
return and was conscious of Nathan approaching behind her, although she didn’t
turn back to see him.
    When the elevator doors slid open, she walked on with about
five other people, including him. Just as the doors were about to shut, another
man jumped on.
    “Nathan Livingston,” the man said, grinning broadly. “Good
to see you!”
    “Moore,” Nathan greeted, reaching out to shake the other
man’s hand. “It’s been a long time.”
    “Too long. I keep meaning to see if you can have lunch
sometime.”
    Because the two men were the only ones talking in the
elevator and