Sweet Talk Read Free

you’re going to have to take my word when I tell you I had the most fabulous blond hair.”
    “You, Olivia, and Sam could all be movie stars,” Jane said.
    “So could you,” Olivia countered.
    “I’m so thin and pale. I have these dark circles under my eyes and—”
    Olivia wouldn’t let her continue. “The medicine has just been rougher on you than the rest of us. When it’s over, you’ll see your beautiful self again.”
    Jane wasn’t convinced. “But Collins has blond hair and blue eyes—”
    “Fabulous blond hair,” Collins interrupted, smiling.
    Jane rolled her eyes, then continued on. “Olivia, your eyes are such an intense, brilliant color of blue, so I’m guessing your hair is blond, too.”
    “Nope,” she said. “Dark auburn,” she corrected. “You’ve got pretty hazel eyes, I’ll bet your hair is light brown, Jane.”
    “You’re right.”
    “Sam, you’re the easy one,” Collins said. “Your eyes are green, so I think you’re a natural redhead.”
    “I used to have dark brown hair, almost black,” she said.
    “When this is over . . . if we make it . . .” Jane began.
    “We’ll make it.” Olivia’s voice was emphatic.
    “I’m not ready to die yet,” Sam said.
    “Neither am I,” Collins whispered. “I have too much living to do, and I haven’t even gotten started.”
    “But will you three still be my best friends?” Tears sprang into Jane’s sunken eyes. There was no question that she was the most frail member of the group. Her pale skin looked almost translucent. Her voice was weak as she added, “No matter where we end up, no matter what we’re doing . . . okay?”
    “Absolutely,” the others responded.
    They made fists and gently tapped one another’s knuckles to seal the promise.
    “Friends forever,” Sam whispered.
    Olivia nodded. “Till death do us part.”

ONE
    TWELVE YEARS LATER
    O livia MacKenzie was certain she would have been offered the job if she hadn’t punched the boss during the interview. But knocking the man senseless turned out to be a real deal breaker.
    The CEO of one of the largest investment firms in the country, Eric Jorguson, was now being questioned by an FBI agent. He wasn’t cooperating. The agent had taken Jorguson to the opposite side of the terrace and was trying to get him to calm down and answer his questions. Jorguson was busy screaming at Olivia, threatening to have her killed and also to sue her because she’d broken his jaw. She hadn’t done any such thing, of course. The man was exaggerating. She’d smashed his nose in, not his jaw. A waiter wearing the name tag TERRY pinned to his black vest stood next to her trying to soothe what he referred to as her extreme case of nerves. She wanted to punch him, too.
    “You’re in shock,” he told her. “That’s why you look so calm. The guy tears your dress and gropes you, and it’s only natural for you to go into shock. Don’t you think? That’s why you’re not crying and carrying on.”
    Olivia looked at him. “I’m fine, really.” Now
please
leave me alone, she silently added.
    “Hey, look,” Terry said. “They’re arresting Jorguson’s bodyguard. What’s the guy doing with a bodyguard, I wonder.” A few seconds later he answered his own question. “He must need one. Especially if he attacks other women the way he attacked you. You think you’d like to go out with me sometime?”
    She smiled to ease the rejection. “I don’t think so.”
    “You’re still in shock, aren’t you?”
    Olivia was angry, not hysterical. She stood by the table with her arms folded across her waist as she patiently waited for the FBI agent to get to her. She had been told it wouldn’t take long.
    Terry tried twice more to engage her in conversation. She was polite but firm each time he attempted to get personal.
    She watched the agents while she tried to figure out how she had gotten into this bizarre situation. Job hunting wasn’t supposed to be dangerous. She