Tough Enough Read Free Page A

concerned, the facts are very clear.”
    He shook his head, refusing to be drawn. “We can sort it all out some other time, if ever. Personally, I think it’s best to just forget most of what happened a year ago.”
    “Easy for you to say. It wasn’t your career and your professional reputation that were ruined.”
    Rafe’s eyes darkened. “You could have weathered the storm. You chose to walk away from your career and take up writing full-time.”
    Margaret allowed herself a small, negligent shrug. “You may be right. As it happens I had a better career to walk to. Best professional move I could have made. I love my writing and I can assure you I don’t miss the business jungle one bit. I wouldn’t go back for anything.” Her writing, which had been part-time until last year, had become full-time after the disaster and she didn’t regret it for a moment.
    “You dropped out of sight. Found a new apartment. Took your listing out of the phone book.” Rafe leaned back in his chair and crossed his ankles once more on the coffee table. He sipped reflectively at his Scotch. “Took me a while to find you when I started looking. Your publisher refused to give out your address and your father was not what you’d call cooperative.”
    “I should hope not. I told him I never wanted to see you again as long as I lived. I assumed the feeling was mutual.”
    “It was. For a while.”
    “When did you start looking for me?”
    “A few months ago.”
    “Why?” she demanded bluntly.
    “I thought I made that clear. I want you back.”
    Her stomach tightened and her pulse thrummed as it went into a primitive fight-or-flight rhythm. “No. Never. You don’t want me, Rafe. You never wanted me. You just used me.”
    His fingers clenched the glass but his face betrayed no change of expression. “That’s a lie, Maggie, love. Our relationship had nothing to do with what happened between Cassidy and Company and Moorcroft’s firm.”
    “The hell it didn’t. You used me to get inside information. Worse, you wanted to taunt Jack Moorcroft with the news that you were sleeping with his trustedmanager, didn’t you? Don’t bother to deny it, Rafe, because we both know it’s the truth. You told me so yourself, remember?”
    Rafe’s jaw tightened. “I was mad as hell that morning when I found you warning Moorcroft about my plans. As far as I was concerned, you’d betrayed me.”
    The injustice of that seared her soul. “I worked for Jack Moorcroft and I discovered you were after the company he was trying to buy out; that you’d used me to help you try to outmaneuver him. What did you expect me to do?”
    “I expected you to stay out of it. It had nothing to do with you.”
    “I was just your pawn in the game, is that it? Did you think I’d be content with that kind of role?”
    Rafe drew a deep breath, obviously fighting for his self-control. “I’ve thought about it a lot during the past year. Every damn day, as a matter of fact, although I told myself at the time that I wasn’t going to waste a minute looking for excuses for you. It took me months to calm down enough to start assessing the mess from your point of view.”
    “Since when did you ever bother to examine anything from my point of view?”
    “Take it easy, Maggie, love. I realize now that you felt you had some legitimate reason to do what you did. Yes, sir, I’ve given it a lot of thought and the way I see it, the whole thing was basically a problem of confused loyalties. You were mixed up, that’s all.” His mouth curved ruefully. “And a multimillion-dollar deal went down the drain because of it, but I’m willing to let bygones be bygones.”
    “Oh, gee, thanks. Very magnanimous of you. Rafe, let’s get one thing straight. I never asked you to makeexcuses for me. I don’t want you making excuses for me. I don’t need your forgiveness because I didn’t do anything wrong.”
    “I’m trying to explain that I don’t feel the same way about what