Secrets & Seductions Read Online Free

smile.
    She studied him for another moment with a concerned expression, like a soccer mom checking for injuries, before she finally returned his smile with one of her own.
    â€œOkay, good,” she said. “Since you don’t have any wounds in need of binding up, I’m going to lunch.”
    Â 
    Around the corner from the assistant’s station, Everett Baker had pressed himself against the wall so that he wouldn’t be discovered. He’d been on his way back to the accounting department where he worked when he heard the woman shouting at the director. Yelling and anger always made Everett’s stomach knot up. Absently he had rubbed slow circles on his midsection as he watched the pretty woman in the red shirt rush past Cora’s desk.
    Why did women always start shouting when they got upset? If they would only ask nicely, they might get whatever it was that they wanted.
    No one ever seemed to notice Everett, so he was able to watch the other employees whenever he had a break from his work. Sometimes he was able to listen to their conversations, if they talked loud enough. It helped him to figure out why some people had so many friends and others, like him, didn’t.
    On a really good day, he would see Leslie Logan. She came often to Children’s Connection, looking like a modern-day queen. Everett had a special reason for watching her, but it wasn’t what anyone else might think. Leslie was old enough to be his mother.
    Everett glanced at his watch and saw that it wastime for him to get back to his desk before someone asked where he’d been. Nervously he pushed back his hair as he looked around to make sure that no one was watching him. The hall was empty and the pretty woman in red was gone. He was in the clear.

Two
    E mma was still fuming over her appointment when she hurried to meet her friend Ivy Crosby for lunch at a little café near the computer company where Ivy worked. Even though her family owned Crosby Systems, Ivy never took for granted her position there, so Emma didn’t want to be late and hold her up.
    She could see Ivy already seated at one of the small tables outside the café, her curly blond hair easy to spot, even in the middle of the lunch-hour crowd. She smiled and waved when she saw Emma coming down the sidewalk.
    Despite her own foul mood, Emma waved backbefore she ducked inside and worked her way through the groups of people waiting to be seated.
    â€œI’m joining my friend at an outside table,” she told the hostess.
    Emma and Ivy had been roommates in college. Despite their polar-opposite personalities and wildly diverse backgrounds, they had made the effort to remain close.
    When Emma got to the table, Ivy stood up and gave her a hug.
    â€œI’m so glad to see you,” Ivy exclaimed. “I missed you.”
    â€œYou, too.” Emma returned her hug, blinking back tears. “I’m glad you’re back.”
    Ivy’s perfume was a designer scent that cost more than Emma’s laptop, or her trendy outfit from an exclusive boutique. Beneath the affluent veneer, Ivy was the most genuine and loyal friend Emma had.
    â€œHow have you been?” Ivy asked after they had both sat down. “Fill me in.”
    â€œIs there steam coming out of my ears?” Emma asked teasingly. Inwardly she was still fuming about her meeting.
    Ivy’s blue eyes widened as she folded her hands on the menu. “Oh, dear,” she replied. “It sounds as if you’ve had a bad morning. Tell me what’s wrong.”
    Emma was touched by her friend’s concern, but she knew how much Ivy hated being late back to work. She said it set a bad example for the other employees. “My problems will keep. Let’s order.” She glanced at her menu. “Then I want to hear about your trip. Where was it again that you went?”
    â€œLantanya.”
    â€œI’ve never heard of it.” Emma wondered if she had