Seduction by Design Read Online Free Page A

think they were jealous. They told the boss bad things about me. I had to leave for my own peace of mind.”
    Hailey was suspicious about how Ellen’s actual leaving had come about, but she didn’t contradict her sister’s version. Ellen should never be required to work. It didn’t suit her personality. She should find an indulgent rich man to pamper and spoil her for life.
    “I’ve made some new friends, Hailey, and we’ve been going out every night and having a ball.”
    “That’s wonderful, Ellen.”
    “There’s a big party I’ve been invited to next week at the country club. It’s going to be fabulous! All the best people will be there.” Hailey flinched at Ellen’s snobbery. “Anyway, Hailey, I have one teeny-weeny problem.”
    Hailey knew immediately what that teeny-weeny problem was. “I need a new dress, Hailey. And I haven’t gotten a full pay-check yet since I just started this job. Could you please send me enough to buy a dress for the party?”
    “Ellen, I sent you some money last week,” Hailey said with a trace of asperity. “What happened to that?”
    “A measly hundred dollars?”
    “That measly hundred dollars was hard to come by,” Hailey said testily.
    “I’m sorry, sis. I didn’t mean to sound as though I’m not grateful. Gosh, I am! But I used that to buy a suit. You didn’t expect me to start a new job without any decent clothes, did you?”
    Hailey suspected that Ellen’s closet was fairly bulging with “decent clothes.” “I thought you said you needed that money for a deposit on a telephone.”
    “Well, I did. But I managed to borrow that from one of the girls I work with.”
    Hailey gnawed her bottom lip in vexation, but she put down her flash of temper and asked reasonably, “Do you think that’s a good idea, Ellen? To borrow money from someone you’ve just met?”
    “Oh, she didn’t care. She’s becoming one of my very best friends.”
    But for how long?
Hailey wanted to ask. She rubbed her forehead, which had suddenly begun to pound. “Okay, Ellen, I’ll send you a little more, but this is the last time.” She recalled a pair of cold gray eyes glaring at her and remembered that she might not have a job herself.
    “I understand,” Ellen said solemnly, then burst forth with accolades to all of Hailey’s virtues. “You’re the best sister in the whole world, Hailey. I’m so lucky to have you to take care of me.”
    They said their good-byes, but it was a mechanical exercise for Hailey. Such scenes had happened too often in the past, and she admitted that they would probably happen again—in the near future. Breaking lifetime habits was difficult, if not impossible.
    Ever since they were children, she had looked after Ellen. No one made a secret of the fact that Ellen was the “pretty one” and Hailey was the one with the brains. If Ellen was forgetful and irresponsible, she was forgiven because she looked so angelic. Their parents had never criticized her, nor rebuked her for letting her older sister do her thinking for her. Hailey had bailed Ellen out of numerous scrapes when they were children. Now, as adults, the pattern continued.
    Hailey had always been burdened with a sense of responsibility. When her parents’ health had failed toward the latter years of their lives, it was Hailey who stayed at home and took care of them. Ellen left home because she couldn’t bear to be around sick people. Yet, it was she they yearned to see, to talk to. Hailey didn’t really blame them. During Ellen’s infrequent and hasty visits, the gloomy house would be filled with laughter and gaiety. Hailey’s dependability was no match for Ellen’s exuberance.
    My God! Is this wallow in self-pity day? she asked herself as she flopped back against the pillows on her bed. What was wrong with her tonight? It was a rhetorical question that she already knew the answer to. What was wrong with her was Tyler Scott. She had built a life for herself, albeit a dull,