R

-day Spanish Inquisition, Dr. Saeder stood his ground on refusing to divulge t

tion to meet me at 5:00 P.M. tonight at Lifelines Bistro, a local bar

ee-but a girl can dream of actuall

aid sarca

f willpower I have to return it and swipe my badge at the turnstile. The elevator ride up, clustere

of Egorov Industries. In case any visitors are ever uncertain where they are, ther

ar for t

t his name to this comp

esk, the door to his office ope

pt hair, almost black but with a mesmerizing hint of auburn to it. Chin

cologne is perfectly calibrated to seduce and intimidate

et I still find myself wondering what his body

y, in this entire zip code-have been reeled in hook, line, and sinker. Half a dozen perfectly c

r a glance, a smile,

a tell them. Dmitri Egorov does

m to give me a break, it'd be today, right?

ough, says "mercy" is no

tch he chose today. The embroidered initials on his tailored shirt cuff-D.E. in a villainous r

stood for 'Douchebag Extraordi

t?" he asks a

'm sorry I was late this morning. I had a doctor's appointment. I did request time off..."

, like a winter forest. I do prefer it to Dr. Saeder's cloy

to be insubordin

aid any attention at all, he'd see is hiding a barely-closed box of screa

things like "other people's emotions." That would

e? I don't even know t

word 'timely,' either. Should we step into my

ately fills with images of all the things he

around my fist, and shove his face up my skirt to see h

iatingly well-tailored button-down shirt, and graze my na

ake him d

ake him w

for the sheer pleasure of leaning down, brushing my glossy lips up against the sh

Ms. Tu

ingers in my face and asking if I can hear him. Admitte

I don't intend to be any nicer to Dmitri Egorov than I was t

of telling time, Mr. Egorov." I throw

over his face. On anyone else, it wouldn't even be noticeable. But it's such a departure from his us

with that tone and that look in

cruel ninety-nine-point-nine percent of the time... th

time I saw a positive sign on a pregnancy test and the nightmares that followed that. Hell, give me half a

I ca

he's m

, even if he's doing an awfully good jo

te his breath asking after the problems of the feeble l

ly reasonable answer I can afford to give: