High-Powered, Hot-Blooded / Westmoreland's Way: High-Powered, Hot-Blooded / Westmoreland's Way. Brenda Jackson

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      She retreated to a private spot by a fake potted plant and called home. Jenny picked up on the first ring.

      “Can you and Kami bring the karaoke machine?” she asked in a low voice. “I have a dead party that needs help.” She gave the name of the hotel and which ballroom.

      “Fancy,” Jenny said.

      “Disaster. Please hurry.”

      “We’ll be there, Annie. Just keep sipping the wine.”

      “I’m not sure it will help.” She pushed the end button, then put her cell back in her purse.

      Across the ballroom, Duncan talked to several men. Probably his executives, she thought, noticing how everyone else also kept their eyes on the group.

      Three nights ago, he’d ended up leaving before the pizza was cooked, claiming he was going back to work. It was probably true, she told herself. Work was an escape. Not that she was anyone to complain. While she didn’t work the crazy hours he did, she spent plenty of time avoiding what was wrong with her life. Her cousins and Kami kept her busy, not to mention all the projects through school and the various classes she’d signed up for. If she was constantly running, she didn’t have to think about the fact that she hadn’t been on a date in nearly six months. Not counting Duncan, of course.

      After the holidays, she promised herself. She would get back out there and start dating. She would look for someone who saw her as more than a sister or a friend. Tim had offered to set her up with a couple of guys he knew. Although that had been before he’d gone into rehab. She wondered if her brother was still angry with her. Because he wasn’t able to get calls or have visitors for a couple more weeks, there was no way to know.

      For the next twenty minutes, she sipped her wine and tried to talk to people at the party. They were all too tense to do more than say they were fine and yes, this was a great party. Just as nice as last year. Finally Jenny and Kami appeared with the karaoke machine and microphone.

      “I put in songs from the eighties,” Jenny said as she helped Kami set up the machine on a table by a plug. “I figured everyone here would be really old.”

      “Nice,” Annie told her. “You’re kidding, right?”

      Jenny grinned. “You’re so serious about everything. Yes, I’m kidding. There’s mostly Christmas music loaded.” She looked around at the dying party. “How are you going to get this started?”

      Annie took another sip of wine. “I plan to sacrifice myself.”

      Kami winced. “Tim doesn’t deserve you looking out for him the way you do.”

      “Tell me about it.”

      Annie nodded and Jenny flipped the switch. An electronic hum filled the room. Everyone turned to look. Annie waved weakly, then scrolled through the songs until she found “Jingle Bell Rock.” Maybe that would put people in the holiday spirit.

      The music came on. Kami turned it up, then mouthed, “Good luck.”

      Annie picked up the microphone and began to sing.

      She had a modest voice, at best. Soft, without a lot of range. But someone had to save the party and everyone else was too afraid. So she did her best and ignored the waver in her voice and the heat burning her cheeks.

      At the chorus, Jenny and Kami joined in. Then a couple of people in the crowd sang along. A few more sang the second chorus and by the third time around, most of the people in the room were nodding along.

      A couple of women came up and said they wanted to sing. By the time they were done, there was a line of people waiting. She gratefully handed off the microphone.

      She grabbed her wine and finished it in a single gulp. She was still shaking. The good news was people were actually talking to each other and she saw a couple filling plates with food.

      Duncan joined her. “You were singing.”

      “I know.”

      His expression was hard to read. “Why?”

      “Was it that bad?”

      “No, but you were uncomfortable.”

      “The party was dying. Something had to be done.”

      Duncan looked around at his employees, then back at her. “This wasn’t your responsibility.”

      “People should have a good time at an office party. Isn’t that the point of giving it? So they can hang out together, talk and learn about each other in a way that isn’t about work?”

      He stared at her blankly.

      She pointed at the people in the room. “Go talk to them. Ask questions about their lives. Pretend interest.”

      “Then what?”

      “Smile. It will confuse them.”

      He looked at her quizzically, then did as she said. She watched him approach a group of guys who were drinking beer and tugging at their ties.

      The employees weren’t the only ones who were confused, she thought, staring at Duncan. She was, as well. She was with him for a reason that had nothing to do with caring or being involved. He’d basically blackmailed her into pretend dating him so he could fool the world into thinking he was a nice guy. So why did she want to be next to him now, helping him? Why did the sight of his smile make her want to smile in return?

      Complications she couldn’t afford, she reminded herself. She wanted forever and Duncan wanted to be left alone. She was staff, he was the boss. There were a thousand reasons why nothing would ever work out between them.

      And not one of them could stop her from wishing for the very thing she could never have.

      Chapter Six

      Duncan kept his hand firmly around Annie’s elbow as he guided her toward his car in the parking lot. One of the first rules of boxing was not to fight mad. It gave your opponent an advantage. He’d learned the lesson also applied to all areas of life, so he wasn’t going to say anything until he was sure he was under control. A state hard to imagine as anger pulsed in time with his heartbeat.

      He was beyond pissed. He could feel the emotions boiling up inside him. The need to lash out, to yell—something he never did—nearly overwhelmed him.

      “Just say it,” Annie said calmly, when they reached the car.

      He pushed the button to unlock the doors, then opened hers. “I have nothing to say.”

      She rolled her eyes. “You’re practically frothing at the mouth. You need to just say it.”

      “I’m fine,” he growled, waiting until she got into the car, then closing her door.

      He walked around and got in on the driver’s side. She put her hand on his arm.

      “Duncan, you’ll feel better.”

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