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“Or something like that,” Helen said clicking her tongue on her teeth. She noticed he left out what he thought of her—Helen—but she’d have to let that slide. It would be too humiliating to ask him about it twice. But she could ask him something else, “So, what was the deal with you and Laura anyway?”
“Nothing much. She chases me and I keep running. That doesn’t mean I haven't got stuck going on dates with her once and awhile, because I have. It was just never as meaningful for me as it was for her.”“Why don’t you like her?” Helen asked.“I don’t know. She’s a nice person. She’s smart, successful, well-connected, and sort of pretty, but I can’t force myself.”“Why not? If she’s all that?”Mark thought for a moment before he answered, “Laura is very disciplined. She eats the way she is supposed to, works out as much as sheRelated chapters
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Mark frowned and said, “Well, if you don’t mind having supper with the two of us, then why don’t you join us?”Helen’s heart fell as he said it, even though she knew he didn't have much of a choice. If he sent her away, it might be considered the epitome of rudeness as far as their friendship was concerned. Besides, it wasn’t like Helen and Mark were in the middle of a hot date.“I don’t want to interrupt,” she said mildly, but still not budging from her place.“You’re not interrupting,” Mark said smoothly.“Well… if you’re sure,” Laura said as she stepped into the entryway and took off her shoes.Helen followed the two of them back to the kitchen and bit her lip. Biting her lip as a reaction was mild. She wanted to roll her eyes back into her head in aggravation. She did not want to have dinner with Mark and Laura.“Hey Helen,” Mark said, trying
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Into His CarHelen stepped onto the pavement outside Mark’s apartment complex and looked around for Dominic’s Jaguar. It wasn’t hard to find because his car was the only one on the street with its headlights on. Helen went up to it and peered through the windshield at the driver. Yeah, with those shades, it couldn’t be anyone else besides Dominic.She reached for the car handle, but the door was locked. He had to be that kind of jerkwad, didn’t he? She tapped on the window with her knuckles and Dominic unlocked the door. With that, she dropped her bag onto the backseat before getting into the passenger side herself.“You really are the devil,” Helen said nonchalantly as she hooked up her seatbelt.Dominic took off his sunglasses and turned his body a whole ninety degrees to get a better look at Helen. “Vera, is that you?”“Of course, it’s me,” she answered, flicking him an annoyed expres
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Dominic came back into the room in the middle of Helen's conversation with herself. He carried a tray, which he sat down on a coffee table. Helen thought about Mark’s stir-fry and examined what Dominic had created. There was a glass dish with shrimp and cocktail sauce, three different kinds of cheeses on a plate, and a myriad of sliced fruit organized on a different plate. Yeah, he definitely knew how to cut.“I’ve missed the last thing,” he said blithely as he quickly returned to the kitchen. He came back with a bottle of tonic water and two Champagne flutes. “Did I get your tastes right?” he asked as he unscrewed the top of the tonic water.Helen smiled and searched the tray for crackers. Noticing there weren’t any and she found the nerve to complain. “Don’t rich people eat crackers?” she asked, picking up a piece of cheese and putting it in her mouth.“Of course,” Dominic laughed. “How th
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“Now I’m your personal assistant instead of Mark’s? No thanks. I already have three jobs and apparently, I work weekends,” Helen said, indicating she was working at that moment.“Do you know?” he drawled. “I love every word that comes out of your mouth. That is a perfect solution to all this. If you became my personal assistant, I feel positive we could accomplish great things together.”“Please don’t get excited,” Helen murmured, putting her hand to her forehead.“I’m not going to stop working for Mark.”“Why not? I’ll pay you—”“I don’t care about that,” she interrupted. “I’m afraid that once I started working for you, you’d see how inexperienced I truly am. I might have come up with a few ideas you liked just now, but I’m not qualified to serve your every need. It might surprise you, but I don’t know a
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On the CouchHelen pushed open the door to her apartment a little after midnight. She thought she was going to have to stay out with Dominic until dawn, but luckily, he believed her when she told him she was really tired after spending all week getting ready for her interview with Alexander. So, he took her home. He clearly knew how hard the week had been on her after a little explanation of Mindy’s schedule, unlike Mark, who didn’t know anything about women. When Helen thought about it on the car ride home, she wasn’t sure if she preferred a guy who was so inexperienced with women that he couldn’t guess how detailed her primping routine was or a guy who knew everything and therefore knew how to coddle her like a princess.She also didn’t know what to make of Dominic’s 'almost' confession of love. She didn’t know if he meant it or if he was just playing another game with her. She’d have to put the idea on the shelf and wait t
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“I’ve got too much on my mind right now to let you add more. We can talk about everything later, but right now, I’m tired." She paused. After thinking for a second more, she added, “And I want to rest my head on your shoulder and don’t you dare try to attach any strings to it.”Mark looked more confused than ever. “Are you drunk?”“No, I’m not drunk,” Helen fumed. She wasn’t sure if he was trying to make a joke. “I don’t drink—ever. I’m just past my exhaustion threshold. Did you know sleep deprivation is a form of torture? I’m done.”Mark didn’t say anything else, but obediently sat down on the couch and put his arm around Helen’s shoulders. She immediately put her legs over his lap and pulled the afghan over both of them. Helen was used to sleeping with the radio playing, so the noise from the TV didn’t bother her as she rested her head half o
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The Perfect ManHelen sat across from Mark in a tiny booth in a downtown diner. She had never been taken out for breakfast before, so being there with him was a totally new experience for her. She ordered pancakes and drummed her fingers impatiently on the surface of the table while Mark looked over the complimentary newspaper.He looked up at her quizzically. “You seem nervous. What’s the matter?”“You’re an idiot,” she blurted.“Really?” he asked, hardly able to keep his mirth in check. “You know, Helen, you have this way of lashing out at me for no explicable reason. It’s intriguing. So tell me, why am I an idiot?”“I already explained that dating you would be like a dream come true for me. I know you don’t believe me, but it feels one hundred percent impossible for us to be sitting all chummy like this at a restaurant. I’m having a hard time believing it.”He s
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Helen thought Mark intended to spend the whole day with her, but he got an urgent phone call from his brother and had to take off after breakfast. Helen knew she shouldn’t feel happy he was going, but being with him was a little intense and the break would relieve mountains of tension. When he said goodbye to her, he kissed her on the forehead unassumingly and told her he wanted to take her out for dinner that night, so she shouldn’t schedule anything. His business with his brother wouldn’t take all day.When she came into the apartment, Mindy was on the phone laughing her head off.“Helen, get in here,” she yelled.“What is it?”Mindy took the phone away from her ear and said merrily, “You just keep getting into trouble, don’t you?”“What are you talking about?” Helen questioned.“Has your little pet boy gone home for the day?” Mindy asked, biting the phone’s ante
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