Into the Fire - Leslie Kelly [0]
INTO THE FIRE
Leslie Kelly
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Contents:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Epilogue
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Chapter 1
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A lone in a throng of elegantly dressed people, in the lavishly appointed reception room of a tasteful Baltimore mansion, Lacey Clark began to sweat. Not a ladylike beading of perspiration on her upper lip. Not a moistness at her temple. No. Her tight black cocktail dress was growing downright damp as each additional person oozed into the already overcrowded party. A few more minutes and there would be circles under her armpits and her makeup would run off her skin in great bisque streaks.
"Get me out of here," she murmured, wondering if she could make it through the sea of people to the exit. Surely no one would notice if she slipped away. After all, she looked like practically every other woman in the place. Ninety percent of the females at the party wore the typical city social uniform—a little black cocktail dress, sheer black stockings, shiny, never seamed. Ridiculously high heels, useless tiny bag barely big enough to carry a tube of lipstick. Not to mention the confident expression disguising boredom.
Boredom always made Lacey Clark sweat. As did low-cut, skintight dresses and heels so high she wondered if she was going to fall on her fanny and humiliate herself in front of Baltimore society. Not that she really cared about Baltimore society. This was definitely not her crowd. Lacey would much rather have been at her favorite bar with her best friends.
For the hundredth time, she wished she'd been able to find a way out of this evening's event. As if it wasn't bad enough that her dress was uncomfortably tight, her stockings scratchy and her makeup oozy, her entire life was about to change course. Lacey didn't like feeling cornered nor having her personal affairs made very, very public. And tonight, in her boss's home, at a cocktail party where she was about to be honored for her job, she was also about to be set up for some major intrusion into her personal life. Her family. Her history. Her nice, orderly world.
"Dammit," she whispered, knowing things were completely beyond her control and not liking it one bit.
Nearby, two senior staff members from the magazine where she worked beckoned her closer. She smiled and pointed over her shoulder, implying she was waiting for someone. She didn't want to engage in small talk. Lacey just wanted to escape.
It might be possible to slip away for a few minutes, but she couldn't get away entirely, not when she was scheduled to receive a very public award for a job well done. Besides, even if she did disappear, J.T. Birmingham, millionaire publisher and owner of For Her Eyes Only, the magazine Lacey worked for, would make his second announcement anyway. The big one. The personal one. The one that would reveal beyond a doubt the intimate connection between them that she'd struggled to keep quiet.
Nothing she'd said in the past six weeks had dissuaded him. He was bursting at the seams, and he wanted the world in on his jubilation. Never mind that Lacey didn't.
No, a dash for the door was out. But she could at least hide for a while. She tried to sidle toward the exit but hadn't gone three steps when a voice stopped her.
"Did you see his new column?"
Lacey didn't ever have to turn around. She knew who was speaking—her good friend Raul Santos. She certainly knew who he was speaking about. Nate Logan. Yuck.
The open door still taunted her from across the room. She stared at it longingly, knowing it offered an avenue of escape, a minute of peace and quiet, a chance to find a hidden corner and wipe the sweat off her forehead with the back of her arm. Stopping meant frustration. No question about it.
She muttered a curse and turned. "I don't read his column." Lacey stepped closer to Raul, who had worked with her at For Her Eyes Only magazine until a few months before. "Besides, I can court on you to tell me what was in it, right?"
A wide white smile creased Raul's darkly tanned face, enhancing his sharply attractive features.