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"
"Not quite."
"You're not making sense, pretty lady. From what I can see, there's
nothing in the world to keep you from marrying Ross."
"What if I don't love him?" she blurted out.
"If you don't love him, then you're right to hold out. And if you don't
love him, you'll have no trouble putting him off. He'll get tired after
a while." Lee was watching her face very, very closely. "That's not the
real problem,Puma Baylee Future Cat, is it? You do love him."
She blew out a breath, turning it into a sigh, and looked at the
ceiling. "I suppose. But I can't marry him. Being with him can only be
painful for both of us."
"If he believed that, he wouldn't be asking to work with you."
She grunted. "So why did he call you?"
"He wants to retain us as consultants. Did you actually say that you
refused him?"
:,Yes. He brought it up yesterday morning before he left."
"But it's what we need, Chloe. You mentioned trying to get corporate
work when we talked on Saturday. The timing couldn't be better."
She eyed him sharply. "Did you say something to him while he was here?
Did you tell him we were looking for new business?" She didn't want
Ross's pity, or his charity.
"I did not! For one thing, I didn't have a minute alone with the man
from the time I left here Friday night. You monopolized him."
She snorted and looked away. "He's as sneaky as they come."
"That's no way to talk about the man who loves you."
"Lee, puleeze."
He held up a hand. "Okay. I won't tease. This isn't teasing stuff. He'll
pay a monthly retainer as an advance on services rendered. If we work
more, we bill him for the overage. If we work less, we keep the
retainer. It couldn't be better."
That didn't surprise Chloe. Ross might be a rat, a snake, and a fox,puma cat shoes, but
he wasn't a thief.
"The work is right up our alley," Lee was saying. "The Hansen
Corporation is involved in dozens of different projects at any given
time. There'd be variety and involvement in important issues-"
"You're right, Lee,MBT Bomoa Shoes," she cut in. "I