Her stabs of desire ended instantly, and were replaced by a profound pain in her heart. A pain that made no sense to her and yet it was there. Aching. Wanting. Needing.
Sighing, Amanda slid the shoes on and made her way downstairs where Julian was waiting to take her to work.
"I am so sorry about you and Cliff."
Amanda looked up from her desk and counted to ten. Slowly. If one more person said that to her, she was going to go berserk, head down to Cliff's office, and carve him into little, bloody Cliff-kabob pieces.
He had told everyone in the office about their breakup and had arrogantly said she was too torn up by it to come in yesterday.
She could kill him!
"I'm fine, Tammy," she said to their office manager with a forced smile.
"That's it," Tammy said. "You keep your spirits up."
Amanda curled her lip as Tammy left. At least the day was over. Now she could go home and...
And dream of the tall, handsome man she'd never see again.
Why did that hurt more than the fact Cliff had broken up with her?
What was it about Hunter that made her miss him so... ?
But she knew. He was gorgeous and smart and heroic. He was mysterious and lethal. Better yet, he made her heart pound every time he flashed that dazzling smile at her.
And he was gone forever.
Depressed, she prepared to leave.
After putting her files in her briefcase, Amanda headed out of her office, to the elevator, and pushed the button to the lobby. She didn't want to keep Grace waiting outside with the twins. Besides, she was tired of the office.
This had been the longest day of her life.
Why had she ever wanted to be an accountant, anyway? Selena was right, her life was mind-shatteringly boring.
When the doors to the elevator opened to the glass-enclosed lobby, she stepped out and looked around. Even though it was dark outside, the parking-lot lights were so bright, she could tell Grace wasn't there yet. Damn! She was more than ready to go home.
Irritated, Amanda went to stand by the door.
As she shifted her briefcase, Cliff came out of the next elevator, surrounded by his friends.
Great, just great. Her day kept getting better and better.
Spotting her alone, Cliff preened like a peacock as he approached her. "Is something wrong?" he asked as he stopped by her side.
"No. My ride isn't here yet," she said curtly.
"Well, if you need a ride home..."
"I don't need anything from you, okay?" She headed out the doors to wait in the dark cold. Better to freeze in the winter chill than spend another minute around the last man on earth she wanted to see.
Cliff pulled her to a stop outside the building. The streetlights glinted dimly against his dark blond hair. "Look, Mandy, there's no reason why we can't be friends."
"Don't you dare be magnanimous about this after the stunt you pulled today. Who do you think you are, telling everyone about my family?"
"Oh, c'mon, Mandy-"
"Stop calling me Mandy when you know how much I hate it."