The Tycoon's Seduction Plan Page 0,35
the time, nor the interest, to hear them all over again. “What are you up to? Working hard?” he asked, his eyes glancing down at her laptop computer case.
Lana shifted the somewhat heavy weight on her shoulder and smiled back at him. “Yes. I took my break. I have to get back to work.”
His face showed his lack of appreciation for her previous job, the sneer obvious as it moved across his soft, fleshy lips. “Receptionist work? Can’t be all that thrilling or challenging. Especially if they keep you on a tight string like this. I can come and go when I want and don’t have to answer to anyone. Why don’t you get a real job? Or are you not yet qualified for anything better?” he sneered.
Lana thought for a moment, staring at his contemptuous face and almost laughed. When she realized that he was miserable and trying to put her down, bring her down to his level of misery, she shook her head. “Drew, I’m sorry you have such an awful life but please don’t make others feel badly about their work, regardless of whether you think it is beneath you.”
He chuckled but it was a malicious sound. “So you are still a measly little receptionist.” He sat down in the seat she’d just vacated. “You know, you may want to talk to Andrea,” he said, referring to the woman he’d left her for. “She might be able to help you out and get you a better kind of job. Something that pays better. She’s doing pretty well for herself.” He named a figure that was less than half of what she’d pulled in last year.
Lana smiled politely but didn’t rise to the bait. “I’m glad she’s happy. Thank you for the offer but I’m doing okay on my own. Although I appreciate your concern,” she said, regardless that she knew his concern wasn’t sincere but simply another way to try and make her feel inferior.
He smirked and shrugged. “You never were very grateful for any of the advice I gave you. If you’d listened to me, maybe we’d still be together. I never would have looked outside of our marriage if you hadn’t been frigid.”
Lana took a deep breath and smiled. This time, her face was filled with joy but she didn’t tell him about Victor. Drew wasn’t worth the effort of conversation but she owed him the social niceties simply because she didn’t want to lower herself to his level of pettiness. Instead, she nodded as graciously as possible under the circumstances. “I’m sure I wouldn’t be the person I am today if I’d listened to you.”
Without another word, she pushed her computer into her carry-all bag and walked away, head held high and shoulders back, incredibly proud of what she’d accomplished with her life since he’d left her. There were no backwards glances and she felt confident, both inside and out and she owed it all to Victor.
She walked happily back to her apartment, thinking not about Drew but about Victor and her book’s plot, how she would work the difficult scene she’d just encountered and what the conversation should be between the two main characters. As she walked and thought, the impetus she’d been feeling earlier, before Victor’s call, started to return. As soon as she closed the door to her apartment, she sat back down at her desk and logged back onto her computer, pulling up the manuscript. Just as it had before, her fingers started flying over the keyboard. It was as if the magic were back and it was only because she’d been thinking about the man.
She worked happily until midnight, not even realizing that the time had been passing by. By the time she’d finished the scene, her back was sore from sitting up straight for so many hours and her stomach growled, protesting the lack of food.
Lana shut down her computer and smiled while she heated a bowl of soup in the microwave. Her last thought before she fell asleep was about Victor, wondering if he was getting enough sleep or if he was pushing himself too hard. She smiled but still cautioned herself to not become too connected with him. This relationship, whatever one might call it, was only temporary. She had to keep reminding herself of that fact and keep herself safe from the hurt that would inevitably come when they parted ways. Chapter 11
Victor called her first thing in the morning while she was making her