Worth the Risk_ A Contemporary - Megan Hart Page 0,134

sympathetic. "We going to be out of jobs, honey? ’Cause I got a great lead over at Caldwell Publications. My cousin’s girlfriend’s sister’s niece works in human resources over there."

Lila stared at him blankly for a long moment before she realized he thought her glum mood was because of the planning meeting she’d had. "Relax, Darren, our jobs are safe. We might even be getting raises."

There was his excellent use of expression to convey emotion again. Both brows raised and his lips pursed, Darren sat back in his chair. "Then why did you come in here looking like your dog just died?"

"I just had a rather disturbing conversation with Ned."

"Nerdy Ned?"

Lila nodded. She leaned back in her chair and eased muscles she had not noticed earlier were sore. The reasons for her aches and pains would have made her smile an hour ago, but now Ned’s accusations cast a pall over the memory of Tom’s lovemaking.

Darren snorted. "What did he want?"

"He wanted to know when we’d be going out again."

Darren began to laugh in his wonderfully unrestrained way. At least she usually thought it was wonderful. Now she winced as his laugher filled the small office and probably carried out to the hallway despite the closed door.

"Darren! It’s not funny!"

"Honey, I told you going out with him would be a mistake!"

She felt the beginnings of a headache. The morning’s euphoria was completely destroyed. She felt just terrible about treating Ned so badly. "Keep your voice down, Darren! He’s got feelings, too."

To her surprise, Darren quieted. "Lila, are you feeling guilty?"

"Maybe a little. I did just…blow him off."

"And telling him that you’d have more fun plucking your eyebrows with a pair of rusty tweezers than going out with him again—that would’ve been better?"

A smile twitched her lips. "I could’ve just told him up front that I thought he was very nice, but that I didn’t think we’d ever be anything more than friends. Now I just hurt his feelings."

"Shoot, Lila, his feelings would have been hurt no matter what you told him. Face it, honey, ‘there’s someone for everybody’ is just a myth."

"That doesn’t make it right!" Guilt still assailed her. "He said something like women like me don’t date guys like him."

"Well?" Darren looked clearly perplexed. "They don’t!"

"But that doesn’t make it right!" Lila rapped the desktop with her fist.

"Ah, I see." Darren shifted in his chair and propped his feet up on her desk. "This has got to do with Bill the Bozo, huh?"

It was nice to have a friend who knew your history. It saved a lot of explanation. She nodded, tearing off a used piece of paper from her notepad just so she’d have something to do with her hands while she talked.

"I made Ned feel the same way William made me feel." Repugnance filled her.

Darren clicked his tongue and shook his head. "William did it to you on purpose. You didn’t set out to hurt Ned’s feelings. There’s a big, big difference, honey."

"I doubt if Ned would think so."

Her assistant sniffed. "So what you going to do? Date Ned just to make him feel better? To do him a favor?"

She winced at the force he put into his words. Darren knew the whole sad story of what had happened with William and how he had told her he’d been tired of doing her a favor. Darren was trying to provoke her.

"I feel terrible." She groaned, crumpling the note paper into a sweaty ball in her fist.

"What’s this got to do with Mr. Gorgeous?" Darren took the paper away from her and tossed it into the trash.

Lila shrugged. "Nothing. Everything. I don’t know. Nothing now, I guess."

"But before?"

"I told him when we met that men like him didn’t date women like me." The confession made her feel stupid.

"What?" Darren yelled so loud Lila was grateful she had shut her door. "Damn, girl, what’s the matter with you?"

He looked so righteously angry that Lila couldn’t help smiling. "I’m a moron?"

"Yes, you are a moron. And I hope you get over that."

"I just don’t want to get hurt again." Contemplating, Lila bit the end of her thumb. "And the way things are going, I think I could."

"Could, shmould." Darren sounded so much like Rivka, Lila had to smile. "You never get anywhere if you don’t take risks."

"Do I pay you to give me advice?" Lila still felt horrible about the scene with Ned, but Darren was right. William had hurt her on purpose. It didn’t make what happened with