Her Sexy Valentine by Stephanie Bond

quickly. While she waited for a car to arrive, someone muttered “Ice Queen” under their breath disguised as a cough. A few people tittered. Carol’s face burned as she walked onto the elevator, but she managed to lift her chin and keep it together on the short ride to the basement.
    When the doors opened, she realized that preparations were already underway for the afternoon party. Red decorations of cupids and hearts abounded. Blowups of some of the company’s Valentine’s Day cards leaned against the wall, including the “take no prisoners” card she’d seen on her assistant’s desk. Cupid looked even more menacing at life-size.
    Thankfully, she didn’t see Luke among thevolunteers…but the people who saw her threw her a look of distaste before turning back to their tasks. Stung, Carol hurried to the stockroom. There she punched in the code she’d seen Luke use and slipped inside.
    When the door closed behind her, she leaned against its cool surface for a few seconds, reveling in the quiet. It had been an unsettling week and she fervently wished she could hit the rewind button.
    Unfortunately, life didn’t come with a remote control.
    At length she felt for the light switch and illuminated the room. The shelves were much more bare than yesterday…the equipment scavenged for her department had made a big dent in the inventory. Carol released a pent-up breath and allowed herself the luxury of a few miserable tears.
    How had she gotten to this place in her life? She’d thought by now she’d be at the pinnacle of her career, married to a great guy and maybe starting a family. Instead, she felt as if she’d regressed to high school—no matter what she did, no one liked her.
    And she was alone. Completely, absolutely, utterly alone.
    With no answers at hand, she found a tissue and blew her nose, then began walking up and down the aisles, looking for her missing earring. The longer she walked, the more bitter frustration built up in her chest—frustration toward James, who had so callously toyed with her heart. And toward Luke, who had so easily usurped her authority and conned her with a few probing questions and a handful of compliments.
    From the floor, a glint of metal caught her eye. To her relief, it was her silver-and-emerald earring. She knelt to retrieve it from under a shelf, but lost her balance and bumped the shelving unit accidentally. Above her, she heard a scraping noise, and when she looked up, something large was bearing down on her.
    Carol didn’t have time to put up her hand. Pain exploded in her head, then everything went black.

7
    Someone was shaking Carol by the shoulder.
    â€œMs. Snow…Ms. Snow?”
    She opened her eyes to blink her assistant Tracy’s face into view, then winced at the pain that stabbed her temple.
    â€œOh, thank God—she opened her eyes,” Tracy said. “Ms. Snow, are you okay?”
    Carol sat up and lifted her hand to her head, where a goose egg had formed. “I think so. I leaned over to pick up an earring I lost and something fell on my head.”
    â€œThat monitor,” a young man said, pointing to a boxy computer screen sitting nearby on its end. “You’re lucky you weren’t killed.”
    Carol squinted. “Who are you?”
    â€œMy boyfriend, Stan,” Tracy said. “He works here in the basement and was walking by when he heard a crash. He recognized you and called me. Should I call an ambulance?”
    â€œNo,” Carol said, gingerly pushing to her feet. “It’s just a bump on the head. I’ll be fine.”
    â€œAre you sure?”
    â€œOf course I’m sure,” Carol snapped. “I have a meeting to go to.”
    Tracy glanced at her watch. “Actually, the directors’ meeting has already started.”
    Carol brushed off her clothes and straightened her lapel. “Then I’d better be going.” She