Kiss Me Crazy by Ednah Walters, E. B. Walters Page B

irritation. The girl was sweet and bubbly, but her nosiness could be annoying at times. In fact, Kara had an inkling she eavesdropped on phone conversations too, and was privy to everyone’s business. After being behind a magnifying glass for hours, Kara wasn’t in the mood to be pleasant.
    “A friend’s.” Her tone didn’t invite further discussion.
    “Listen, one of Raul’s men wil be dropping off my lunch any minute. Could you have him leave it here?”
    “Of course.” The phone rang and Maya adjusted the headset as though to answer it then paused to frown at Kara. “I don’t have to pay him, do I?”
    “No, I have an account with them. Just keep it here and I’l pick it on my way back. Thanks.” Kara moved away from the desk and headed toward the winding ramp connecting the first and second floor. She wanted to ask Maya if Baron had come back, but when she glanced back, the receptionist was talking on the phone.
    Kara continued up the ramp and headed to the galery’s antique room. For a moment, she stroled from one statue to another, a sense of wel-being enveloping her. She loved to be surrounded by relics, and Baron had some exceptional pieces. A display case in the middle of the second floor was dedicated to ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Taharqa, the ruler of the combined ancient Egyptian and Nubian kingdoms. She never got tired of looking at the statues or reading the inscriptions. There was a brief history of the rise of Taharqa and a donated byline. Most of the pieces belonged to Alexander ‘Lex’ Fitzgerald, Baron’s older brother.
    Kara moved away from the display cases to the paintings on the wal. One vibrant piece reminded her of the one Baron had shown her earlier. Surely he should be back by now. Turning, she headed to his office. If there was any framing to be done on the VanderMarck colection, she wanted to do it, preferably at her new company. Baron’s galery outsourced al framing jobs.
    No one was in Gena’s office, although the door was ajar.
    Kara heard mumbling coming from Baron’s office. She raised her hand to knock and froze when Gena spoke.
    “Baron? He’l be gone the whole day. He probably has a new girlfriend.” There was a long pause, and then, “I wouldn’t know. I just buy the roses and the chocolates. In fact we have an account with a flower shop down the block. No, not champagne.
    He keeps a case of Bolinger right here in the office.” There was another pause. “No, don’t worry about me. He’s a wonderful boss and pays wel…plus, I enjoy my job.” The person on the other side must have said something funny because Gena burst out laughing.

    Kara decided to not bother her, backtracked, and went downstairs to pick up her lunch. Maya gave her a strange look, but the younger woman was on the phone and couldn’t speak to her.
    Kara hurried downstairs, mentaly beating herself. She must be wearing her feelings on her face again.
    She didn’t know why she felt disappointed in Baron. Just because he never paraded his conquests around the office anymore didn’t mean he wasn’t stil going through women with the speed of an Indy race. He was being himself, a bachelor with no emotional attachments, free to date whomever he pleased.
    Kara locked her door, retrieved a bottle of unsweetened green tea from her mini fridge, and removed her iPod from its docking station to select a different playlist. Her choice in music went with her mood. While working, she liked to listen to balads, jazz, or classical. Times like this, she wanted validation, a salute to heartache. Kara grinned as she put the neon blue portable music player back on and hiked up the volume. Pink’s deep, sultry voice plucked on her heartstrings.
    The image of Baron flitted in her head as she listened to the lyrics of Long Way to Happy . Not that she was broken. Yes, she wanted Baron, but giving him that much power over her happiness was out of the question. Men like Baron wouldn’t know what to do with a