The Cinderella Obsession by Opal Carew, Amber Carew

pacing again. "Nicholas Powers is rich and powerful. He’s part of the social elite. He and I are about as different as two people can be." He’d never want someone like me.
    Rachel leaned forward, tracking her friend’s movements with her eyes. "Not where it counts, Vanessa. If you give yourself the chance to get to know him, you’ll find he’s a really down to earth guy and…."
    Vanessa stopped in her tracks. "And a two-timer. You’re forgetting about Amy."
    "Amy? Is that who he thought you were?" Rachel laughed. "Then you have no problem."
    "How can you say that? He kissed Amy."
    "You mean you."
    Exasperated, she dropped into the chair. "It may have been me, but he thought it was Amy."
    Rachel shook her head. "No, you must have that wrong. He and Amy have been friends forever--just friends. I can’t believe--"
    "I don’t have it wrong and he didn’t kiss me--her--like a friend," Vanessa muttered.
    "Look, there has to be some mistake. If you just talk to him, I’m sure--"
    Vanessa gripped the armrests with clenched fingers. "There’s no way I’m going to talk to him about this. I don’t want him to know I was the one behind the mask."
    "Why not? He’s obviously attracted to you. He’s a rich eligible bachelor. He’s the perfect Prince Charming. What’s wrong with you?"
    He scares me to death. Or rather, my reaction to him scares me to death.
    "If he finds out I was the one, he’d be sure to fire me."
    Rachel slumped back against her pillow. "Oh, for heaven’s sake, why do you think that?"
    "Because I was trespassing and … well, I think he’ll be embarrassed that he mistook me for his girlfriend -- "
    "She’s not his girlfriend."
    "--and he won’t want to admit he was actually attracted to someone like me."
    Rachel’s eyes narrowed. "What do you mean, someone like you?"
    "You know, someone who isn’t … successful."
    Rachel’s fingers slid around the bed rail. "Vanessa, just tell him," she said, her voice tight.
    "No, in fact, I … I think I’m going to quit."
    "Quit?" Her fingers clenched. "You are crazy. This is the best break you’ll ever get. If you do well on this job, they’ll probably find you a permanent position. Isn’t that what you’ve wanted? To get into a big firm like Power Systems as an executive secretary? You can’t give it up now."
    "I know but … If I stay, he’s bound to figure out I was the one." Vanessa leaned forward in the chair. "He’s started looking for her--me--you know? He called up the costume shop and asked them to describe the woman who returned the costume."
    "You’re kidding. You must have knocked his socks off with that kiss. So he knows what you look like now? And he hasn’t twigged yet?"
    "No, he didn’t get a description. I guess the woman who served me only works on weekends."
    She felt a twinge of conscience about the little white lie, but tried to ignore it. Better guilt than the fear that had flashed through her when she’d checked Nick’s voice messages after lunch. There had been one from Mr. Green at the costume shop, telling Nick that the woman who’d brought in the three costumes today had been the same one who brought in the Cinderella costume on Saturday. How had he figured that out? She squashed the tiny feeling of guilt at having erased the message. After all, for Nicholas Powers this was a game of hide and seek, but for Vanessa it was self-preservation.
    "Vanessa, you just can’t quit your job. Look at it this way, if he were to find out, what’s the worst he can do? Even if he does fire you at some point, you’ll have made some money at the job--and he’ll owe you severance. Being fired won’t look any worse on your resume than deciding to leave after a single day on the job. And you know the likelihood is, he’ll never find out.
    "Rachel…." She sighed and glanced down at her hands. "He has my earring, the one I lost." She felt a tug in her heart, wondering if she’d ever get it back.
    "Vanessa, if--"
    She immediately