KeyParty by Jayne Kingston Read Free Book Online Page B

Petra said quietly. “You’ve been wanting a job in
therapy for so long.”
    “Yeah,” Bree added. “You’ve been talking about getting out
of the fluff and fold business for years.”
    Rachel burst into much-needed laughter.
    “Fluff and buff,” Petra corrected, grinning.
    Bree gave her a flat look.
    “Fluff and fold is laundry, darling,” Petra added.
    Bree’s nostrils flared. “Whatever.”
    “I love you both so much,” Rachel sighed, feeling the weight
of the morning lift.
    Bree drew in a deep breath and turned back to Rachel. “You
can’t throw this chance away because one bad boyfriend did something mean to
you a long time ago.”
    She was right. The rational part of Rachel’s brain knew both
of her friends were right. The night with Ben was just a one-night stand. They
weren’t dating, and there certainly hadn’t been any plans made to see each
other again.
    She groaned and dropped her head into her hands, realizing
how badly she’d overreacted, and what an ass she’d made of herself that
morning.
    Rachel looked up when she felt Bree’s hand on her arm.
    “Promise me you won’t cancel the interview,” Bree said, her
big, dark eyes full of gentle concern.
    “I promise,” she sighed. “But I might need a good, stiff
drink before I go in.”

Chapter Five
     
    At almost the exact moment Rachel was scheduled to meet with
the board of the Homewood Cardiac Health and Wellness Center, the door opened
and Dr. Marks himself invited her into his office. With his slight build,
thinning gray-blond hair and pale-blue eyes, he couldn’t have been more the
opposite of his stepson Ben’s tall, dark and stunning. He had an easy, winsome
way about him that helped put her at ease the instant he shook her hand.
    The other three board members and Ben were seated at a round
table off to one side of the large office. Everyone stood as she entered. She
put off looking directly at Ben for as long as she could, sure seeing him would
make her lose her nerve and run screaming from the room.
    But the sight of him dressed in shirt, vest and tie over
jeans made her want to run to him instead of away. The dress shirt and suit
vest were impeccably tailored to fit his long frame in a way that hinted
strongly to the gorgeous body beneath, and his gray eyes were picking up some
of the blue from his cobalt tie.
    She was slammed with the memory of being up on her elbows
and knees with him fucking her from behind, the lewd slap of his pelvis against
her ass and the heavy swing of his balls against her clit driving her moaning
and gasping toward orgasm.
    Color rose quickly to her face. Heat pooled where it had no
damn business pooling at the beginning of a job interview and she found herself
grateful for both the padding in her bra and the wide lapel of her suit jacket
as her nipples pulled up tight.
    Ben’s expression changed almost imperceptibly as if he’d
read her thoughts. His entire face relaxed into the barest of smiles and his
eyes positively glittered.
    And then she was being introduced around the table. She
shook hands with Dr. Elizabeth Andrews, head of physical therapy, and Drs. Paul
and Tom Zimmerman, another cardiologist and dietary PhD respectively.
    “I understand you and Ben know each other from college,” Dr.
Marks said, catching Rachel off guard when he got around to introducing his
stepson.
    She blinked and automatically put her hand in Ben’s when he
held it out to her.
    “Yes.” She drew out the word, stalling for time as she
prayed her brain kicked into gear. “He tutored me in chemistry my freshman year
of premed.”
    “I’m afraid I wasn’t a very good teacher, though,” Ben said
easily, giving her hand the slightest of reassuring squeezes before he released
her.
    “Well, my ineptitude with chemistry had nothing to do with
my tutor.” She tore her eyes away from his and forced herself to look at Dr.
Marks. “But I’m hoping you won’t hold that against me,” she said, and