Undercover Passion by Raye Morgan Read Free Book Online Page B

feel the same way. From the looks he saw on their faces, they were all in the bag. Except for Daniel.
    But that wasn’t what he was here for. As he tuned in to the lecture, he found it more a sales pitch than anything else.
    â€œNo, my friends. This is not magic. Though you may think it is once you’ve experienced the speed and strength of the effects. My formula is based on sound scientific principles. There arecertain immutable precepts in the foundation of nutritional studies. They are ageless and never change. What I have done is found a new way to work within the same framework that everyone else must work in. I’ve picked up on elements others have missed, made new combinations, seen things in a new light. And what I’ve come up with has proven to be one of the most exciting discoveries ever in the field of weight management. And that is what I have to share with you tonight.”
    â€œA hell of a lot of words saying basically nothing,” Daniel murmured dispassionately, starting toward a chair in the back row that had suddenly opened up.
    Unfortunately, a middle-aged blond woman had started toward the same chair at the same time and they collided.
    â€œOh. Sorry.”
    But instead of recoiling, the woman clung to his arm, searching his face.
    â€œWhat was that you were saying?” she asked in a low voice, staring up at him.
    He gave her a rueful smile. “I don’t think I’d better repeat it,” he said. “I might get lynched.”
    She nodded, biting her lip. “I thought I heardyou right,” she whispered after someone shushed them both.
    He gestured toward the chair. “You go ahead and take the seat. I’d rather stand anyway.”
    â€œNo, no.” She shook her head, looking toward the stage with sad blue eyes that struck him strongly. “You take it. I don’t think I’ll stay.” She sighed, shaking her head. “I’m thinking of going out and getting myself a gallon of chocolate mint ice cream, anyway. And I plan to eat it very slowly.”
    They both pulled back into the shadows to get away from the angry looks.
    â€œMy name’s Daniel O’Callahan,” he said, offering his hand.
    â€œCarrie Martin,” she responded, shaking it and looking up at him with a direct gaze.
    â€œI take it you’re not here for the powerful weight maintenance program?” he said, curious about her. “Not under the spell?”
    â€œThe spell?”
    â€œOf Dr. Richie.”
    She laughed shortly. “No. I may be a thick-headed, stubborn fool but I did learn my lesson. Too bad it had to be the hard way.”
    â€œSo then, what are you here for?”
    She looked at him for a long moment, almost as though weighing the consequences of telling him the truth. Then she punted, shrugging. “I’m just watching.”
    He shrugged, too. “So am I.”
    She sighed, looking back at the doctor at the podium. “I’m watching my past and throwing away my future,” she murmured.
    He didn’t answer. He had a feeling that wasn’t really meant for him to hear, and sure enough, she turned and began to wander away with only a slight smile over her shoulder in taking her leave. But he had a sense he would be seeing her again. She was the only other person in the room immune to the sales pitch. From what she’d said, he would assume that she knew something the rest didn’t. That she’d actually had dealings with Dr. Richie in the past. And he had an even stronger intuition that she would provide him with some missing parts of the puzzle eventually.
    He had an urge to follow her, try to get information out of her right now, but he resisted it. Some things had to be left to develop in their own time. Pushing too hard could ruin everything. He’dlearned that by bitter experience time and time again.
    He turned his attention back to the meeting at hand. Dr. Richie was still extolling the