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"Now wait a minute," he managed to say before she could use the silence to continue. "I don't think that at all and you know it."
"I don't know it. In fact, I know nothing about you, Zack DiMarco. You're as much a mystery to me as you were when we first met. And that's probably a good thing because I don't think I want to know what makes the real Zack tick."
He felt the screws tightening around his heart, and her fingerprints were all over them. How could she say that after everything they'd been through in the last few days? He thought she'd known him better than any woman. He'd revealed more of himself to her than to anyone.
He swallowed, but the lump in his throat remained.
Annie opened the car door and got out.
He let her go.
***
For almost two days, Annie thought of insults she could fling at Zack's face next time she saw him. Unfortunately flea on a dog's behind was the best she could do. Not even worth e-mailing that one, if she'd known his address. She sighed and slumped forward, resting her head on her forearms. She was out of insults. At least thinking of insults had kept the tears at bay. It was easier to be angry with him than sorry for herself. And she had a lot to be sorry for. She'd thrown away the best sex she'd ever had.
Yep, she was the biggest idiot this side of the sun.
At first she'd been angry with him. Furious actually. Who did he think he was, saying that he'd changed her? It made her feel like she was his puppet, just like all the other women he dated. For a few hours at the party, she had become one of those women, the sort of women she'd helped into taxis after her father's parties. She'd become the type of person she loathed, just to please Zack, a man she had no right to want in her life.
And that annoyed her more than Zack's arrogant comment about changing her. Although that sure had fired her up.
But when she calmed down, she realized he was partially right. At least, it must seem that way from his perspective. She'd pretended to enjoy flirting with Mike at the bar, then with Rick at the party, just to get up Zack's nose. To get him back for his own flirting with Melanie Melons, but also because he'd made it clear that she was just a temporary, sexual liaison that meant nothing. She wanted to show him what he was missing out on.
When in Zack's arms, kissing him, she thought a casual fling was what she wanted too. Wrong. She wanted it all and she wanted it to be permanent. Fool. Zack DiMarco wasn't the settling down kind. He'd made that clear enough.
She sighed. It was time to move on. But this time, as herself. She wasn't going to be the woman Zack had tried to mold her into over the last few days. She wasn't comfortable with that Annie. Last night, she came to the decision to represent the McCallum and Horton Agency as herself in her meeting with Dug-E Dug. To hell with Zack, Bob and the snotty little kid. If McCallum and Horton wasn't good enough to snare him then maybe it was time Bob re-invented the company with some fresh talent. Without her. He may not like it, and her father certainly wouldn't if he were alive, but it was her life. She intended to start living it on her terms.
A polite cough drew Annie out of her thoughts. She looked up into the harried, concerned eyes of Bob.
"Feeling okay?" he asked.
"Sure," she lied. "Just twiddling my thumbs until Dug-E arrives. Have you sent someone to the airport to pick him up?"
"Yes."
"Is the conference room ready?"
"Yes."
"What about a packet of M&M's? He likes those."
"Done."
"Good." She cleared her throat. "And I should tell you, I'm not changing my appearance just because Dug-E expects to see a hip, groovy person. He's getting me, Annie McCallum, and the best service the McCallum and Horton Agency can offer." She crossed her arms for emphasis and waited for Bob to answer.
"Okay by me." He tossed the newspaper he'd been holding onto her desk. "Read this to take your mind off things before he gets here."
He strode away and Annie frowned. That wasn't the response she'd expected. She tapped her fingers on the desk. Maybe Bob was ill. Well, one thing was for sure, if she didn't get Dug-E signed up, they were probably all going to be out of work soon. She didn't mind, but Bob, Lenny and the others would have trouble finding good jobs at their age. She slouched back into her chair and scanned the headlines of the paper without really taking any of it in.
Until she got to the first page of the Business section. DiMarco sells StanCorp, the headline read. The article went on to say that Zack had sold his share of multi-media giant StanCorp for what Annie thought was an obscene amount of money. The writer could find no reason for the sellout as the company was doing well.
"Great. I lose an account before I even get it and he makes a fortune. There's no justice in this world."
The end of the article had a reference to another in the gossip section of the paper. "Typical," she snorted, turning the pages eagerly.
The gossip columnist wrote that she'd seen Zack at Louisa Mondeo's party with "McCallum and Horton agent, Annie McCallum, the hottest girl in town this summer after her recent arrest." Annie's jaw dropped when she spotted the author's name—Melanie Monsoon. A picture of the watermelon-girl herself beamed out from the top left corner of the page. The article mentioned how Melanie had learned from the man himself that he wanted to spend more time on his Montana ranch and scale down his LA-based business.
Annie read and re-read it.
When Bob passed her desk, she stopped him and waved the newspaper in his face.
"Did you read the article about Zack?" she asked.
"Yeah." He frowned. "Which reminds me, what did you do to him?"
"Huh?"
"He only sells an entire company when he's angry or upset. And since you two have been together a lot lately I wondered if it had something to do with you."
"Me? I think you're over-reacting a little. I don't have any influence over Zack's actions at all." Not even close.
Bob humphed. "That's what you think. The guy's smitten."
"Smitten?"
"He called here five times the other day looking for you." He perched himself on the edge of Annie's desk. It sunk perilously under his weight. They needed to sign up Dug-E urgently—the office furniture was in danger of collapsing if Bob ate any more doughnuts. "This article just confirms it."
"Oh," was all she could manage. Her mouth wasn't working properly. Nor was her brain. A mass of thoughts jumbled together to form an incoherent message. All she did know was that Zack told her he didn't want a relationship. There was no maybe about it—he was definite. He wasn't the settling down kind, even if he did like her more than he liked Melanie or any other women he'd dated.
A commotion in the foyer drew their attention. The double doors burst open and the receptionist poked her head through. "Dug-E's here!" she whispered so loudly the entire office heard, including Dug-E who stood behind her looking bored.
"Show time," Annie said, pushing away any thoughts of Zack.
***
The meeting wasn't a complete disaster, if Dug-E's lack of enthusiasm was anything to go by. At least he didn't rant or throw things or even call anyone names. Actually, it could even be called successful when his mother said she'd think about the McCallum and Horton offer.
Annie and Bob left the meeting with the words "Don't call us, we'll call you" ringing in their ears. It was better than an outright no.
"I have to go," Annie said after Dug-E and his mother left.
Bob followed her to her desk, a frown on his face. "I thought we could celebrate with a drink first."
"That's a little premature don't you think? He hasn't signed yet."
He grinned. It was a welcome sight, and a rare one lately. "He will. I can feel it." His smile vanished as he studied her face. "Are you going to see Zack?"
She grabbed her jacket, avoiding looking directly at him. "Never again. He's made it perfectly clear he's not interested."
"Oh." He sighed. "In that case, there's probably something you should know."
She barely heard him as she sifted through her over-sized handbag on her daily hunt for her car keys. "What?"
"I set you up."
She looked up sharply. "What do you mean?"
He shrugged. "It was one of those spur of the moment things. I'd often thought you two would be perfect for each other and when the opportunity arose I took it." He held up his hands defensively when Annie glared at him. "I'm sorry it didn't work out. I just thought you could be the one to change him. You are perfect for him, you know," he added quickly.
She chewed on her lip as she studied her boss's double chins. What the hell was going on? It seemed everyone was pulling her strings lately, like a puppet in an overly dramatic play. She felt like she'd completely lost control of her life. Who needed coincidence when you had Zack and Bob? "What do you mean, change him?"
