the small lie. “We sponsor the Med Ball, so it’s not that far from the truth.”
“And why I’m living with you?”
“That’s easy. You’re living with us so you can concentrate fully on your current project.”
“But—”
“What’s that line you told your readers to use when folks want to confirm gossip? Something about assumptions?”
“‘What an interesting assumption’?”
“That’s the one. If someone wants confirmation of Tish’s implications and you don’t want to go with ‘No Comment’ then use that line. Or that ‘How kind of you to take an interest’ one.”
“You read my TeenSpace page?” Amazement tinged her voice. It beat panic, hands down.
“Well, Evie lectured me on my BlackBerry usage, so I thought I should check on the etiquette laws.”
“I think I’m flattered.”
“You should be.” He smiled. At least she was starting to calm down. “Now, are you finished hyperventilating over this?”
“I guess.” Gwen sighed. “You don’t sound very upset over Tish’s rumor mongering.”
“I learned a long time ago to ignore speculations made about me and my private life. Tish just hasn’t gotten the hint yet.” Although with Evie on the scene, he should probably make clear that his willingness to ignore was very limited when it came to his sister.
“I thought you’d be livid. Or angry. Or at least irritated.” Gwen’s outraged sails seemed to have lost their wind, and her voice lost the last of its bluster.
“Oh, I’m irritated all right. It just doesn’t do any good. That said, I try to avoid being fodder for Tish—or anyone else—as much as possible.”
Gwen sighed again. “I guess I can make do with the minimum amount of excuses. Whether anyone will believe them is a different animal entirely.”
“Good. Now can we talk about something else?” He leaned back and propped his feet on his desk.
“Don’t you have work to do?”
His e-mail pinged. “Of course, but I have a few minutes for you.”
“Now I am flattered.”
“You should be. I’m a very busy man,” he teased.
Gwen’s chuckle sent heat rushing through him and all of his blood south. It was hard to believe just a week ago, he hadn’t known this woman existed. Seven days later, he was ignoring HarCorp just to talk to her.
“Well, I happen to be a very busy woman. You may have time to chat, but I have clients to soothe and teenagers to counsel.”
Will was oddly disappointed. “Good luck with that. I’ll see you tonight.”
“Bye.”
With the phone in its cradle, he opened his e-mail. Another file on Japanese business practices and culture from Nancy. He sighed; he really needed to get Gwen to help him with his language lessons.
Gwen spoke Japanese. That sparked a memory from Gwen’s first dinner. What had she said? Something about a degree in International Affairs? Yeah, and a special interest in Asian culture.
Why hadn’t he made the connection before? Because at first you were only focused on Evie, and then you focused too much on Gwen.
He’d ask Gwen if she’d be willing to help him with this meeting with Hiramine. That would save him a ton of work. Less work also meant more time with Gwen. Plus, the time he spent working with her on this project…well, that line between business and pleasure he’d bragged about was getting thinner by the minute.
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