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Especially for the right man.”
    While I struggled to find the right words to respond, Tanya squeezed my hand. “There’s no time for my long lost history right now. We’ll talk about it another time.” With that, she strode toward the elevators on her stilettos, once again looking like the polished woman I knew.
    As I entered the stairwell and headed up to the fourth floor, I wondered about what had happened with Tanya. I had known her for several years, but had never seen that look on her face. It had been wistful, bittersweet, and sad. So very sad. She said we would talk about it later, but I sensed that was her own masterful stall tactic to avoid the subject.
    On autopilot, I stopped by the ladies room on the way to my office and touched up my make-up. Unlike Tanya, I only wore a light coat of gloss on my lips that typically wore off by mid-morning. I even took out my travel size perfume and dabbed a little behind my ears and in the hollow of my throat.
    As I finished, my thoughts were still on Tanya. I wanted to ask Lucy or Grier if they knew anything, but that seemed like gossip, something I would never do to a friend. Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling that my friend needed my help. She was the boldest and brashest of the group. Tanya was sharp, tough, and sly. All the things that were a necessity in a good divorce attorney.
    I also knew that those characteristics tended to hide Tanya’s softer side. She talked a good game, but most of her clients were women trying to escape from bad marriages. Tanya did everything in her power to make sure they didn’t walk away with nothing. She rarely talked about her work because of client confidentiality issues, but I knew enough.
    I sighed and put away my make-up. I knew I couldn’t talk to Lucy or Grier about this, it would be too much like gossiping behind her back. If she wanted to talk, Tanya would come to me. I just hoped that she did.

Chapter Six

    O nce I finished my touch up, I went back to my office and skimmed the files. I double and triple-checked my work yesterday and this morning, but I couldn’t resist one more quick look. Maybe it was obsessive. I didn’t care. I was determined to make a good impression.
    I saved my work, backed it up on a thumb drive, and even emailed a copy of the file to Charles. I didn’t want to risk losing anything after the hours I’d invested over the last few days. Gathering my laptop, thumb drive, and a notebook, I headed to Charles’ office.
    The door was open so I stuck my head around the corner to see Charles at his desk. His jacket was hanging on the back of his chair and he had his shirtsleeves rolled up. My gaze lingered on the play of muscles and tendons in his forearms as he scrawled something on a notepad.
    I must have made a noise because his head came up and he smiled. “Hey, come on in.”
    Charles stood and moved several stacks of paper so I would have a place to set my computer. As I settled, he walked to the door and shut it. I noticed two Starbucks cups on his desk. I jumped slightly as he leaned over me and picked one up, setting it beside my laptop.
    “Caramel macchiato, right?”
    I suppressed a shiver as his warm breath touched my ear, unable to focus on anything but his proximity and the scent of his skin, which smelled of citrus and clean linens. “What?”
    He straightened and walked around the desk, loosening his tie as he went. “You drink caramel macchiato, right?”
    The sight of his long fingered hands removing his tie made my belly feel as though it were twisted into knots. I cleared my throat and blinked to banish the sudden image of Charles removing a lot more than his tie.
    “Yes. I drink almost any kind of coffee.”
    He grinned, tossing his tie over his jacket on the back of the chair. “Well, I thought we could both use a boost this afternoon after the long hours we’ve been putting in this week.”
    I picked up the cup. “Thanks.”
    I handed him the thumb drive and we began the