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high standard of behavior.
His parents taught him early on that personal integrity was irretrievable once
lost. It was a lesson he took to heart.
    “I want you to meet my brother, Cal, tomorrow night.
I’ll pick you up at work.” That would certainly discourage this Gary guy.
    “Not in your fu- fancy Rolls-Royce, please.”
    He grinned at her effort to curb her cursing. It was a
positive development; plus she seemed to actively dislike his money and that
delighted Jim no end. “Do you want me to borrow a friend’s Toyota?”
    Kiki laughed, her lighter mood showing in the twinkle
in her eyes. “I can’t imagine you in a Toyota. Even a nice one.”
    “I drove a used Volkswagen Rabbit when I was in
college. I also ate take-out Chinese and drank generic beer.” Her cheeks were
soft under his fingers as he stroked her face.
    “Well, you don’t have to rush out and buy another
Rabbit. The Mustang you took me out in tonight is just fine.” She appeared to
think about it. “Hey, just how many cars do you have?”
    “A few.”
    “How many is that?”
    It was a little embarrassing. He knew Kiki didn’t own
a car at all, doing all her errands and commuting on her bicycle. “Six. But I’m
thinking about selling a couple.”
    Her eyes went wide. “You have six cars?”
    Nodding, he tried to change the subject, though, in
reality, he wondered why he needed a car for nearly every day of the week. But
he did like cars; maybe it was a collection kind of thing, like Hummel
figurines. “So, what time do you get off of work? Would five-thirty be too
early?”
    “I get off at six. Is that okay?”
    He gave her another searing kiss, inhaled her perfume
deeply again—it had to stay with him until the next day—and then
moved away to gather up his coat. “I’ll pick you up at six. Keeting and
Stratham, Limited, on Technology Drive, right?”
    She nodded and opened the front door for him. “Yeah.
Good night, Jim.”
    It irked him that it had to be good night, when he
really wanted it to be good morning after a more-than-good night. But the
communion would be that much better if he was patient.

Chapter 3
     
     
    Kiki was in Ted Keeting’s office getting chewed out
when six o’clock rolled around. Jim had used his charm on the receptionist and
was waiting in Kiki’s cubicle when she slunk back.
    “Hi, hon. You look wonder—What’s wrong?”
    She looked up at him and tried to smile. Trying wasn’t
working though. “Oh, hi. Is it six already? Let me hibernate my computer and
grab my coat.”
    He was frowning. “You didn’t answer my question, Kiki.
What’s wrong?”
    Sighing, Kiki poked at her keyboard and turned off the
monitor before turning to him. “Oh my boss just hates me. It’s been one of
those days.”
    Jim stood and rubbed her shoulders for a minute, and
she began to relax under his hands. His voice was intimate as he bent and moved
her hair away from her ear, making room for a light kiss there. “I can tell you
don’t want to talk about it. Will you tell me about it in the car, honey? We’ll
be alone there.”
    “Okay.”
    On their way toward the door, Gary popped up from his
cubicle. “Hey, Kiki.” He looked over Jim, and then his lips thinned as he
directed a comment toward her. “You don’t know what you’re missing, toots. I
might not be Mister Brawn there, but I have some firepower between my ears;
intelligence will win out over muscles any day.”
    “Have a good night, Gary,” she said wearily. The last
thing she wanted to do was be party to a pissing contest.
    Unfortunately, Gary had other ideas. “Who’s the smarmy
bouncer?”
    “That’s really uncalled for, Gary.” She just wanted to
get out. Nerves regarding her date with Jim and irritation with her boss and
Gary were giving her a headache. One foot in front of the other, just a few
more steps to the door.
    Jim steered her by her elbow toward the lobby. “Just
ignore it, Kiki.”
    “Well, it’s obvious you wouldn’t choose