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impatience clear in her voice.
    Ian bit back a smile and placed Piper’s shoes on the cot next to her. Had Ms. Shepherd wanted to impress him? He glanced at her flushed face, then remembering his getaway
    plan, he stepped back toward the door. His neck felt sticky—damn, but it was humid in Mississippi!
    He fingered his col ar impatiently, and Meredith’s ring pinched the inside of his knuckle. Biting back a salty curse, he twisted the band into a more comfortable position. If he didn’t know better, he’d swear the thing was tighter than yesterday. This was definitely one of those times when being left-handed was problematic—and he’d never liked wearing jewelry, so the ring felt doubly cumbersome.
    The nurse had lifted Ms. Shepherd’s leg to inspect her ankle, giving him an inadvertent peek directly up her damp skirt. Under her nude hose, she wore red panties. Ian swal owed painful y and fought the urge to bolt without a word. “I’l …I’l be in Mr. Blythe’s office if you need—”
    “Thank you, Mr. Bentley,” she cut in, smiling up at him from the cot. “I’m fine.”
    He glanced over her one last time, from her droopy, wet hair to her plastered clothing to her plump ankle. Ms. Shepherd was as opposite to Meredith as a woman could be.
    She was a total mess, but she couldn’t have been more correct—she was very, very fine. Ian felt his body harden involuntarily. He nodded curtly, wheeled and fled for his wife, er, life.
    PIPER SAGGED with dismay. Mortification washed over her as she gazed at her shredded panty hose and fat ankle. The man must have thought she was a complete nincompoop. Her immediate financial success—and her chances of being able to afford her grandmother’s house—depended on impressing Ian Bentley. So far the only impression she’d made was the one she’d left in the parking-lot pavement.
    “Boyfriend?” Janet Browning asked with one red eyebrow in the air.
    Piper gave her a dry smile. “Hardly. He’s Ian Bentley, our largest customer.”
    “He’s a looker, girlfriend.”
    “He’s okay,” Piper relented. “But he’s also my boss for a few days.”
    “Planning to put in a little overtime? ”
    Remembering the thril of being carried in his arms, Piper masked her disappointment with indignation. “You’re a nut. Didn’t you see his wedding ring?”
    Her friend scoffed. “Ring, schming. You take what you can get in this barren little town. Let’s take a closer look at your ankle.” Janet leaned over and pul ed a smal stool forward on which she propped Piper’s swol en foot. She knelt and touched the flesh gingerly while Piper grimaced and sucked air through clenched teeth.
    “I don’t think anything’s broken, but you’ve got a bad sprain. I can give you an anti-inflammatory. You should be back to work in a few days if you take it easy.”
    Alarm bolted through Piper and she sat up straight. “But I’m starting a new project today.”
    “With Mr. Bentley?”
    “Yes.”
    “Can’t Rich take care of it?”
    Piper fought to keep from wrinkling her nose. She was going to get that bonus, not her assistant. “It’s not what you think—I have other reasons for heading up this project.”
    Janet smiled knowingly. “Admit it, Piper, working with Mr. Bentley is the reason you’re dressed like a mannequin.”
    “Wrong,” Piper replied calmly, loath to confess the embarrassing details of the manhunt that had unwittingly gotten her into this humiliating situation. “I knew someone was
    coming from the Bentley Group, but I had no idea it was a man or what he looked like.”
    “Oh, right,” Janet said, her hands on generous hips. “So I guess you expect me to believe you’ve turned over a new leaf and are now dressing like you give a damn about men
    in general?”
    Piper stuck her chin in the air. “Wel , what if I am?”
    “Then you’re failing miserably.”
    As if she needed to be reminded. “Thank you, Dr. Ruth. Just wrap my ankle, wil