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gently,
    “You do not appear to be wearing a wedding ring”.

Chapter Five
    After delivering his argument so effectively, Vaughn stepped back abruptly, relinquishing all hold on Elise and she had to use every ounce of strength in her legs to keep from collapsing in a heap.
    Vaughn had by now returned to his position behind his desk and was regarding her with interest as she struggled to get her breathing back under control. Turning, she gave him one last almost helpless look, as she really had no idea what else to say to him. The reasons that he had given were all true and she could see how he had drawn his conclusions based on the evidence. However she was not in the habit of airing her private life in public and he would just have to accept that, despite possible appearances to the contrary, she was in no way available to him or anyone. She was just about to exit the office when the phone on Vaughn’s desk rang, making her jump and momentarily halting her progress.
    “Yes Annabel?” he was all businesslike, the seductive tones of only moments ago gone, to be replaced with a brisk and efficient manner.
    “I see. Well, yes, she is here, I’ll send her out. Thank you, Annabel.” Vaughn replaced the receiver and glanced at Elise, a guarded expression on his face.
    “It would appear there is someone in reception to see you. You have my permission to go but please remember that we do not encourage personal visitors during office hours.” He turned back to the papers on his desk and began to shuffle through them, studiously ignoring her. It was as if the last few minutes had never happened.
    Realising that she had been dismissed, Elise headed out of the door and began breathing deeply in a bid to cool the heated blush that she knew was on her face and to calm her temper. His permission! Who did he think he was?? He was arrogant to the extreme and she had never met anyone so self-assured.
    He may be her new boss but she was not a child and she did not need anyone’s permission to go to Reception and meet a visitor. She wondered briefly how Annabel had known that she was in Vaughn’s office but decided to file that question away for later.
    She skirted around the atrium in the centre of the building and headed out to Reception, wondering who she would find when she arrived. No one ever visited her at work and she began to worry slightly in case there was some family emergency and she was about to be delivered some bad news.
    Hastening her steps, she pushed open the doors and stopped in her tracks as she took in the man that was talking to Annabel. From the look on Annabel’s face, she could tell that the man didn’t smell particularly nice and she could see that the other girl was uncomfortable with how closely he was leaning over the desk. As her footsteps echoed on the floor, they both turned towards her and Elise immediately knew that her visitor was drunk – still.
    “Dale, what the hell are you doing here?” She dragged him over to the group of couches set aside for visitors to wait and pushed him down, concerned that he would not be able to standhimself up for much longer. She knew that she was in for a scene and really didn’t want to do this here - particularly in front of Annabel who wasn’t known for her discretion - but given Dale’s state, she had little choice. All she could do was pray that she could diffuse the situation and deal with it later on.
    Dale turned bloodshot eyes to her, “I was missing my wife.” he slurred, “When I woke up, you’d gone and you know we have unfinished business from last night.” He hiccupped and slumped further down into the sofa. God, this was worse than she thought. Totally unaware of his surroundings, Dale continued, “You are soooo sexy, baby and you know how much I need you. I was feeling very horny and I really needed my wife to help me out so I thought I’d come and see you. I’m sure you must have a stationery cupboard somewhere?”
    Elise continued to