Read Wizard for Free Online

elevator on the fifteenth floor and into the section
    where most of the clerks and secretaries worked, a murmur of
    anticipation went up from the group standing around the coffee machine.
    A half dozen people came hurrying across the room.
    "Is it finished?" Marcie Fremont, who had joined the staff shortly before
    Sophy and who had the desk next to hers, glanced expectantly at the box.
    Sophy smiled at her and began unwrapping it. Marcie had paid well for
    what was inside, but Sophy was satisfied that she had delivered a dress
    worth the money.
    Co-workers privately thought the two women offered an interesting
    contrast. Where Sophy was vivid and colorful and slightly outrageous at
    times, Marcie was cool and sophisticated. Her blond hair was always
    confined in a sleek, businesslike twist, and her beautiful, patrician
    features were always made up in subdued, refined tones.
    Marcie Fremont dressed for success, as she herself put it, firmly
    convinced that the route out of the secretarial pool was going to be easier
    in the right clothes. Slim, tailored suits, silk blouses and restrained jewelry
    comprised her professional wardrobe. The overall effect was poised,
    efficient and rather distant. Sophy had kept that image in mind when
    she'd designed the after-hours dress.
    "Remember, if you don't like it, you don't have to pay for it." Sophy
    smiled as she lifted the lid. Marcie smiled back quickly and Sophy was
    pleased to see the genuine anticipation in her eyes. Lately she had sensed a
    kind of quiet desperation about her new friend. Secretarial work was
    strictly a temporary situation for Sophy, but for Marcie it could prove to
    be a dead end.
    "If Marcie doesn't want it, I'll take it, sight unseen," Karen Gibson
    announced. The others standing around nearby agreed.
    "I'm sure I'll like it," Marcie said firmly. The gown came fluidly out of
    the box to murmured gasps of appreciation. A long, body-hugging line of
    black crepe with the dramatic impact of a swirling white organdy collar, it
    was obviously perfect for Marcie Fremont. It dipped low in the back to
    reveal an elegant length of spine, and it was slit up one side to the knee.
    Marcie reached for it with real delight. "It's stunning, Sophy. Absolutely
    stunning! You're a genius." She held it to her while everyone else admired
    the effect.
    "No doubt about it," Karen remarked, "it's absolutely right for you,
    Marcie."
    The outer door opened at that moment and everyone swung around to
    see Max Travers standing just inside the room. There was a faint frown of
    curiosity on his face. He took in the sight of the women grouped around
    the sleek black gown and looked as if he were about to back out of the
    room. He held a sheaf of papers clutched in one hand as his eyes sought
    out Sophy.
    Look at her, he thought as he found her instantly, so full of warmth and
    life and enthusiasm. She'd make any man happy. Any man who could hold
    her, that was. And she only let cowboys hold her. Damn it to hell, what's
    the matter with me? Grimly he took a grip on himself, unaware that his
    frown had intensified.
    "Excuse me," Max began aloofly. "I was told I could get someone down
    here to type up these notes for me."
    Feeling mildly chagrined at having been the one to create the decidedly
    unbusinesslike scene, Sophy stepped forward. "I'll take those, Dr. Travers."
    Max's smoky eyes darkened behind the hornrimmed glasses as he thrust
    the papers into her hand with an abrupt gesture. "What's all the fuss
    about over that dress?" he asked gruffly, nodding his head at the small
    group still hovering over the black gown.
    "I just finished designing it for Marcie." Absently Sophy flipped through
    the sheaf of papers.
    "Oh." Max glanced at the dress with more curiosity. "I didn't know you
    sewed."
    "My parents have tried to keep it a deep, dark secret. We all pretend it's
    just a hobby." She nodded at the papers. "Anything unusual about these
    notes? Want them done in a standard format?"
    Max