Page 46 of Storm's Embrace

“Well, I’m not sure when he’ll be back since the office is closed.”

“That’s what he said when I left him.” She smiled and settled her malicious gaze on her. “But I think I left my lipstick in Eli’s car and was hoping he’d already made it back here.” She swiped a finger over her slightly puffy bottom lip. “Silly of me to drop it like that, but with Eli distracting me with…” Ms. Bennett licked her lips and sighed as LaDonna let out a derisive, “Hmmph.”

“Anyhow,” Ms. Bennett said, after sparing LaDonna a withering glare, “I think it fell between his seats.”

None of this could be true, but the constriction in Miriam’s chest tightened with each of the other woman’s words. Eli wouldn’t have beendistractingher. He wanted a baby with her and more…

He’d told her so.

“I—“

“Ms. Bennett,” LaDonna said, while standing and putting an arm around Miriam’s shoulders and squeezing. “I think you need to leave.”

Ms. Bennett’s brows rose as her incredulous gaze raked over Miriam’s friend. “Excuse me?”

Miriam’s heart swelled when Renee stood and moved to Miriam’s other side, saying, “Right now.”

“Do you two know who in the hell you’re actually talking to?” Ms. Bennett’s face had taken on a decided unattractive mottled, red hue.

Gail and Sallie stood and took flanking positions on either side of Renee and LaDonna, as the other woman’s mouth grew more and more taut as she eyed the five of them.

“I would comment, but my momma taught me if you can’t say anything nice,” Renee started, “then not to say anything at all.”

Sallie leaned over with loud whisper over to Renee. “I think your momma would make an exception with this one,” she said with a nod of her head toward the fuming woman.

It was all Miriam could do not to laugh, but her humor died a quick death when Ms. Bennett all but shouted, “That’s enough from the likes of you.” She jabbed one manicured finger toward them. “I won’t have—“

“No,” Miriam said. “Iwon’t have you coming in here and disrupting our office.” She’d worked up a good head of steam and it had nowhere else to go but straight at one Ms. Deidre Bennett. “You’ve tried to intimidate and threaten me, blackmailed Eli over the fundraiser, and basically made yourself a huge pain in the ass.”

A gasp came from Ms. Bennett as at least one of the women behind her snickered.

“And for what? Just to get your petty, selfish way.” She stepped away from her friends and around her desk while jabbing her own finger at the other woman. “And I’ve put up with it. But for you to sashay in here like you own the place and treat these four women like they’re beneath you is the last straw.” She threw her hand out and pointed toward the door. “So, get out.”

Ms. Bennett’s expression had grown more and more dark, until she stepped closer to Miriam while an evil grin spread over her face before her contemptuous laughter filled the room. “Oh, you are so fired when Eli finds out how—“

“Deidre.”

12

“Eli,”Deidre squeaked as she whirled around, her eyes wide. “I… I…” Within seconds her shocked expression crumpled as she dropped her purse. In a millisecond her lips trembled and eyes filled with tears as she stumbled toward him with her arms outstretched.

He glanced at Miriam and his staff. Miriam’s eyes narrowed and her lips tightened into a straight line when Deidre fell into him and wrapped her arms around his waist. He frowned down at the top of her head as she burrowed it against his chest and let out a stuttering sob.

“Oh, Eli, they’ve been horrible to me.”

He held his arms up and out for a heartbeat before hesitantly patting Deidre’s back with one hand, while meeting the daggered stares of the five women standing in the middle of Miriam’s office.

LaDonna snorted, and then muttered, “Give me a break,” as she reached an arm around Miriam’s stiffening shoulders and grimaced at Deidre, before her disapproving gaze raised to his as she shook her head.

“Deidre.” Eli reached around to the small of his back and grabbed hold of her wrists and tugged, but her arms tightened even more. For someone so delicate, she was deceptively strong.

He’d expected drama when he’d seen her car in the parking lot—it was Deidre after all—but not this. And while he had to make sure he didn’t hurt her, he also had to get himself extricated from the anaconda-like body chokehold she had him in. He hazarded another glance at Miriam whose face had grown paler and expression pinched the longer he was in this woman’s unwanted embrace.

His staff closed tighter ranks on either side of Miriam as he carefully pulled at Deidre’s wrists and broke her hold. He ran his hands up her arms to her shoulders. Then held her at arm’s length as her misty-eyed gaze rose to his while she let out a trembling sigh.

“I know. Itwashorrible,” he said, eliciting a gleam of satisfaction from Deidre’s watery eyes before she lowered her gaze and sniffled. He kept his tone moderate when all he wanted to do was yell. But with Deidre, yelling didn’t work. It just made her dig her ridiculously high heels in deeper. He should know.

But maintaining his calm was difficult, especially when he caught Miriam’s gasp and whispered, “Eli?”

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