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  She peered over to the table where Mary Beth and Autumn stood, eventually turning back to me with a concerned look in her eye. “And may I ask what just caught your attention?”

  I smiled. “The length of that woman’s hair. It reminded me of the girl about whom I’m presently writing. I was having trouble describing the perceived texture, but the light caught hers in such a way that the adjectives I’d like to use fell in place. You see, my characters are not just one person, but the best parts of many people rolled into one perfect woman. Although, after meeting you, I might have to use the beauty of your red hair in my next book. That is, if you don’t mind.”

  The blush that spread over her cheeks was impossible to ignore as her hand came up to smooth down her hair. She smiled and replied, “Oh! I wouldn’t mind at all. Just try not to damage the hair in the story.” She laughed like what she’d said had been the best joke she’d ever made. “I’ve heard about the stories in your books.”

  “You haven’t read them?”

  She waved me off. “I just haven’t had time and it seems like when I do find the time, they are always checked out. You are very popular around these parts. I know some women who have checked the books out repeatedly. My curiosity has been piqued.”

  “Then allow me to provide you with courtesy copies for you to keep. It would be a way for me to thank you for everything you’ve done for the signing. I do have one request in return, however, and I’m hoping I can count on you to assist me in one favor.”

  “Anything, Mr. Bates, just let me know what you need and I’ll happily comply with your command.”

  I smiled at her choice in wording. Whereas I enjoyed when a woman complied with my commands, it was only in the privacy of my own home. I also had to have some sort of attraction towards the women, which was NOT the case with the redhead standing before me.

  “I’m not going to reveal the favor at the moment, but I will need a list of the female employees who work here. I’m having a contest at the end of the signing in which I’d like for them to take part. My assistant will also be gathering the names of the fans while I sign.”

  “Sure thing, Mr. Bates.”

  Reaching for her hand, I squeezed gently when I responded, “Please, call me Lucas. Mr. Bates seems far too formal.”

  She giggled like a child. Gritting my teeth in response, I kept a straight expression to hide my annoyance. Within minutes, she provided me with a list of seven names and led me to my table to prepare for the signing. Sarah strolled in directing three men who were dragging the boxes of my books behind them and within another hour, I was happily signing books for the long line of women who had come to see me. Each woman flirted as she arrived at the table and a brave few even propositioned me despite the crowd that could overhear their words. They had no shame in their flirtation; however I was able to remain charming while brushing off their advances. The library was packed and I struggled to keep Autumn within my sight. Each time our eyes met across the crowded room, she would scowl before turning away and it interested me even more. I wondered if she’d read the book. My curiosity was somewhat answered when she would continue to sneak glances while working to maintain the tables of food and drinks left out for the guests of the event.

  After four hours, the signing wound down and I stood up to make a very special announcement.

  “Ladies, I would like to announce that I’ve surreptitiously gathered your names for a special drawing that I will be having tonight. In honor of my new residence here in this wonderful city, and in honor of the wonderful women who have greeted me at this signing with such grace and enthusiasm, I would like to take one of you on a date with me tonight. As you can imagine, I’m hungry after having spent four hours with you and I do not like to dine alone. For those of you who have stuck around, I thank you.”

  Audible gasps and excited squeals could be heard throughout the large crowd that filled the entire space of the entry area. My eyes found Mary Beth first, an odd expression written across her face that was covered with a layer of makeup that must have taken hours to apply. I looked away from her unhappy face to find Autumn’s scowl. I smiled at her lack of amusement.

  Sarah brought a bowl out from under the table and handed it to me. Her face was expressionless, but I could tell she wasn’t impressed with my staged contest. Whereas I told the event attendees that they each had a chance at winning dinner with me, only one girl would ultimately be chosen. Fifty pieces of paper were folded and placed in that bowl, but there was a single name written on each one.

  Ignoring Sarah’s obvious disdain, I reached into the glass bowl and selected a piece of paper after making a show of swishing my hand around within the papers prior to my selection. Imagine my surprise when I opened it to find the name of the woman I wanted.

  “Autumn Cleary.” As soon as her name brushed across my lips, my eyes found her. The entire audience turned to look in her direction and her skin lost its color. She glared at me from within the sea of faces that stood between us. To her side, Mary Beth looked shocked and confused, eventually turning to walk out of the room, obviously angry that I would be taking Autumn to dinner rather than her. I didn’t feel bad to hurt her because Mary Beth was never my intended target.

  “No. There’s no way I’m going. I have plans tonight and I’m not breaking them.”

  The women in the room looked at Autumn like she was insane. Several women turned at that moment to offer to take Autumn’s place, but I wasn’t going to allow that to happen. I wanted what I wanted and nobody was going to take that from me.

  “While I’m honored that you ladies are jumping at the chance to replace Ms. Cleary as the winner of the contest, I’m going to have to object. I prefer a fair selection, which is what just occurred. Ms. Cleary, I’m sure whatever plans you have can be postponed.”

  “Mr. Bates, whereas I appreciate your insistence that the selection be random, I see that there are several more names in that bowl. I’m sure it won’t make the selection any less random if you were to choose another.”

  Stepping from around the table, I noticed the crowd moving back as I approached her. “I’ll have to disagree Ms. Cleary. You are the winner of this contest.”

  “A contest I did not enter to win, I might add.”

  “Nobody entered. That’s the beauty of it. It’s just one dinner. What’s the worst that could happen?”

  She stepped away from me, annoyed and angry that she’d been cornered in such a public setting. I chuckled and her face reddened. Turning to the woman who I knew could twist Autumn’s arm, I asked, “Ms. Armstrong, wouldn’t you agree that Autumn should accept this dinner? I’m sure it would be great publicity for your library. Possibly, it could drive more people to read knowing that a local author has befriended one of your employees.”

  As if on cue, Ms. Armstrong moved to grab Autumn by the arm. Autumn looked up into her face with a forlorn expression, silently pleading for the redheaded woman to take her side. Unfortunately for Autumn, Ms. Armstrong owed me a favor and I was satisfied with the knowledge that she would ensure Autumn would be accompanying me for dinner that evening.

  Turning to look at me quickly, Ms. Armstrong said, “No worries, Lucas. Just let me take Autumn back in the employee lounge. I’m sure she’ll see things differently once we have a quiet conversation away from the crowd. I’m sure she’s just surprised and nervous.”

  I nodded my head once in Ms. Armstrong’s direction to acknowledge her assistance. My eyes flicked to Autumn’s narrowed scowl. I was happy she was angry and I was pleased she felt cornered. It was time to teach this prudish, opinionated woman that, sometimes, walking in the shadows is preferable to the garish brilliance of light.

  Autumn

  “There’s no way, Sue. I’m not going out with him. I have plans … “

  “And what plans are those exactly, Autumn? Everybody in this town knows that the only time you go out is with Mary and that’s only on rare occasions. Is there something on television tonight
that you don’t want to miss?”

  The tone of her voice was dismissive and demeaning. I was frustrated that my own boss wouldn’t back me in my refusal to go out with Lucas. I couldn’t understand why he was so insistent and why he refused to simply select another woman to take to dinner. I didn’t think I could stand to be alone with him for several hours. It wasn’t that I was afraid of him – it was that I didn’t know if my own curiosity about him could be controlled. I didn’t want to make a mistake I would regret – I didn’t want to give in to a man who was obviously used to getting everything that he wanted. I regretted having read his book. If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have images in my head of the peaks of pleasure to which a woman could be driven by a man such as him. No … there were no similarities between the character, Elliot, and the man standing in the other room awaiting my acceptance of dinner – but I believe that within every author, a small part of their characters exist. As if you could split them apart into each and every voice to which they give life, into the separate faces and emotions about which they write. Even in their differences, Lucas had the same charisma described in Elliot, the same suave mannerisms and graceful gait. They each were able to enrapture women with nothing more that the tone of their voice and with the flash of a smile that promised wicked bliss; the kind of smile that only showed a small hint of the chaotic thoughts and brilliance of the demented mind of the man.

  “I don’t want to go out with him. He makes me nervous – I’ll admit that. I’d rather just go home and read as I’d planned. I’m tired from having to come in early, and plus, you’ll need my help in breaking everything down before closing.”

  Sue held her hand in the air to silence me. “I’m sure we can make do without you. There are six other women here who are capable of taking out the trash and putting away the tables and chairs. Lucas was right when he said this would be good publicity for the library. We can’t continue depending on city funds to keep us going. If we don’t bring in additional revenue, we’re going to have to stop certain programs. Do you want to tell the parents who bring their children in that we are no longer providing read alongs or movie night? Do you want to tell those same children that the annual library sleepover will be canceled? I certainly don’t and if we have to move in that direction, we might as well just write the kids off to the video games or other brain numbing activities they’ll come up with to replace the wholesome environment that, up until lately, we’ve been able to provide.”

  The guilt this woman was laying on me was enough to drown me. My shoulders slumped and I blew out a heavy breath. “Fine, I’ll go for dinner, but that’s it!”

  Sue’s face curled into a sarcastic grin. “Well, of course dear. I’m not pimping you out to the man. Although, I’m sure that any woman out there would gladly go home with him for the night. However, we all know about you and your issues.”

  My jaw dropped at her insinuation. “I don’t have any issues, Sue. I just don’t see why I need to go around sleeping with any man that will have me. Diseases are spread that way.”

  “Whatever you say, Autumn.” Reaching out, she unhooked the top two buttons of my shirt before grabbing my shoulders and spinning me toward the door. “Now get out there and make a good impression. It’ll only be a few hours. I’m sure you’ll be able to convince him you like his company in that amount of time. If he likes you, he comes in more. If he comes in more, women will come in to stalk. If women are stalking, we can sell books to them. You understand?”

  I reached up to rebutton my shirt, but Sue was faster. After slapping my hands away, she opened the door and shoved me out, forcing me right into the rock hard chest of Lucas himself. He caught me by the shoulders before I could fall and when I looked up into his face, a satisfied smirk spread from ear to ear.

  His eyes flicked down to where my shirt hung open. Slowly, he brought his gaze back to my eyes and I released a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding. His presence disturbed and intrigued me all at the same time and I wanted nothing more than to slink away into a quiet corner where I could escape into a book and not have to deal with the man who had my heart pounding its way free of my chest.

  “Good to see you’ve changed your mind, Autumn. I’m absolutely famished and I do believe you are the perfect person to help me take care of that problem.”

  I narrowed my eyes at the odd statement. “Considering how you phrased that statement, I’m not sure I want to go forward with this. I’m here to join you for dinner. That’s it.”

  A mischievous smirk slithered across the full perfection of his lips. “Try not to be so thankful for my generosity, Ms. Cleary. I might get a fat ego over it.”

  A laugh broke free of my mouth. “No, Mr. Bates. I’m pretty sure that ego of yours can’t grow any larger. If it did, it might pop.”

  He smiled and opened his mouth to respond, but I raised my hand to silence him. “I need to go get my purse. I assume you’ll be driving us. Unless you’d like to walk?”

  Finally releasing my shoulders, he took a step back to clear room for me to walk towards the front office area. “Please hurry. Like I said … ” He leaned in so that he could whisper in my ear, “I’m absolutely starving.”

  I didn’t respond to his whispered innuendo. “I’ll be back in a few minutes. Wait here.”

  Walking quickly from where he was standing, I strong armed the door that led to the front office and slammed it to shut myself inside. I didn’t look up immediately, so I was surprised to hear a sniffle coming from the other side of the room. Finally peeking up, I noticed Mary Beth sitting in a chair.

  “Honey …” I crossed the room and knelt down in front of her so that I could look up into eyes that were hidden behind her hair. She pulled a napkin away from her face after blotting the black mascara-stained tears that ran down her face. “Mary Beth, what’s wrong?”

  “He cancels dinner with me and then turns around to ask another woman to be his dinner date? What the fuck?”

  Instantly remembering the conversation Mary Beth and I had in the car on the way into work, my expression fell and I wanted nothing more than to march out of the room and refuse Lucas in front of all the women standing around. “I’ll cancel.”

  “Would you?”

  Her response was so immediate, I wondered if that was the reason she hid herself in this particular room in the first place. It would be easier to convince me to refuse if she had me away from Lucas and apparently, Ms. Armstrong. But, I couldn’t be upset. She was providing the perfect excuse for me to get out of this.

  After sniffling again, she looked at me and moved her hair to the side. My eyes went to the skin of her cheek and it was the first time, I noticed the faint red mark. I gasped and went to touch it, but she replaced her hair and pulled her face away from my hand.

  “It’s not that bad, Autumn. Nothing I can’t cover up with makeup.” Sighing, she added, “I didn’t want to have to tell you this, but when I yelled at him for canceling our date, he slapped me. It wasn’t hard, but it was enough for me to know he wanted nothing to do with me. I walked back inside my house immediately and cried myself to sleep. He is a dark man, so violent and cold. I want you nowhere near him.”

  Without another word, I pushed myself back up onto my feet and marched out of the room, crossing the front entrance, passing Lucas without a sound and grabbing Ms. Armstrong to pull her into the employee lounge.

  “Autumn? What do you think you’re doing?”

  “I don’t want to have to get you in the middle of this, Sue, but Mary Beth is in the front office bawling her eyes out over the way Lucas treated her last night. He hit her, Sue. I refuse to go out with a man who can’t keep his hands to himself.”

  Sue’s eyebrow rose up on her forehead. “What are you talking about?”

  “He invited Mary Beth to dinner last night and followed her home in his car. As soon as she pulled up in her driveway and walked back to get in his car, he told her he had an unexpected emergency and wouldn’t be able to keep the
ir plans. She was heartbroken just from that; but now that he’s doing this dinner date thing tonight, she’s absolutely crushed and worried for me. Apparently, when she became upset that he canceled, he slapped her. He needs to take someone else. I’m too close of a friend with Mary Beth to do this to her.”

  She shook her head in protest. “Why don’t we speak with Mr. Bates privately and see what he has to say on the matter? He was very pleased to find that you’d changed your mind. I’d hate to disappoint him, but if he’s been violent towards one of my employees, I’ll not only cancel this date, but also call the police and have Mary Beth press charges against him. No man should lay a violent hand on a woman.”

  Before I could react, she moved to the door, opened it and indicated for Lucas to join us inside.

  “Lucas, Autumn tells me that another one of our employees is upset with your decision to take Autumn to dinner and unfortunately, the two girls are friends. Additionally, this same employee advised that you acted with violence against her and I’d like for you to explain yourself immediately. I do not condone abuse of my employees by anyone and that includes bestselling authors!”

  He straightened out the sleeve cuffs on his arms and looked back up at me before returning his attention to Sue. “Ms. Armstrong, I don’t want to bring up the personal business of your employees, but I believe Mary Beth hasn’t been completely honest with Autumn about what happened last night.”

  My eyes widened and I was instantly on guard as to what he was about to say. “First off, please stop talking about me like I’m not in the room. Second, I don’t think Mary Beth would lie to me. You ditched her in her driveway after making up some bullshit excuse about an emergency and then slapped her when she got upset!”

  A smile tugged at the corner of his lips and the dimple on his cheek lightly appeared. “Actually, Autumn, that’s not what happened. I regret having to go into detail, but I’ve been left with no other choice. Mary Beth invited me into her house when we arrived, claiming she wanted to change into a clean outfit. While I was waiting in the living room, she came out of her room in nothing but a blue silk teddy. She crossed the room and attempted to straddle me. I refused her advances and she fell from my lap and struck her cheek on the floor. I retrieved some ice for her and made sure she didn’t need medical attention before leaving. I’d intended to have dinner with your friend, not sex. I’m sorry that she didn’t understand that.”