Loved Me Once (Love, Romance and Business) by Gail Hewitt

Author:Gail Hewitt [Hewitt, Gail]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: ArbeitenZeit Media
Published: 2009-02-07T08:00:00+00:00

Home For Christmas

When the phone rang to wake Maggie the next morning, the smell of hot coffee was so strong that she instinctively looked around to determine the source. A small silver service sat on the desk, the spout of the pot steaming gently. She showered quickly and put on a variant of the jeans and blazer outfit she'd probably be wearing from now on, her new business uniform as it were. When she'd swiped at her damp hair and applied lipstick, she just had time to drink half a cup of the cinnamon-flavored brew and eat a couple of wafers from the packet that lay on the tray. Then she grabbed her briefcase and the laptop, tossed the overcoat around her shoulders, and headed for the tiny elevator. Downstairs, she found Mrs. Evans in the living room, looking through the dark wooden blinds of the bay window. She turned around when she heard Maggie.

"Good morning! I hope you slept well. I was checking to see if the car's here. Phillips hasn't knocked yet, but sometimes he arrives early."

Maggie looked around, and Mrs. Evans guessed the reason. "Tom's making the flight with us, but he doesn't like the drive, so he usually goes by helicopter. I hate helicopters, so I do the drive."

"I can't blame you for that," Maggie said. "I just missed being in a helicopter crash once, and it was scary."

"Oh yes," Mrs. Evans said, looking through the blind once more, "here they come, but it isn't Phillips getting out. It must be Security."

"Do you always travel with a security detail, or is there one today because of that stupid thing to do with me?"

"Oh, there's always been some kind of security," Mrs. Evans said matter-of-factly, "at least since the late 1980s when Tom began to get so much publicity. You wouldn't believe some of the really strange mail that he gets. A few years ago, a man stalked him for months and even threatened him with a gun. That's one of the reasons he's so sensitive to the possible dangers in your situation. In fact, your security detail will be coming with us to Atlanta, and he'll remain with you when we separate."

Maggie hadn't considered that possibility.

"I appreciate everyone's concern," Maggie assured her. "And I don't mean to seem ungrateful, but is that really necessary?"

"It's not for me to say. You know how Tom is," she told Maggie. "Ah, he's coming up the steps, so they must be ready for us."

The knock was crisp and to the point, as was the heavyset man in a business suit responsible for it. "Good morning, Mrs. Evans."

"Good morning, Mr. Youmanns. This is Miss McLaurin. She's our guest today for the flight."

"Yes ma'am, I've been advised. Her detail is with the car. Is this all the luggage? Then let's go. Traffic reports are good, but we want some slack, considering it's a holiday and you never know about holiday conditions."

Sari, Mrs. Evans' petite housekeeper, had appeared silently behind them, a fact of which Maggie was not aware until Mrs.

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