The Golden Bough. Sir James George Frazer

oil company.

      With these new events, Shondra found her purpose again. Investigating her father’s death brought her out of her bubble.

      Finally she had something to do besides cry.

      Realizing that she’d been standing in the foyer lost in a reverie, Shondra picked up her briefcase and headed for her bedroom.

      Fueled by the thought of a relaxing bubble bath, Shondra picked up speed, only to come to a startled halt as her foot squished into a brown mess just inside her door.

      “Lisa! Lisa, have you been bringing your dogs to the house again?”

      Within a few seconds Lisa appeared in her doorway. “Oh shoot, I thought I’d found all of Muffin’s little presents. I’ll clean that up for you.”

      Rolling her eyes, Shondra kicked off her flat sling-backs. “And you owe me a new pair of shoes. These are now yours.”

      Lisa, now on her knees scrubbing at the stain, looked up incredulously through her veil of micro braids. “Are you kidding? It’s just a little dog poop. It cleans right off.”

      “But the memory lingers. Girl, are your braids too tight? You promised me that you’d stop bringing those dogs to the house. You’re lucky I don’t charge you extra rent for all the cockadoos and peekachoos you have running around here.”

      Lisa sat up. “They’re called cockapoos and peekapoos. And I had to bring Muffin here…just for the afternoon. The air conditioner at the shelter broke, and we each had to bring an animal home with us until it was fixed.”

      Shondra sighed and stretched out on her bed. Her roommate and best friend since college was a little off. They’d both graduated with degrees in law, but late last year Lisa quit her job with a prominent Houston firm to “find her passion.” And for the past month, her passion had been walking dogs for a ritzy dog kennel downtown.

      Shondra couldn’t relate. She’d known what she’d wanted to do for a living since she was five. But as long as Lisa made rent, who was she to judge?

      “There. Looks like it never happened.” Lisa stood, brushing herself off. “How was your first business trip on the new job?”

      Shondra sank back into her pillows. “It was really fun, actually. I got to fly back in the company jet with the president.”

      “Of the United States?”

      Shondra leveled a hard stare at her friend. “Of course not. Of Stewart Industries.”

      Lisa ditched her cleaning supplies and sat on the corner of the bed. “Wow. Private jet, huh? Maybe I got out of law too soon.”

      “It’s never too late, my friend,” Shondra said hopefully.

      “Nope,” Lisa finally said, shaking her head so her braids rattled. “It’s better to be happy than rich.”

      Shondra grinned. “You know, it doesn’t have to be either-or. Is dog walking really making you happy?”

      Lisa shrugged. “I’m not saying I’ll be doing this for the rest of my life. I’m still searching. I just think you can’t make your mind up about something until you’ve tried it.”

      Shondra knew her friend was talking about careers, but she couldn’t help applying that theory to her love life. Despite it being against her better judgment, or maybe because of it, over the course of the week, Shondra found herself looking around the office for Connor.

      Part of her had hoped they would be running into each other regularly, but no such luck. By Thursday evening Shondra had convinced herself that this was fate’s way of telling her to keep her head down and focus on the tasks at hand.

      Which was why Connor caught her completely off guard when he called her at home.

      “I’d like to take you out to dinner tomorrow night,” he said.

      Shondra’s jaw dropped as she fumbled to find something to say. “Um, to talk about business?”

      She heard his warm laugh and could just picture those white teeth glinting. “Not really.”

      Say no, she coached herself. “No…problem. Pick me up at eight.”

      Chapter 2

      Shondra paced the foyer at a quarter to eight.

      “Sit down,” Lisa called from the living room sofa in front of their large arched window. “I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen you this nervous before a date.”

      “Probably because I’m making a big mistake,” she muttered to herself.

      “What?”

      “Nothing.”

      Inhaling another deep breath, she tried to make herself relax. No, this dinner didn’t have to mean anything more than a meal between colleagues. Besides, it was another opportunity to find out more about the company and the man she worked for.

      So, she reassured herself, this was not a blatantly reckless act designed to indulge her carnal desires. This was a necessary step in her investigation.

      Shondra bit her lip. It was a stretch, but God forbid she had to explain herself, it might fly.

      “He’s here.” Lisa slammed her bowl of spicy Szechuan chicken on the coffee table. “Girrrl, you didn’t tell me this guy is loa-ded.”

      Shondra snapped to attention. “I—I—how can you tell?”

      “In all the time I’ve known you, you’ve never dated a guy who drove anything better than rusty pickups or ten-year-old sedans. Your last guy was so broke, he would show up in a cab and then make you pay. Now all of a sudden, this one shows up driving a Bugatti Veyron.”

      “A whatty what?”

      “Uh, how about a sports car worth over a million dollars.”

      Sheesh! “How come you know what that is?”

      “Because I have time to live in the world instead of working sixty hours a week like you.”

      The doorbell rang and Shondra waved Lisa away. But her roommate hovered behind her, still eating her dinner as she watched Shondra like a movie of the week.

      “Hi, Connor. Did you have trouble finding my place?”

      He stepped into the foyer wearing khakis and a navy blazer with a blue-striped shirt, open at the collar to show off his tan. “Not at all.”

      Lisa shuffled behind her and Shondra rushed to introduce them. “Connor, this is my roommate, Lisa.”

      He reached out to shake her hand. “Nice to meet you, Lisa.” His lady-killer smile was in full force and Lisa squeaked in return.

      Shondra thought her friend was going to drop her bowl and lick Connor’s face. She turned to Shondra with envy in her eyes and mouthed the words “I hate you.” Then Lisa batted her eyelashes comically in Connor’s direction. “You two have fun,” she called over her shoulder, twisting her hips as she headed down the hallway, fanning herself.

      Aside from being embarrassing, her friend’s spectacle got rid of the last of Shondra’s nerves. She met Connor’s ice-blue gaze and the two of them cracked up laughing.

      He escorted her out to his car—a stunning combination of midnight and cobalt blues—and Shondra didn’t have to be an expert to know that this wasn’t a car just anyone drove. Her gaze slid over the sexy, rounded curves like silk.

      “Okay, now you’re just showing off,” she said as he opened the door for her.

      Rounding the car, he slid in beside her. “Damn right. Is it working?”

      “I don’t know.” Shondra shrugged to appear casual, taking in the earthy clay-colored leather interior. A stunning mix of chrome and black, the steering wheel and