Fat Chance. Deborah Blumenthal

Читать онлайн.
Название Fat Chance
Автор произведения Deborah Blumenthal
Жанр Короткие любовные романы
Серия Mills & Boon Silhouette
Издательство Короткие любовные романы
Год выпуска 0
isbn 9781472091932



Скачать книгу

      “The fourth-quarter numbers look great,” his message said. “Your column continues to be a smash, why don’t we break out some champagne over lunch, restaurant of your choice.”

      In hindsight, I now realize what a mistake it was to ignore him. Just as Tamara and I were—for the tenth time—cranking up the volume of our nauseating fitness tape, we saw the door of my office open and who should stand before us, a horrified look on his face, but old Wharton. Shit. Double shit. And what did I do? Wave. He closed the door as quietly as he opened it.

      Next thing I know, a messenger is delivering a Bailey’s Irish cream cheesecake, to me, from, guess who? That was followed by a voice-mail message—“When your dancing fever subsides, call your publisher about lunch.”

      “Tex might be on to you,” Tamara tells me after lunch one day.

      This is not a particularly welcome development. “What did he say?”

      I get the whole conversation verbatim.

      “Something’s up with Maggie,” Tamara says he told her one day while she was sitting with him and Larry. “But I don’t know what.”

      “I looked at him straight-faced,” Tamara says. “I asked him what he meant.”

      “She hasn’t been herself lately.”

      “Probably something you said.”

      “Can’t think of anything,” Tex says, “but yeah, it doesn’t take a lot to get women pissed. Once at a party, I got a drink for myself, but forgot to get my date one.” He nods his head, as if remembering. “I walk back to her and she says, ‘Didn’t it ever occur to you that I might want something to drink?’ I said, ‘I didn’t think you wanted one,’ then she pushes right past me and says, ‘Right, you didn’t think.’”

      Then Larry chimes in. “Great material, we should write a screenplay. Once, I bought a gift for a woman. This black lace nightgown, great, sexy, I couldn’t wait to see her in it.” He shakes his head. “How was I supposed to know she wasn’t an extralarge?”

      “Observant, aren’t you, Larry?” I say. Tex laughs.

      “So she takes it back for a small and finds out that it was the last one and came off the clearance rack.” Larry looks down at his drink and mixes it with his finger and then licks his finger. “So she says, ‘The one thing I hate is men who are cheap and stupid!’ So I said, ‘That’s two things.’”

      Tex nods his head. “Yeah, the old one-two punch.” His voice trails off. “I think there’s some basic resentment of the opposite sex. It bobs along the surface until one day, propelled by some deep seismic forces, it explodes in your face.”

      “PMS,” Larry says.

      “No, that’s not it with Maggie. She’s just distant…less eager to eat out. She’s even starting to look different.”

      “Different?” I say. “What do you mean by different?”

      “I’m enjoying baiting him, Maggie. He is so unbelievably dense sometimes.”

      “I’m not sure,” Tex says, as though he’s afraid to divulge what he’s thinking.

      So Larry pipes up.

      “Better,” he said. “Maybe she’s on a diet.”

      “Nah, impossible,” Tex says. “Not old trencher woman Maggie. She never diets or takes off for spas like some of the women I know.” He shakes his head. “She doesn’t think about things like that. That’s the great thing about her.”

      “Absolutely right,” I say. “You guys read her stuff. Maggie doesn’t diet.”

      “Take her out for ribs,” Larry says. “See what’s up.”

      “I looked at them both, trying hard to keep from laughing,” Tamara says. “If these two geniuses were directing the investigative reporting at the paper, then the Times, the Daily News and the Post could rest assured that they had nothing to fear.”

      Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

      Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

      Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

      Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.

/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAgEBLAEsAAD/4RDJRXhpZgAATU0AKgAAAAgABwESAAMAAAABAAEAAAEaAAUA AAABAAAAYgEbAAUAAAABAAAAagEoAAMAAAABAAIAAAExAAIAAAAUAAAAcgEyAAIAAAAUAAAAhodp AAQAAAABAAAAnAAAAMgAAAEsAAAAAQAAASwAAAABQWRvYmUgUGhvdG9zaG9wIDcuMAAyMDE0OjAx OjMxIDE1OjUyOjE0AAAAAAOgAQADAAAAAQABAACgAgAEAAAAAQAABXigAwAEAAAAAQAAB0sAAAAA AAAABgEDAAMAAAABAAYAAAEaAAUAAAABAAABFgEbAAUAAAABAAABHgEoAAMAAAABAAIAAAIBAAQA AAABAAABJgICAAQAAAABAAAPmwAAAAAAAABIAAAAAQAAAEgAAAAB/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAgEASABI AAD/7QAMQWRvYmVfQ00AAf/uAA5BZG9iZQBkgAAAAAH/2wCEAAwICAgJCAwJCQwRCwoLERUPDAwP FRgTExUTExgRDAwMDAwMEQwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwBDQsLDQ4NEA4OEBQO Dg4UFA4ODg4UEQwMDAwMEREMDAwMDAwRDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDP/AABEI AIAAYAMBIgACEQEDEQH/3QAEAAb/xAE/AAABBQEBAQEBAQAAAAAAAAADAAECBAUGBwgJCgsBAAEF AQEBAQEBAAAAAAAAAAEAAgMEBQYHCAkKCxAAAQQBAwIEAgUHBggFAwwzAQACEQMEIRIxBUFRYRMi cYEyBhSRobFCIyQVUsFiMzRygtFDByWSU/Dh8WNzNRaisoMmRJNUZEXCo3Q2F9JV4mXys4TD03Xj 80YnlKSFtJXE1OT0pbXF1eX1VmZ2hpamtsbW5vY3R1dnd4eXp7fH1+f3EQACAgECBAQDBAUGBwcG BTUBAAIRAyExEgRBUWFxIhMFMoGRFKGxQiPBUtHwMyRi4XKCkkNTFWNzNPElBhaisoMHJjXC0kST VKMXZEVVNnRl4vKzhMPTdePzRpSkhbSVxNTk9KW1xdXl9VZmdoaWprbG1ub2JzdHV2d3h5ent8f/ 2gAMAwEAAhEDEQA/APUjIaS0bjGgmJQBluIn7PcOZ9o5E/yv5KsDgKl1jqB6Z02/OFZtNLZ2DzO3 c7+Qz6T0LAGq+AMpCIFykREeZSjKcWscMewh5jgSAQ1wcdf5Sc5Lw0O9Cwg9oE/ndv7P/TXE9N/x j5PrlvUsdr6XfRfj6Pb4bm2O22N/tLW6Z9e8PqGS7E+zPquguqG4Pa4NG9wcWjdW/b/ITBlgdL8G 3k+G81AEnFcYjiMoy4tP8Z3zlPAJGPYYmAAJPtY8f9Xs/r1p35O1zh6NpDZ9waCDA/N925VX5WZZ Xureykk7Qx9Tt0n/AIxzP+oWfkZPXWnWyWxINTRx5wNzU8mujUII3i7j7LGtkVOeTwARGpgfS2/1 voqAy3Ocxox7huiZAG0O/f8Ad/nrnvtHUHfSvsPzKW/MPNr/ALym8Y7LeIdnoPtmgnHvEzoWDsJ7 OUq8hz7Aw02smTvcAGiP3juWA2zNHFz/ALyjNy+oN4ucfjqlxjsriHZ2MvI+zUm3YbIDiWggGGtd Y6P7LFDBzBmY9d7W7WW1str1mWWAuYeG7forC6r1PObhw6tuS17jW+twdBa9ljHz6Ld//kP5xE6B 1UjG9M44qqpZVVS1hdArDSW/z+6x23d9P89K9fBfePg68d/Thf/Q9Dt61itymYGN+s5jyW+m0wxp aNzvWu1aza0fmepZ/IStdfdjbLbGFpG64sHtLJj069zt7me3ZY789Yn1bqP2nqj5i9wc2k+AL7d2 3+36S2sj9C3fje5/pCqpvIj2lpcmx1FsuIag9b0eP6j9Tenv6pswspuBU9pJosDrHMsOrGVD/Rvb 9NjrN9Kjf0LPxKG42LksppY0hvULHeg6xlm31mV0NL7PV3bv0tv6PZ6a6JmNd00Msrx678h+rrrb AC1x+kNh/wCqSfVRTZ+0eq2m+ziuitpFQgfy49VyYcUe1W6cedzRAHF7kQKjxATMpfvf+xJsWNbT VSR6TzUGtYDutJDRtnf7WfR/P96DeTa8C28sse7c3ZzuHg4Rt/qLk+odUyemdYsYxrasWPUrZt0f W+dv0v5Xs/kLV6f1F2Xjst6g30i+dtbGHaG/SbYQ3c5r3pvuwBonhrT1aBM8E4QGUkES219Xqeg9 dhZU26xtjx7DZG06e6bPuRxQFm47672H0bm3MnaTpvjwJd7/AGOC1K3wxre/A+P0k46693Ozwj8w FEnVj6IT+iFJtjXNDmkOa4SCDoQeE+4eI+9BrkMPSS9IeH+o4RC5oIBIBcYHmfL7k6Kqf//R6vFq fRkOtrO1254nxBcdEbMvuMkth1hAa4/RLmg7P87c5FDIe7+sfyou2uxpqsaHsdo5rhIUPEY+TLin wlpMbmYVdb/tjtNHNcxrnHXVznO+KA3Osssffc45FhG1pc0Da36XtDE/UGupuiq8gGIY/wBwj/rn 0v3VSORlvcGWPYxjDuhjQ0kjjc1rG/vfvph5vCNyYkdCJNqOuuhvqtmCu26ux7Q59IIrJ7d3H3N9 rd7lXbU217pe4sIJMngDlzvzv85LqGcxjBt/SguIG2S4GeWtb+4gjJeanNaC31ANzjoY/dCziMmW fEf0j9I+SZZBEanbZvNqwZrewGp9cEOYYkju9rtzVcfmOc5haGuLXbvcSIP5rm/1VhC0jSdURmSQ dStDGABQFeDTlKV6m67u1U8jVtNQ27dkdud3u/ss2o7A4jcKqg6ZA51h3539crKx7yStKl5gKWyt 9w/y4mzULQWkVVgt9rXAmQ0DaP8Aoqyxzi1pcAHES5o1APggVuKO1G0E2//S7vb73eRP5UoLdVIc z46/epPHhwoSEgtHLx672ltjQ4eayMrpTi0xZZsOpBJ/6r6X/SW88Toq19O8AOLobw0OIHM/Rao5 Ywa0B81wkR1P0ebOAKhDAGjyACaoOrx7KbAXHfuqdOjZ7LcdVa3eK494du3jd4fnO+i1n7qpWYRZ UbLrB9P0w0CXOd5bNzUwxFgS01Faps9Ne+jl1B9uVXS0SXu11GgGs+5WbcItvbWHgbt21z5bO0/R /tz+j/fVurpm472tLiO4nT7kZmE3dviXH84mT+KdwT4rEgBW1dUcUaoize7XxKpAIBgjxlalLDCT KTuLjy4yY0HyVllcKQMfVkwI7dQoNaiNEIpf/9Pu652N/qt/IFOe3ZQYf0bY/dH5FIFRIWLQVBzB MIqRCSUHpxu2kjcIMIP2QNYX7S/0wTugSYHj7W7nq7tVPL