This Tangled Thing Called Love: A Contemporary Romance Novel (37 page)

Claudia Block
reclaims her place in the limelight with a limited Broadway engagement in
The Glass Menagerie
.

On a personal note, Ms. Block has plenty to smile about as wel
l,
as she has been steadily dating real estate developer and hotelier, David Lawson. Despite the f
ormidable age difference,
the two are said to be m
adly in love.

Claire shook her head and threw the clipping into the garbage bin. She had not spoken to David for over six months, and although she had no desire to ever see him again, she was glad to learn that he had finally found his way. For as impossible as it had seemed at the time, she was no longer angry at David. The night David had come to beg for her forgiveness, telling her that he would be out of her life for good, Claire had found it impossible to hold on to her resentment. She was glad to know that David had finally broken free of his father’s shadow, and albeit she was not David’s dream woman, at least David had finally mastered the guts to admit the truth and fight for the life he wanted.

But enough reminiscing - i
t was time to address t
he matter at hand.
Deep breaths
, Claire thought.
Best not to dwell on the fact that she was about to deliver an opening speech to an audience of over one thousand guests. Her boss, Daniel, thought delivering the opening speech was a great perk, just like her promotion, but while Claire agreed with him on the promotion bit, she could have easily done without the speech bit. Still, there was no turning back now. She had rehearsed her speech hundreds of times. She knew exactly what to say. Now, she had to go out there and do it.

Head up, shoulders back, back straight
,
Claire headed through the ladies’ room door.

“Claire, there you are.” Alec beamed at her.

“Hi.” She smiled back. They had been together for six months, and still, every time she saw Alec, it was like a surprise, as if she could not believe her good fortune.

“Claire, I’d like you
to
meet my parents.” Alec smiled shyly. “My mom, Stella, and my dad, Charlie.”

“A pleasure to meet you.” Claire’s heart raced. Up until now, she’d had no idea whether Alec was going to bring h
is family to the opening night
or not. This was her first time meeting his mom and dad.

“It’s wonderful to meet you, Claire.” Charles shook her hand. “Alec tells me that you are quite a historian. You’ve unraveled some intriguing past about our family.”

Claire blushed. In the past few months, she had received more praise than she had in her entire life, but she still was not used to it. “Thank you, sir. I’m so glad that you could come tonight.”

“Oh, we would not miss it for the world. Alec has told us so much about you,” Stella added.

“Don’t embarrass Claire, Mom.” Alec reddened.

“Who said anything about embarrassing anyone?” Charlie slapped Alec on the shoulder. “Recognition is due when it is due.
And by the way, son, congrats on the dance school.
I hear it’s doing splendidly.”

“Thank you, Dad.”

“You’re welcome, son. Perhaps your mom and I will stop by for a lesson.” Charlie winked. “But Claire, we’re holding you up. From what I understand you’re presenting tonight.”

“I am.” Claire’s voice quivered more than she intended.

“Don’t be nervous,” Stella cooed. “You look marvelous.”

“That’s right. Don’t be nervous,” Charlie added. “Knock them dead.”

“Break a leg, darling.” Alec squeezed Claire’s hand. “I know you’ll be great.”

“Thanks, baby.” Claire grinned, instantly knowing that she would be.

As Claire took her place upon the stage, she spotted Alec in the first row. She sensed his gaze upon her and responded with a barely perceptible nod that only he would notice.

There were many familiar faces in the audience: Claire’s own parents, Lindsay and Jake, and Amber and Adam – yes, Amber, for even the seemingly unforgivable could be forgiven in time, or what was friendship for?

Claire took one step closer to the microphone. Her heart continued to beat wildly, but she no longer tried to tame it. That was what life was all about – taking chances, and while she did not know what the evening would bring or where her relationship with Alec would lead, she was certain of one thing. It was going to be an adventure finding that out.

About the author:

Marie Astor is the author of contemporary romance novels
Lucky Charm
,
On the Rim of Love
,
This Tangled Thing Called Love
,
romantic suspense novel,
To Catch a Bad Guy,
and a short story collection,
A Dress in a Window
.
Marie is also the author of fantasy adventure novel,
Over the Mountain and Back
.

If you
would like to find out more about Marie’s books, please visit Marie at
her website:
www.marieastor.com
.

To Catch a
Bad Guy

By

Marie Astor

Janet Maple’s
stellar career
ended with a lay
off and her boyfriend of five years told her that he wants to be just friends. When she lands a job at one of New York’s premier boutique investment firms, Janet begins to hope that her luck is finally turning for the better. Not only is she happy with her new paycheck, but things also seem to be looking up on the personal front, as the company’s handsome attorney expresses keen interest in Janet. However, her euphoria is short-lived, as Janet soon discovers alarming facts about her new employer’s business tactics. When her boss dismisses her suspicions as groundless, Janet finds herself confiding to a cute IT engineer, Dean Snider. The closer she gets to Dean, the more Janet is tempted to break her rule of not dating co-workers, but what she doesn’t realize is that everything she knows about Dean, including his occupation and even his name, is a lie.

Dennis Walker is a top-notch white collar crime investigator who will stop at nothing to put culprits away. When an opportunity for an undercover assignment at one of New York’s premier boutique broker dealers comes up, Dennis jumps at the chance, adopting a persona of geeky IT engineer, Dean Snider. While he may be an ace at his job, years of experience fail him when Dennis meets Janet Maple and finds himself torn between his professional obligations and his personal desires. Will he have to choose between his feelings and duty, or will he find a way to satisfy both?

Chapter 1

Janet Maple took a deep breath while she wa
ited for her train to arrive. S
he was twenty
-
nine years old, but this morning
she felt like a first-grader. T
he same sickening feeling churned her stomach that she remembered when she first entered a room full of strangers as a five-year-old. She was much older now – a professional with a law degree
to boot, and, until recently,
with
a successful career at the District Attorney’s office, but today
none of these things ga
ve her comfort or confidence.

I
t was not merely the prospect of starting
a new job that gave Janet the heebie-jeebies, but
it was the fact that she would be working for Lisa Foley. Talk about stirring up old insecurities… Lisa Foley had bee
n the queen ‘b’ in high school. C
ome to think of it, Lisa was still the queen
‘b.’ Every time Janet talked to her best friend from high school, Lisa never failed to bring back ‘the old glory days’
as she called them. With friends like Lisa
,
who needed a time machine? One could always count on Lisa’s sharp m
emory to recall
ev
ery embarrassing incident of adolescence
.

Well, the past is the past
, Janet thought
.
I should be thankful to Lisa for giving me a job
. When your former boss
also
happens to be
your ex-boyfriend, the subject of references be
comes dicey to say the least. Regardless of
how stellar one’s background looks on paper, employers always want
references, but
Lisa had hired
Janet without any references. I
n fact, Lisa’s phone call had come with
unsettlingly perfect timing. J
ust as Janet was about to give up all hope of white-collar employment, her old friend
had
c
o
me to the rescue. That was another one
of Lisa’s remarkable qualities:
for as long as Janet had known her, her friend seemed to have
a radar
for people’s misfortunes. In high school, Lisa was always the first to know who got dumped, who didn’t make the cut on the football team, and whose parents got laid off. So it was not surprising that Lisa knew about
Janet’s being
“
downsized
”
by the District Attorney’s office, and when she offered her a job as Assistant General Counsel at Bostoff Securities, Janet literally jumped at the chance.

“Janie! Come in, come in!” Lisa rose from behind her long mahogany desk and opened her arms in an offer of a hug.

“Hi
,
Lisa.”
Janet stooped for an air kiss from Lisa. At five seven and one hundred and thirty pounds
,
Janet was no giant
. F
ine, maybe she was not dainty, but her weight was smack in the middle of the healthy category for her hei
ght. But at five two and ninety
five pounds
,
Lisa made everyone tower over her – a trait that Janet was convinced Lisa secretly relished.

“Sit, sit.” Lisa waved her hand at the leather chair opposite her desk. “I’m so excited
that
we’ll be working together – it’s going to be just like old times.”

“I’m really glad to be here, Lisa, and thank you again for giving me the job.”

“That’s what friends are for, right? To help each other out
when you’re down in the dumps,” Lisa answered her own question.
“
So, how was your orientation?”

When Janet started her employment at the DA’s office, there had been a rigorous four-week orientation to initiate her and fellow law school recruits into the intricacies of the Assistant District Attorney
job
responsibilities. But here, at the Bostoff Securities, the orientation only resembled the process by its title – the entire affair had taken scarcely thirty minutes
,
as Janet was shoved into a tiny room for her photo id picture and given a thick binder with the company forms to sign. Janet supposed she was an experienced attorney now
,
and it was time she started acting like o
ne around Lisa.

“It went well;
I got all this paperwork to complete.” Janet raised the thick folder she’d been given at the orientation.

“Don’t worry about that
;
it’s just your generic HR stuff. What time is it now?” Lisa fumbled with her Ca
rtier watch. “Perfect timing; w
e’re going to lunch. But first, let me show you to your office.”

Lisa slid from behind her desk. As usual, she looked spectacular: her navy pinstriped suit seemed to have been made for her min
iature body (and it probably had been
), her four-inch
Louboutin
stilettos elongated her slender legs
,
and her pixie cut emphasized the perfect features of her face
. S
he looked like a corporate version of W
i
nona Ryder.

As Janet followed Lisa down the hall, she made a conscious effort to resist her urge to stoop – let Lisa stand on the balls of her feet instead.

“Our offices are on the same floor as the trading floor,” Lisa explained over her shoulder as she wove her way down the mahogany-lined hallway. “But there’s a shortcut through here, so that you don’t have to enter the trading floor unless you need to. And I’ll be honest with you - I try to avoid it as much as I can. It’s a veritable zoo out there.” Lisa paused, indicating that they
had
arrived.
“Ta-
d
aa
!”
Lisa flung the door open and ushered Janet into the spacious room.

Ja
net bit her lip with remorse. I
f her office was any indication of her employment at Bostoff Securities, she owed Lisa an eternal debt of gratitude. The size of the room was about twice the size of Janet’s digs when she worked for the DA
,
and i
t even had a window! Having an office with a window had been a
sign of great recognition in the DA
’s elaborate hierarchy.
Granted, Janet had been only a few steps away from getting to this high honor before Alex snatched everything she had worked for
for
four years of her l
ife, but all that was history now, as were t
he long hours she’d put in
to
her investigation, the credit Alex took for her work, and Alex himself.