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reach.
Who, me and Taye? He's a good kid.
Holly smiled like the Madonna and bent to kiss Eli's cheek.
What was that for?
Oh, nothing, she said, rubbing a smudge of professionally understated gloss off his skin.
I'm proud of you.
Bah, Eli grumbled, nudging her on her way. She laughed at him.
His encounter with Diana went better. She might be as loud and uninhibited as a motor-
cycle cavalcade, but you did know where you stood with Diana. Gimme, she said, grabbing
his banana. The fruit, not anything else, but from the way her sharp teeth snapped deep and
fast in the innocent flesh, Eli decided he was suddenly very glad he'd found and fallen for
Zane and not her.
Christ, it's like watching a piranha fall upon a cow carcass.
Diana flipped him off and finished his banana. Those bagels up for grabs too?
Hands off. Eli guarded them. They're for Zane. He's been awake since God knows
when, and you know him. He's forgotten food exists, let alone that he needs it to survive.
True enough. Diana still stole a bite and popped it in her mouth. Don't glare at me. I'm a
lady.
If you're a lady, I'm a Bengal tiger, Eli informed her. He watched Diana lick her lips, idly
noting that it did nothing for his libido and mouthiness aside, Diana was indeed a fine-
looking woman.
Huh. A thought came to him. If anyone in this place had her finger on all the pulses, it
would be this firecracker eyeing his bagel with hungry intent.
He pushed the remnants of the food over to her. For a price.
As long as it's not my firstborn, name it. No smart comments. I'm still fertile.
Eli cringed.
No better way to make any man cringe. Diana snickered at him and bit into the bagel.
What did you want to know?
What would be the harm in asking? I've heard a buzz about a teaching position going at
Duke University, Eli said as casually as he could. A couple of the doctors seem to be getting
pretty worked up. What's it all about?
Diana gave Eli a flat, level look and named a salary that would have made Eli choke on
his bagel if he'd still been eating. Jesus Christ. No kidding?
Nope. This is serious business. Not to mention a chance to get in on some cutting-edge
research, serious grants, and relative peace and quiet in which to concentrate on medicine
rather than dealing with HMO bullshit. Diana sat back and shrugged. You graduated from
Duke, didn't you?
Guilty.
God, you must have hated it down there. If I cut you open you'd bleed pure Chicago. Di-
ana wrinkled her nose at him. It'd be something, though, wouldn't it? To show them you could
not only do it, but come back and kick their asses at it.
She'd taken the words right out of Eli's head. Externally, he nodded and made a noncom-
mittal noise. Who's head of the search committee? Might be someone I know.
Nice. Smooth. Eli patted himself on the back even while wondering what the hell he was
doing.
Umm& Diana drummed the tabletop, lips together in a thoughtful moue. Got it. Dr. Kaz-
aran. I keep wanting to call him Dr. Kazoo.
You would. Eli stood to rumple her hair.
Diana slapped him away. I am not your kid sister. Do that again and you'll be pulling back
nubs. She blocked his path when he tried to dodge around her. Hang on. Why did you want
to know about Duke?
Idle curiosity.
Uh-huh. Diana snorted. Can I have the rest of your coffee?
Woman, anyone would think you hadn't eaten in days.
I'm a doctor. When do you think the last time I had to sit down to a proper meal was?
What about your date last night? Didn't you get to chow down then?
Eli knew as soon as he'd asked that that hadn't been a wise question. Diana cackled
wickedly at him. No. He walked away at speed. No details about your sex life allowed within
my hearing.
Your loss! she called after him, already tonsil-deep in decent coffee. Eli struggled to
keep a straight face until he'd made good his escape.
Dr. Kazaran. Eli knew the guy. Stuffed shirt on the surface, but if you surprised him with
some ingenuity or a new take on an old problem, you were on your way to the top of his re-
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