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Mr. Manning rose and the movement caught her attention, dragging her thoughts
away from Alec and back to her present struggles. Damn that Five of Wands.
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Elyssa Lynne
She hurried back inside to meet the two men as they crossed the lobby. Alec, she
noted, was frowning. So was Manning. Not a good sign.
The banker directed an unfriendly glare at her. It appears to me that matters are
far worse than you seem to realize, Ms. Colbert. You should have told me immediately
about your aunt s accident, not left it until today for me to find out.
It only happened yesterday morning, she shot back, and I didn t know myself
until after my plane landed. By the time I got to the hospital and found out how things
stood, it was already too late to call you, even if I d known at the time who you were
and what your number was.
That s what s so troubling, he explained as if he addressed a backward child.
You have no idea how your aunt s affairs stand, and you have no legal right to make
any decisions or to even be on the property, for that matter. I m going to have to give
some serious consideration to the queries I ve received from those hotel chains.
No! Danni clenched her hands. You can t do that until we ve actually defaulted
in our payments which I know hasn t happened. I ll figure out how to hold things
together for a few more days. My aunt isn t that badly injured. She ll come out of the
coma soon, maybe even today, then she ll be able to sign the power of attorney even if
she won t be up to resuming management herself.
Give her time, Alec interjected. Ms. Colbert is a capable businesswoman.
She s a computer programmer, the banker said in tones that implied her
profession precluded any ability beyond that field. What s she going to do when those
workers demand she cover their expenses? Write them some computer code to cover
it?
Danni stared at him. She might be able to do a trade, offer to build them websites,
create& what? Her tired imagination failed.
Assets. She could cash in her assets. Or borrow against them. What assets? She had
her car, but it wasn t anything remarkable and almost six years old now. The bank no
longer owned it but it wouldn t bring in enough to cover even a quarter of the expenses
64
Tempting Mouthful
she d been handed that morning. She had a house. It still had a huge mortgage but since
it was located in California s Silicon Valley, the value had gone up a fair amount since
she d purchased it. She might be able to refinance, increase the mortgage as high as the
bank would allow.
You could lose your house if Aunt Zany doesn t wake up soon.
She turned to Alec, making one last desperate bid. Can t you two advance me
something?
Mr. Manning brightened. Are you in a position to offer her a loan? he asked Alec.
Danni blinked. But Her expression confused, she looked from the bank
manager to Alec then back again. Isn t he one of your advisors?
Mr. Manning drew back. Most certainly not. I ve never seen this gentleman
before.
Danni Alec drew a deep breath. I was trying to tell you earlier. I don t work
for the bank.
But you said you didn t work for my aunt.
Alec held out his hand toward her. This sure the hell isn t the way I meant to tell
you. I m a lawyer. My firm was hired by one of the chains interested in buying the
retreat.
Excellent, breathed Mr. Manning. Why don t we
This place isn t for sale! Danni yelled the words at the banker. I ll find the
money and we ll get through. And you, she rounded on Alec, can get out of here.
Right now!
She spun away, blinded by the tears that flooded her eyes and ran down her cheeks.
She stumbled over a box but kept going, across the lobby and out the front door. Cool
air enveloped her and she broke into a run, crossing the sloping lawn and not stopping
until she d reached the edge of the lake. She wiped the back of her hand across her eyes,
partially clearing her vision, and stared at the wavelets that lapped gently at the shore.
65
Elyssa Lynne
What an idiot I was! The thought repeated over and over in her mind. What a complete
gullible fool. Of course Alec played up to her. He wanted his clients to be the ones to
whom they sold the retreat. And I actually begged him to fuck me!
Only it was worse than that. What she d done was fall in love with him.
Impossible. You don t fall in love with a man after knowing him for less than twenty-four
hours. Lust maybe, but not love.
But it was love. In her heart, she knew that was true. The bond she felt with him
went far beyond the need to get naked and sweaty, beyond the need to have him
hammering his cock inside her.
Except a bond goes both ways, doesn t it? He should feel the same about her. And that
meant not betraying her trust.
So her romantic yearnings had played her false. It was possible to want
something or someone so badly she could have convinced herself a bond existed
when in truth it didn t.
Conflict. That damned Five of Wands sure got it right.
Except the card issued a challenge to overcome, to triumph.
Well, she d have to chalk up her entanglement with Alec as personal growth
because there wouldn t be any happy ending for her there. Which meant she d just have
to move heaven and earth to make sure she succeeded for Aunt Zany.
Slowly she turned to face the old lodge. She had to think. She had to factor Alec out
of the equation. She had to decide what to do, then follow through.
One corner of her mouth tugged into a rueful half-smile. About one thing, at least,
she d been right. With this place she really had bitten off more than she could chew.
But oh god, it was such a tempting mouthful. She loved this place.
Well, the tarot card had warned her. It also gave advice. She had to face her
mouthful of problems. That was the message inherent in the card. She had to find
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Tempting Mouthful
strength and resources within herself to overcome her problems, thereby not only
succeeding in her task but growing as an individual.
Yeah. Right.
But for Aunt Zany s sake, she had to try.
Besides, if one failed to learn their lesson, they had to keep repeating it until the
message finally got through. She sure as hell didn t want to live through the last few
months again. So if that meant growing and moving beyond, she d better get on with it.
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