Professional Documents
Culture Documents
For Michael and Anne: This book would not have been
possible without you.
Barbara Goulter
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
has half the judges on their payroll. We all know that. Paid
a damn good price for them, too, as you know. The bigger
you are, the bigger the pay-off.
So, why do we keep working our butts off, Nick?
Whats the point?
She must have sounded like she meant it, because he
went into his best paternal mode. Hey, we do what we can,
sweetie. Besides, how would you rather spend your time?
Pole dancing?
Ill get them yet, she vowed.
Glutton for punishment, he grinned.
For a twice-divorced male administrator well into his
fifties, Nick was a more-than-presentable specimen not
bald, not bad-looking, not a bully, not even a bore. And he
wasnt just being nice. He seriously meant what he said.
Likewise, he seriously meant his kindly suggestion: Go
home, why dont you? Kick off your shoes till Monday.
Well call it sick leave. Preventive medicine.
No, no, Im fine, she assured him. You win some,
you lose some. La V.
Oh, go on. And take Monday too while youre at it.
Go visit those Mayan ruins youre always yakking about.
But solitary adventuring was the last thing she was up
for. What if I just stayed home and caught up on my
sleep?
An inspired choice, he grinned. Better not do it on
an empty stomach, though. I know a great new old-style
Japanese restaurant. The kind where you can kick off your
shoes as soon as you walk in the door. In fact, they insist.
Alas, she wasnt up for a dinner date either. Admirable
though he was, Nick lacked that indefinable edge that made
a man exciting. But that was true of just about every male
whod looked her way in years. She managed a smile.
Rain check, okay? Right now, sleep sounds a lot more
CHAPTER THREE