“Tell her you miss her, and you…you like her.”

“I never said I liked her!” Addison said, getting to her feet.

“No? You miss all your enemies, do you?”

A low grumble rose in Addison’s throat. “I’m done with this conversation. I’ll see you at one for the Easterbrook meeting.”

Refusing to lose ground on a conversation that was becoming very interesting, Fran said, “You know, it’s okay to like her. She’s nice, and she’s definitely not hard on the eyes. You could do worse.”

“I never said I liked her, and certainly not in that way.”

“In what way?”

“You know exactly what way I’m talking about,” Addison said, pointing to the door. “Now get out and leave me alone.”

Holding up her hands, Fran said, “Okay, so I’m wrong, but if you miss her, tell her. Tell her you miss how she chews her food with her mouth open—”

“She does not!”

“Well, you just said she makes noises, so I assumed—”

“Well, you assumed wrong! She’s got better manners than most of the people I do business with. She just enjoys the food and…and comments on it. That’s all.”

“Oh, I see,” Fran said with a gleam in her eye. “My apologies.”

“Accepted. Now, get out.”

“Not until you tell me you’re going to talk to her.”

“Since when do you barter with me?”

“This isn’t about bartering, Addison,” Fran said, getting to her feet. “This is about someone who’s apparently really lost right now, and she needs to be found. Don’t let her wither away in her room because you’re too damn proud to tell her you miss her.”

“I don’t…I don’t want her to get the wrong idea.”

A sliver of a grin appeared on Fran’s face. “The wrong idea?”

“You did,” Addison said, glaring at Fran.

“Trust me, Addison,” Fran said, walking to the door. “If you look at her the way you’re looking at me right now, she will not get the wrong idea.”

***

When Addison arrived home, she found out she’d be eating alone again, just like she had for the past four weeks. Annoyed, she picked at her food until it was a mass of unrecognizable bits and pieces, and then filling a glass with scotch, she headed to the basement gym. Working out her frustrations on the treadmill and then in the pool, when she finally found her way to bed just after midnight, her body ached from the punishment she had put it through.

The next morning, the aches and pains returned as soon as she opened her eyes and with them the memories of what brought her to this point. Before Addison’s feet hit the floor, her mind was made up.