Laura had a long, sad ride home. She entered her apartment and was greeted by a very anxious and lonely Jasper. It was nice to be needed and know he was always waiting for her. She changed out of her ball gown, into baggy sweats and an old, worn out shirt. She carefully placed her diamond heart pendant and chain back in its box on her dresser. She looked at it for a moment, then over at the beautiful gown hanging in her closet. She thought of Angelo picking it out for her, then slipping it off her. Her heart felt heavy. She had been Cinderella for a short time at the ball, but now she was back in her small, humble home. Alone. This wasn’t the way she had pictured this night going at all. She fed Jasper and gave him some attention. She was exhausted. Physically and in every other way. It was going on 7:30 a.m. now and she hadn't slept. She felt like she had just been through an endurance race, having so much adrenalin pumping through her system over the last few hours.

After her conversation with Angelo, Laura made herself some breakfast and polished off her coffee. She was bagged. She jumped in the shower and changed into pajamas. She had some time before meeting Sarah, so she decided to try and get a bit more sleep. She felt more relaxed now that she had spoken to Angelo. Things weren’t perfect, but they were good enough for now. Besides, she thought, perfect and relationships don’t really seem to go together. She was very nervous about the presentation tomorrow and especially about telling Angelo afterwards that she had asked Sarah to look into the online attacks on his company. She hoped he wouldn’t be angry about it. But that was a battle for tomorrow. She was too tired to think about things anymore, so she curled up in bed, setting the alarm, just in case she was able to fall asleep. Jasper joined her. The two of them fell fast asleep. Laura’s alarm went off at 4 p.m. She awoke, feeling very groggy, but grateful she’d actually been

“What is it?” “Well,” she started to say, feeling embarrassed, “Raquel aside, there were so many other women coming onto you at the ball, just when I was with you…” “I can’t control what other people do.” “I know, it’s not that…it’s just, if Raquel made a second move on you that night, I imagine there were others as well after you went back down.” She looked up at him, trying to gauge his reaction. He gave her a soft smile. “Nothing happened with anyone, Laura. I promise you that.” He reached up to touch her cheek and leaned in for a long, lingering, passionate kiss. Laura felt partially relieved. She melted into him, her hand resting on his thigh. She moaned softly as his tongue found hers. She felt his hand slide down her shoulder and arm to her waist. His hand then slid to her hip, gripping it and giving her a slight tug. She could tell he wanted her. Her body became aroused at his touch, the feel of his lips on hers. She rubbed his thigh, inching her hand a

It was Tuesday night and Angelo was home alone after getting in from a long day at the office. He looked at the clock. 9:15 p.m. He was hungry, but tired. He flicked on a lamp, took off his suit jacket, and flopped on his couch. He ran his fingers through his hair, trying to decide what to do. He unbuttoned the first several buttons of his shirt. His life seemed like it was just one frustration after another these days. He’d had it with just about everything and everyone. The business announcement they had made earlier today had been immediately met with mixed reviews and he and Laura hadn’t spoken since last night. He was still fuming over what he felt was a constant barrage of accusations from her. He felt attacked on every side lately. He decided to start by pouring himself a glass of scotch. He got up to grab a glass when his door buzzer rang. He grunted in frustration. He wasn’t expecting anyone and it was late. “Seriously, can’t people just leave me alone for a c

He grabbed her hand before she could get a hold of him. “You’re not touching me. Go home to your husband if you want that.” He took a step back from her, gripped her hand tight for a moment, then let it go. She looked at him, her face etched with shock. She had never been turned down by a man before, especially not with this level of come-on. She laughed sarcastically. “You’ve got to be kidding me. You’re a single guy, you’ve got a nearly naked beautiful woman in your place, ready and rarin’ to go and you’re going to turn that down? Turn me down?” She held her hands out at her side. She dropped her voice. “This is our chance to be together.” “Portia,” he said, his face tense, his jaw clenching, “I don’t know how the hell you’ve got this idea into your head that there’s something between us, but you’re sadly mistaken. Even if there was, which there isn’t, I would never do that to my own brother!” Her face again twisted into an expression of fury. “Please!” she shout