Saibo-creator/bookcorpus_deduplicated · Datasets at Hugging Face

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the last two days had been hell compared to the ones before it .
he felt restless , miserable , and he constantly snapped at his staff .
he needed something more in his life .
he needed annie .
being with her had been fun .
no , that word did n't even begin to describe how he 'd felt when they were together .
sure , they 'd laughed a lot , but for some reason , just being with annie made him feel comfortable .
comfortable and accepted .
she did n't treat him like other women did , agreeing with him and accepting his decisions .
she challenged him , she laughed at him and allowed him to laugh at her .
she talked to him as if he were her equal , and he felt like he 'd found someone on his own level .
someone he could respect .
someone who brightened his life .
someone he wanted to be with beyond this week .
someone he wanted to be with .
someone he wanted in his life .
zack reached for the phone and dialed five digits then hung up .
he paced behind his desk a few times then picked up the phone again .
he got to the sixth before slamming it down .
he turned to the glass wall and stared out at the sprawling city below .
somewhere to his left annie was probably still in her meeting with dog-e whats-his-name .
there was no point calling her yet .
maybe in another ten minutes ...
he drummed his fingers on the pane of glass .
ever since he 'd made up his mind to call her he 'd worked on his speech .
eventually he decided to just wing it .
his words would all depend on her mood anyway .
surely she would n't be mad at him any longer , not after two days .
he wondered if she 'd thought of him at all .
he 'd thought of her , constantly .
not even selling stancorp had made him feel better .
usually off-loading a company pepped up his mood , but not this time .
this time it would take only one thing to lift him out of the doldrums-hearing annie 's voice .
no , more than that-kissing annie .
better yet , making love to her .
feeling her body beneath his , warm , supple and eager ...
the office was n't the most convenient place to be thinking about annie naked .
he picked up the phone again and dialed her work number , this time getting through all the digits .
he dialed her cell phone .
he 'd have to visit her at home .
what he needed to say could n't wait any longer .
he 'd always been the sort of person to confront his fears and it was time to tackle this one head on .
chapter 17 annie got the phone call that dug-e had signed when she got home .
bob , unable to contain his excitement , said he was coming over with the contract for her to sign as dug-e 's representing agent .
she had enough time for a quick shower and change of clothes .
the knock came as she stepped out of the water .
wrapping a towel around her she opened the door without looking through the peephole .
`` that was quick ...
zack stood in the doorway , arms flexed at his sides , feet slightly apart and face unshaved .
he wore a dark suit , his tie a little off-center , and sunglasses which hid any emotions he might be feeling .
but intense vibrations crossed the space between his body and hers .
his voice was as rough as the rockies .
zack did n't move but his eyes , barely visible beneath the dark glasses , roamed across her towel-clad body .
it was a possessive gesture and sent a thrill through her .
there was a hint of a threat in his tone .
`` just bob for our regular after-work tryst . ''
his mouth fell open and his brows rose above his sunglasses .
`` just kidding , '' she sang as she turned and walked back inside .
`` he 's bringing around dug-e 's contract for me to sign . ''
she heard him follow her inside before he said , `` so you got dug-e ?
was it the bike that convinced him ? ''
she swung round , ready to face him now that she 'd regained her composure .
wow , he was handsome .
she bit the inside of her lip and forced herself to concentrate .
she was not going to end up in bed with him .
`` i went as myself .
no motorbike , no flirting , no tight leather pants .
i could n't represent him as someone i was n't .
i 'm not so bad really .
and anyone who does n't like me as i am can lump it .
she felt better , lighter .
if only she 'd said something like that to her father when he 'd been alive , maybe he would n't have kept pressuring her to be someone she was n't .
as if caught by a hook , slowly the corner of zack 's mouth twitched up until his lips stretched into a broad smile .
he came to her and placed his hands on her shoulders .
he stared into her eyes , lifted one hand and traced her cheek with his fingertip .
she went weak at the knees and hot all over .
she was n't supposed to give in so easily .
`` i like the real annie better .
i 'm sure dug-e will too . ''
she nodded dumbly , his words not quite registering .
she tried to think of the right words to tell him she was n't going to sleep with him again while her insides did back flips .
he really was n't making it easy for her .
`` um , zack , we can't- . ''
but she got no further .
he placed a finger to her lips and kissed her forehead tenderly .
i 've got something i have to say or i 'll explode .
these last two days have been ... boring . ''
he smiled crookedly down at her .
`` okay , they 've been worse than boring .
they 've been hell . ''
she drew in a deep breath to still her trembling nerves , but she was n't giving in just yet .
there were things that needed sorting out before she would submit to the powerful urge to shower him with kisses .
`` good , '' she said carefully .
`` they 've been hell for me too . ''
his grin was just like the one in the photo she 'd seen of him as a little boy .
he bent his head and kissed her lips tenderly .
she wanted more but she resisted .
`` no more , zack . ''
she put her hands on his chest and pushed him lightly away .
`` i need to know what i am to you .

the last two days had been hell compared to the ones before it .

he felt restless , miserable , and he constantly snapped at his staff .

he needed something more in his life .

he needed annie .

being with her had been fun .

no , that word did n't even begin to describe how he 'd felt when they were together .

sure , they 'd laughed a lot , but for some reason , just being with annie made him feel comfortable .

comfortable and accepted .

she did n't treat him like other women did , agreeing with him and accepting his decisions .

she challenged him , she laughed at him and allowed him to laugh at her .

she talked to him as if he were her equal , and he felt like he 'd found someone on his own level .

someone he could respect .

someone who brightened his life .

someone he wanted to be with beyond this week .

someone he wanted to be with .

someone he wanted in his life .

zack reached for the phone and dialed five digits then hung up .

he paced behind his desk a few times then picked up the phone again .

he got to the sixth before slamming it down .

he turned to the glass wall and stared out at the sprawling city below .

somewhere to his left annie was probably still in her meeting with dog-e whats-his-name .

there was no point calling her yet .

maybe in another ten minutes ...

he drummed his fingers on the pane of glass .

ever since he 'd made up his mind to call her he 'd worked on his speech .

eventually he decided to just wing it .

his words would all depend on her mood anyway .

surely she would n't be mad at him any longer , not after two days .

he wondered if she 'd thought of him at all .

he 'd thought of her , constantly .

not even selling stancorp had made him feel better .

usually off-loading a company pepped up his mood , but not this time .

this time it would take only one thing to lift him out of the doldrums-hearing annie 's voice .

no , more than that-kissing annie .

better yet , making love to her .

feeling her body beneath his , warm , supple and eager ...

the office was n't the most convenient place to be thinking about annie naked .

he picked up the phone again and dialed her work number , this time getting through all the digits .

he dialed her cell phone .

he 'd have to visit her at home .

what he needed to say could n't wait any longer .

he 'd always been the sort of person to confront his fears and it was time to tackle this one head on .

chapter 17 annie got the phone call that dug-e had signed when she got home .

bob , unable to contain his excitement , said he was coming over with the contract for her to sign as dug-e 's representing agent .

she had enough time for a quick shower and change of clothes .

the knock came as she stepped out of the water .

wrapping a towel around her she opened the door without looking through the peephole .

`` that was quick ...

zack stood in the doorway , arms flexed at his sides , feet slightly apart and face unshaved .

he wore a dark suit , his tie a little off-center , and sunglasses which hid any emotions he might be feeling .

but intense vibrations crossed the space between his body and hers .

his voice was as rough as the rockies .

zack did n't move but his eyes , barely visible beneath the dark glasses , roamed across her towel-clad body .

it was a possessive gesture and sent a thrill through her .

there was a hint of a threat in his tone .

`` just bob for our regular after-work tryst . ''

his mouth fell open and his brows rose above his sunglasses .

`` just kidding , '' she sang as she turned and walked back inside .

`` he 's bringing around dug-e 's contract for me to sign . ''

she heard him follow her inside before he said , `` so you got dug-e ?

was it the bike that convinced him ? ''

she swung round , ready to face him now that she 'd regained her composure .

wow , he was handsome .

she bit the inside of her lip and forced herself to concentrate .

she was not going to end up in bed with him .

`` i went as myself .

no motorbike , no flirting , no tight leather pants .

i could n't represent him as someone i was n't .

i 'm not so bad really .

and anyone who does n't like me as i am can lump it .

she felt better , lighter .

if only she 'd said something like that to her father when he 'd been alive , maybe he would n't have kept pressuring her to be someone she was n't .

as if caught by a hook , slowly the corner of zack 's mouth twitched up until his lips stretched into a broad smile .

he came to her and placed his hands on her shoulders .

he stared into her eyes , lifted one hand and traced her cheek with his fingertip .

she went weak at the knees and hot all over .

she was n't supposed to give in so easily .

`` i like the real annie better .

i 'm sure dug-e will too . ''

she nodded dumbly , his words not quite registering .

she tried to think of the right words to tell him she was n't going to sleep with him again while her insides did back flips .

he really was n't making it easy for her .

`` um , zack , we can't- . ''

but she got no further .

he placed a finger to her lips and kissed her forehead tenderly .

i 've got something i have to say or i 'll explode .

these last two days have been ... boring . ''

he smiled crookedly down at her .

`` okay , they 've been worse than boring .

they 've been hell . ''

she drew in a deep breath to still her trembling nerves , but she was n't giving in just yet .

there were things that needed sorting out before she would submit to the powerful urge to shower him with kisses .

`` good , '' she said carefully .

`` they 've been hell for me too . ''

his grin was just like the one in the photo she 'd seen of him as a little boy .

he bent his head and kissed her lips tenderly .

she wanted more but she resisted .

`` no more , zack . ''

she put her hands on his chest and pushed him lightly away .

`` i need to know what i am to you .