Career Girls Read Online Free PDF Page B

receiver to Topaz with a wink. ‘It’s for you. Geoffrey Stevens at The Times.’
    Topaz grabbed the phone, swinging her long legs over
    the desk to reach it. Every guy in the place sighed mentally. ‘Miss Rossi?’ asked a cool voice.
    ‘That’s me,’ Topaz replied, trying to sound flip and unconcerned. She’d posted off her article two days ago. What if the guy hated it?
    ‘This is Geoffrey Stevens,’ he said. ‘We received your article on student benefits yesterday. We were won. dering if
     
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    you might like to consider a new use for it?’
    Topaz’s heart sank. It wasn’t good enough for the Educational Supplement. ‘What did you have in mind?’ she asked.
    ‘I think this is a bit too good to tuck away in a supplement,’ Stevens said. ‘I’ve shown it to the features editor and he agrees with me-we want to use it in the main paper.’
    Topaz put out a hand to steady herself against the desk. She was too stunned to speak.
    ‘I know what you’re thinking,’ Stevens went on, ‘you’re wondering where we’re going to put it. And you’re right, of course, that’s a problem just at the minute. We’re full up, but if you can bear to wait a fortnight we’ll run it two weeks on Monday. Would that be OK?’
    ‘That’d be fine,’ Topaz said, trying not to sound too overjoyed.
    ‘Terrific! I’hoped I could count on you. And send me some more, if you’ve got it. We’re always looking for new talent.’
    ‘Thanks, I will,’ said Topaz. She hung up, and looked at the six faces gazing at her expectantly.
    ‘Oh my God!’ she exclaimed. ‘I’m in!’
     
    Rowena planned her campaign with military care. Every speech was dramatic. Every outfit was sexy. Every hack on her slate had his or her orders, and everyone followed them. Rowena had found out whothe weak links were early on, kept them out of slate meetings and assigned them to the
    smallest colleges. She just wasn’t taking risks. She wanted to be President of the Union. She wanted it badly.
    She would do almost anything to win.
    And that was the problem. Because in this case, ‘anything’ involved Peter Edward Kennedy, her best friend’s boyfriend, the power behind Gilbert’s throne. The one man who could hand her what she wanted on a golden plate.
    Since that first meeting, Kennedy had swung back and
     
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    forth like a pendulum. Yes, he would support her. No, he’d given his word. OK, Gilbert was a sexist and an elitist. He would back her slate. Well, maybe he wasn’t sure …
    Rowena knew she could not let this go. However annoyed, however exasperated she got, she never let it show. If Peter Kennedy could be won over, it was worth
    any effort. It was worth going to see him four times a week. And that was the real problem.
    Rowena Gordon, the proverbial ice maiden, was having
    to deal with something more than annoyance. Something so new she didn’t even recognize it at first, but which slowly took a hold of her, until it was all she could do to control herself. She was falling for Peter.
    Every day she had to deal with it. He forced her to sit in
    his rooms and discuss politics with him, a subject which normally fascinated her. But with Peter Kennedy she found she was tuning out. She wasn’t listening to him, she was watching his lips move. The square, bold set of his jaw. The thick flaxen hair. The well-developed muscles sliding under the brown, healthy skin.
    Peter entranced her. He was so intelligent, so masculine,
    so assured. Normally Rowena despised men of her own class: wimpy chinless wonders, the lot of them. Gilbert Docker was a typical specimen. But Peter Kennedy wasn’t like that. He was a thorough gentleman, but he was sexual too. He was graceful, but he obviously knew how to fight. He was accomplished, but he was also a fiercely competitive athlete. He interested her. He excited her.
    ‘What do you want out of life?’ he asked her. ‘When is it enough?’
    ‘I want everything!’ Rowena replied.