The Contingency Plan (The Lonely Heart Series) Read Online Free PDF Page B

directors of Sophie’s choice had all but appointed her to the position and she had her boss’s blessing.  It was now just about formalities, but with the $15 million that she had raised in the last three quarters alone, there was no doubt that Charlene was destined for success.
    Her speech was a deliberately moving call-to-action speech with clever banter and startling facts.  As rehearsed, she made eye contact with many of her major contributors and spoke about the many acco m plishments the organization was able to make because of their support.  However, it wasn’t until the end of her speech that she realized that at the table nearly right below her feet at the edge of the stage, where the president of the DLC was supposed to be seated, Sullivan Orrin was there in his absence. 
    He looked up at her with dreams in his eyes.  A half-crooked smile full of pride and curiosity was painted on his etched features as he shifted in his seat, like the discomfort of watching her pained him somewhere deep inside. 
    On an inconveniently shaky note, she ended her valiant speech and stood back from the podium as the audience ignited in approval through a thunderous applause.  She gave a hesitant smile, darting eyes across the crowd, and then moved quickly off stage before she was forced to look below her one more time. 
    Her assistant, Frank, was behind the curtains as she sprinted past him.
    “Great start but a wobbly finish,” he said, passing her a glass of water. “What happened?  We practiced your speech like…all night.”  Walking behind her with a glass of water, he noticed something different about his boss.  “What’s wrong?” he asked again a little more serious. 
    Charlene stopped at the back of the stage by the staircase leading down the back of the stage and grabbed the glass from Frank’s hand.  “I just saw a ghost.”  Putting her hand on her head, she looked around with a gotta-be-fucking-kidding-me glare .  Sully was here.  Of all the times to show up.  He chose now.  She drank the entire glass of water and passed it back to him, pushing it up against his rock-hard chest.
    Frank was confused.  “What kind of ghost?  Are we talking literally or figuratively here?”  The young, blonde raised a perfectly arched brow at her.
    “Literally.  My ex-boyfriend is out there at the DLC table.  Sullivan Orrin.”
    Frank’s eyes grew wide. “You dated Sully Orrin?  GQ’s Sully Orrin?”
    “Great job on the speech,” one of the backstage assistants said, walking past the two as they huddled in the corner.
    “Thanks,” Charlene said, looking up with a pain t ed-on smile.  Turning back to Frank, she stepped in closer.  “Just find out what the hell he is doing here.”
    “Isn’t it obvious?  The DLC is a major supporter of Sophie’s Choice. They have been for years.”
    “I know that ,” Charlene said, voice pitched high.  “I didn’t ask why the DLC is here; I said find out why he is here.”  Taking a deep breath, she smoothed her dress down to repress her nervousness.  She hated herself for the school-girl butterflies currently erup t ing in her nearly empty stomach. 
    “Okay, okay,” Frank said, mildly interested.  He’d never seen her so emotional about anything.  Norma l ly, she was a wall of stone.  “Don’t get your panties in a bunch.   I’ll find out,” he said with a smirk.
    “Good.  And wipe that grin off your face while you’re at it,” she said, trying to calm her nerves.  “I better get back to my table and Alex.  Just…let me know as soon as you find out.”
    “Yes, ma’am,” Frank answered with the click of his heels and a condescending salute.
    “Frank…” Charlene warned. 
    With a grin, Frank turned in his tailor-made tux and walked away with a new mission – find out what one of D.C.’s most eligible bachelors wanted with his uptight and very impersonal boss.
    ***
    After a trip to powder her nose in the lady’s room,