The Fiance Thief Read Online Free PDF Page B

caution.”
    Well, well, Lissa thought. Just maybe Claire was going to be okay after all.
    Claire turned toward Lissa. “I heard what you said about the extra work, and I don’t think it’s fair. I’ll go ahead and do an extra movie review, plus the professor, before I leave. I’ve also got a lead on a guy who has a country music museum in the basement of his house, and I’ll give him a call.”
    “Thank you, Claire. That’s sweet.”
    Alec pulled the assignment sheet from a clipboard on his desk. “Okay, listen up everybody. Claire, for no good reason, has let Lissa off the hook, and Hank’s taking a couple of the stories I would normally do. We come back on Monday…” Mute agreement seemed to be all he required of the staff, and Lissa tuned him out until she heard him say, “And Mick’s going to cover that city council meeting.”
    “What did you say?” Lissa and Claire spoke at once.
    “Mick is covering a city council meeting,” he repeated.
    Like Alec, Hank was always quick to rush to Mick’s defense. “It isn’t the end of civilization,” he interrupted.
    “It’s got to be the end of the paper,” Lissa said.
    “Alec, maybe this isn’t such a great idea,” Claire told him. “Maybe I should just go to Miranda’s and tell you about it.”
    Alec was slowly turning a dull, dusky red. His jaw clenched, he said, “Mick…”
    “Is he here?” Claire looked at his office with alarm.
    “Are you kidding?” Lissa asked. “It isn’t noon yet.”
    “As I was saying.” There was a dangerous edge to Alec’s voice. “About Mick. Mick was the kind of journalist who could decimate politicians with just a few choice sentences. Mick was the kind of journalist who could smell corruption and greed from miles away. So I have complete faith in his ability to sit in a room and write down what he hears around him. I want to write about Miranda Craig. I’m going to write about Miranda Craig. And I know that when I leave, I’m leaving the paper in Mick’s more than capable hands.” He pointed at Claire. “You called to confirm that you were coming, right?”
    Lissa noticed that Claire didn’t lose as much color as she once did whenever Alec talked to her that way. “I’m sorry. I forgot.” She dug the letter out of her purse and dialed. Although Hank went on working, Lissa saw that Alec, like herself, wasn’t trying to hide the fact that he was eavesdropping.
    Claire went through the basics of the trip with someone at Christine’s office. As it seemed she was about to hang up, Alec waved his hand and pointed to his chest.
    Claire, looking puzzled, merely shrugged at him. Alec dove for a piece of paper on Lissa’s desk and scrawled “Taking me” across it. He held it up.
    “I forgot to tell you. I plan to bring my fiancé. Do I need to clear that with you?”
    Lissa watched with interest as Claire’s cheeks flushed and her lips tightened. “I appreciate your concern,” she said. “But this is a fiancé of a different sort.”
    She hung up and turned to her desk, her back to the rest of them. Lissa put her finger on her lips, gesturing for Alec to be quiet, but he said, “So what’s the deal? Can I go or not?”
    “I’ve got to call Miranda’s mom.” She pulled out a tattered maroon address book and began flipping through it.
    Painful as it might be for her, it was time to help Claire face facts.
    “You know, Claire,” Lissa said, studying her manicure as she spoke. “I just realized it might strike someone as odd that you’re introducing Alec to Miranda.”
    Claire seemed genuinely puzzled. “Odd how?”
    “If you really cared about him, I wouldn’t think you would bring him anywhere near her.”
    “I don’t think so, Lissa.” Claire’s denial seemed sincere. “I think if I really cared about him, I’d trust him so absolutely that I wouldn’t mind if he were introduced to other women.”
    Alec cleared his throat. “Could you stop talking about me like I’m the teenaged