Lust and Lies 04 - Pretty Maids in a Row

organization devoted to political lobbying for environmental concerns, he had told Holly it was only a temporary location, but they were still there eighteen years later, and that suited her just fine. She felt grounded there, knew where everything was, and what was expected of her. Changes were uncomfortable.
    She paused outside the door of the Earth Guard offices to make sure her smile was cheerful enough to fool Evelyn, her eagle-eyed secretary and self-appointed surrogate mother. Evelyn was one of those women who had aged not only gracefully but beautifully, with attractively coiffed white hair and a dignified appearance that tended to demand instant respect from total strangers.
    "Any calls?" Holly asked as she pushed open the door, intent on avoiding an interrogation about why her lunch appointment had run so long.
    "Philip took care of all but these two," Evelyn replied, handing her the message slips. "One's from Time magazine and the other is a reporter for a newspaper in Madison, Wisconsin. Sounded like they just had a question or two about the new EPA bill. As usual, the boss left the press to you. How did your appointment go?" she asked before Holly could slip into her office.
    Holly shrugged, recalling the explanation she had given. "They were a very small small interest group; nothing we could work with. On the way back I stopped in at that new dress shop you told me about." As expected, Evelyn's eyes lit up with hope. "I think I found a gown for Saturday night but I can't make up my mind."
    "Is it black and slinky?"
    Holly laughed. "Yes. In fact, it was so slinky, I decided I'd better keep looking."
    Evelyn clucked her tongue and rolled her eyes. "I swear, sometimes I think you act more matronly than I do. How about if I call the store right now and have them set it aside for you?"
    "No," Holly replied quickly. "I mean, there's no need to call. I asked them to hold it until I can stop by again after work." She was certain the store must have something black and slinky that would meet with Evelyn's approval. She just had to remember where Evelyn had said the store was and go by there before going home. Nodding at the closed door to Philip's office, she asked, "Is someone with him?"
    "The barracuda," Evelyn whispered behind her hand.
    Holly knew she was referring to the woman from the Environmental Protection Agency who kept coming up with reasons to meet with Philip. She whispered back, "Who closed the door?"
    Evelyn smiled. "I did."
    Shaking her head, Holly went into her office. After years of failing to get Philip and Holly married to each other, Evelyn had started pushing both of them toward other eligible people. She simply couldn't accept the idea that the two of them might be content with the way things were.
    Twenty minutes later, Holly had returned the two calls and moved all the papers on her desk around without actually accomplishing anything. There were several other calls she needed to make that afternoon, but each time she lifted the receiver, she realized her conversation with Evelyn had used up her reserve of false confidence.
    Her mind kept drifting back to the folder in her briefcase, even though the office was not the place to look at it. If she decided to read the contents, it would have to be at home, in private, when there was no possibility of Evelyn or Philip walking in on her.
    As if thinking his name conjured up the man, Philip's trim figure appeared in the doorway. Threading his fingers through his neatly styled, ash-blond hair, he asked, "Have you got a minute?"
    She forced a smile. "Considering how you probably spent the last hour, I can give you all the time you need. What excuse did she have this time?"
    Philip's fair cheeks flushed as he sat down across the desk from her. "She wanted to know if we'd heard anything about a new laser incineration plant the Chinese are designing. She asked me—as an independent lobbyist—to put some feelers out so that it wouldn't sound like the EPA was playing catch-up again. I promised to get back to her. So, how did your meeting go?"
    She shrugged. "They talked, I listened, smiled and politely put them off."
    "What was it again? Otters?"
    "Beavers," she corrected, recalling the fabricated reason she had given him before she left for lunch. "But it turned out to be two of them in a small creek on someone's private property."
    Philip arched one light eyebrow. "And they talked about that for three hours?"
    Holly thought it was probably her