Surrender 01 - Surrender

answering machine. She tossed her purse onto the couch and forced herself to walk casually to the sink and get a g lass of water, and then stand there while she slowly drank it. Her eyes kept straying to the blinking red light only a few feet away as impatience built up inside her.
    “Don’t get your hopes up,” she lectured herself. Too many times recently, when she’d pressed the button, she heard not the eagerly anticipated job offer but the threats of another bill collector. The letdown always devastated her.
    When she deemed that enough time had passed, she approached the small black box with deliberate, unhurried steps. She casually sat on the couch, lifted pen and pad of paper, and only then pushed the button.
    To Ari’s disgust, hope played its usual trick and gripped her heart . All her lectures had been for naught, and she knew she was going to be crushed. Once again, she was sure, no dream job would materialize to save her mother from death and keep her from living on the streets.
    “Ms. Harlow, this is James Flander from Sunstream Electronics. We’ve gone over your application and feel you are a strong candidate for our team. Please give us a call back as soon as you get this message so we can schedule you for an early interview.”
    Ari barely heard the rest of the message and had to play it back twice more so she could write down the number. Her hands were shaking so badly, she could barely grip the pen.
    Waiting until her voice was calm and steady, Ari dialed Mr. Flander 's number , pressed in the extension and took several deep breaths as she waited for him to come on the line.
    Within minutes, she was scheduled for the interview. Excited butterflies filled her stomach as she rushed into the bathroom to shower and dress. It was going to be her day — she could feel it. She hadn’t settled by selling her body. There had to be some kind of reward for that.
    She left the apartment thirty minutes after taking the call and climbed into her car , taking a moment to breathe deeply because her hands were shaking so badly.
    “Calm down. You don’t want to blow this interview. You are smart, confident and made for this job. It was meant to be,” she told herself as she started the engine and pulled from the small complex.
    Arriving in downtown San Francisco, Ari found parking with astonishing ease and made her way to the modest five-story building. Sunstream Electronics provided home and business security for much of California and all across the States. It was a successful company offering great benefits and job security.
    The position was for an assistant, really just a glorified secretary, but she didn’t care. She wasn’t above taking dictation and typing letters all day long. It was a good place to work. When the elevator announced her arrival, she gave herself a few final words of encouragement: Chin up, shoulders back, stomach in. With that, she plastered a smile on her face and walked confidently into the room.

Chapter Seven

    With a bounce in her step that had been missing for months, Ari practically waltzed down the hallway at the hospital. She was now officially employed as a personal assistant to the vice president of Sunstream Electronics. She was getting a great salary, allowing her the financial freedom to pay her mother’s medical bills. She could feel her life turning around. She might even manage to make it back to school and finish her degree.
    A smile parted her lips as she turned a corner and hit a solid body with enough force that she bounced off and went flying to the floor, landing hard on her butt. The fall sent a sharp pain up her spine and her glasses went flying. Before she got her bearings, she leaned over and felt them smash beneath her hands.
    She cringed as she lifted them, to see if they were fixable. They weren’t. It wasn’t that she needed them; they were only a piece of her armor to hide behind, but she was so used to the things that she felt naked without them.
    “I’m so sorry,” she gasped as she attempted to stand, struggling because the pain in her back rendered it a difficult maneuver.
    “Are you OK?”
    Ari’s body froze as her eyes traveled up the exquisitely encased legs of none other than Rafe Palazzo. What was he doing at her mother’s hospital? Had he followed her there? When she encountered his eyes, his concerned expression made her forget all about her bruised tailbone.
    “What are you doing here?” she gasped.
    “I could ask you the