She pulled on the blazer and checked herself in the mirror. Perfect. On the surface, she looked serious and sober and all business. Inside, she was squishy and soft and woozy with tenderness for Matt. She hoped her outside would rub off on her inside and not the reverse.

Ellie floated down the stairs, dressed in her new, softer clothes. Since she’d slept with Bill, she’d become positively dreamy. “What’s happening?” she asked when she reached her friends.

“Candy’s going to a business luncheon with Matt,” Sara answered. “Welcome to the bizarro world. Candy’s working all the time and all I can think of is playing with Drew.”

“Isn’t it wonderful?” Ellie said wistfully. “Everything worked out. You and Drew. Me and Bill. Candy and Matt.” She sighed.

“It is great,” Sara breathed. “Drew and I really connected. He truly understands me.”

“I feel that way, too, with Bill,” Ellie said.

Candy smiled at her dazed and confused friends. She hoped they wouldn’t get hurt. It’s not that she was cynical, just practical. She had to stay clear-eyed about her own situation as well. “It’s not like that with me and Matt.” She tugged the blazer hem, straightening out the creases.

“Oh, no. Not at all,” Ellie said, wearing her know-it-all grin. “With you and Matt, it’s strictly business.”

“I’m serious, Ellie. Really. Besides, as soon as Jane sees the new Matt, she’ll want him back. I know it.”

“But that’s over. He doesn’t want her anymore,” Ellie said. “That’s obvious.”

“He might not say it out loud…I’m sure he doesn’t want to get his hopes up.” Matt was too polite to talk about Jane with her. Candy tried not to feel too guilty about them being together.

“I don’t think either of you knows yourself as well as you think you do.” Ellie adjusted Candy’s blazer collar, which was inside out.

Candy hadn’t noticed. Her vision did seem a bit foggy today. “The point is that we can’t continue this when we get back. Think of it. How could Matt name me a team leader if we were sleeping together? Think how bad that would look.”

“Things work out,” Ellie said. “A friend of mine slept with her business partner for years before they told their employees and it was no big deal. Everyone knew and no one cared.”

“At SyncUp, people would care. Trust me.” Her reputation was already shaky enough there. An affair with her boss would look really, really bad. Not to mention how it would reflect on Matt.

“One of you could leave. Matt’s moved around before. And don’t you want your own agency anyway?”

“In five years, sure.” She knew several PR and ad people who had spun off from in-house work with big firms to become consultants, with their former employers as their biggest accounts. “When I have enough experience. I’m not leaving SyncUp yet. That would be way too flaky.”

“Starting your own agency is not flaky,” Sara said. “You’d be your own boss, depending on yourself for your income. You’d love that, Candy. I think you’d shine.”

“I know what I want. I have a plan.”

“Just keep an open mind, that’s all we’re saying,” Ellie said. “Now, come on…group hug!” Ellie muscled them together for an embrace, which Candy enjoyed, letting the close feeling soak in. She needed support for the afternoon ahead.

Maybe the team-leader issue would come up in a natural way, assuming they managed to stay in business mode, and they could talk about Candy becoming one.

“I’ve got to go,” she said, breaking away reluctantly.

“Wait,” Sara said. “Let’s see where we stand on points before you leave.” Sara fetched the chart she’d printed out and held it out for them to look at. “Our biggest competition is that team from Santa Monica, those cheaters. We have to outwit them somehow.”

They went over upcoming events, including several at the Sin on the Beach party that night that she and Matt had agreed to participate in. When they were finished, Candy grabbed her purse and turned back to her friends. “Do I look businesslike enough?”

“Oh, definitely,” Sara said.

“You look like a woman in love,” Ellie said.

Candy opened her mouth to object, but Sara held up a hand. “She’s not going to let it go, Candy. Just accept it.”

“I guess so.” Candy slid to the mirror in the entryway just to check. She looked…funny. Her face had too much color, even for the sunburn she’d accumulated, and her eyes were too bright. She looked like she had a fever.

Or like a woman in love.

“Hi, there.” Matt stood on the other side of the screen door and her heart surged at the sight of him.

“Hi,” she said.

“You look incredible,” he said softly.

“Thank you,” she said, so happy to have his eyes on her in that intense way Matt had.

“You ready to go?”

She nodded. “See you guys!” she called to her friends.

“Hold it!” Ellie said. “We have to see how Matt looks.”

“God,” Matt said, rolling his eyes. “Is there any point in refusing?”

“You know Ellie.”

“I do.” He sighed.

“Ready for the catwalk?” she asked.

“With you by my side, I can handle it.” He grinned and extended his arm for her to grab. They were comrades in the coming ordeal and she loved that feeling. No matter what happened, they would be friends from here on. No more awkward tension about the Thong Incident, no more blushing and stammering when they ran into each other at Dark Gothic Roast.

They were friends now. Surely that made it worthwhile.

“Do a turn,” Ellie commanded Matt.

“Lord,” he said, looking sheepish under the scrutiny of three sets of female eyes. He took a slow turn in the summer weight Joseph Abboud suit that emphasized his height and build.

“What do you think?” Candy said, running her finger along the lapel. “I was going for a look that’s traditional, but still trendy. We bought him a blazer, too, so he can mix it up.”

“Aren’t we about to be late?” Matt asked, shooting his cuff to check his watch.

“The shirt is gorgeous,” Ellie said. “And I love the tie.”

“I know,” Candy said. The shirt was a dense cotton in antique white, the tie a high-end gray-blue stripe, restrained and elegant.

“And the haircut…” Ellie sighed. “Looks fabulous.” She fingered his hair. “You could use some gel, I think.”

“Forget the gel,” Matt said, moving away. “Enough with the fashion show. Let’s go.” He took Candy by the elbow and led her out the door. She wiggled her fingers good-bye at her friends. “Wish us luck,” she said. She had a feeling she’d need it.

An hour’s drive later, they found the luncheon ballroom festive with flowers in honor of the theme-Planting the Seeds of Women’s Leadership. Each seat held a small terra-cotta pot with a packet of seeds.

After they’d filled out name tags, Matt started toward the ballroom, no doubt to find a seat.

“Hang on. This is prime networking time.” She caught his arm. “Let’s talk strategy.”

“There’s a strategy?”

“Absolutely. Don’t forget our card-gathering contest. Before we settle on a table, we circulate and collect cards. You go that way, I’ll go the other and we’ll meet in the middle. Then we’ll sit with the strongest leads-where a longer conversation might net sales.”

“Ah. I see. There is a strategy.” He smiled at her, then surveyed the crowd of mostly women. “Looks like I’m seriously outnumbered.”

“Use that to your advantage,” she said, pressing his arm for emphasis. “You look very hot.”

“You’re suggesting I work it?” He raised a brow.

“If it makes a sale for SyncUp.”

“I didn’t realize you were so mercenary, Calder.” He looked her over. “A hot mercenary, at least. Since you agreed to go to the convention with me, what’s the winner of our little contest earn, anyway?”

“We should decide that, huh? Hmm. How about we do what Magellan suggested-have our own game of Truth or Bare? The winner asks a question the loser must answer.” She would ask about the marketing teams. Perfect. Her heart raced.