The rest of William went well with his hands. He was on the short side for a man. When she was wearing high heels, as was the case today, they were the same height. She also liked the fact that while he was certainly physically fit, he was slightly built, not heavy or thickened up with muscle.
She had begun to conclude that they might be compatible in bed, at least for a short time. Her relationships never lasted long once things moved into the bedroom. William had certainly been pushing for full sexual intimacy. But she never allowed herself to rush into that aspect of a relationship because sex was always the beginning of the end for her. The only part she ever truly enjoyed was the getting-to-know-you stage. That was the stage when she could still dream, still imagine that she had found the right man, the one with whom she could have a family of her own.
“You don’t want to end our relationship, Madeline.” William assumed his lecturing tone, the one he employed in the classroom. He was a part-time instructor at a local college. “As I’ve explained, we are ideally suited to each other.”
She laughed. She couldn’t help herself. It was either laugh or pick up the nearest heavy object and hurl it in the general direction of William’s head. She was an executive who knew it never paid to lose her cool, so she went with the laugh. But there was no real humor in it. The sheer irony of his words was breathtaking. William was, after all, a therapist who specialized in couples counseling.
“That’s certainly what you’ve been telling me for the past month,” she said. “But you’re wrong. In fact, I would go so far as to say you’ve been lying to me.”
“That’s ridiculous. Not to mention offensive.”
“I suppose it was all about getting funding for your couples therapy research, wasn’t it? I realize it’s a tough world out there for those who need grant money. But did you actually think you could seduce me into paying for your study? Really?”
“Madeline, it’s obvious that something has upset you. Why don’t you calm down and tell me what’s going on here? Between the two of us we can sort things out.”
Too late for that, she thought. She was filled with the same unshakable determination that she felt when she concluded that an employee’s skill set was no longer a good fit with the business culture of Sanctuary Creek Inns. Firing members of the well-trained staff was, thankfully, a rare event at Sanctuary. Nevertheless, there were occasions when it had to be done. Her goal at termination interviews was to counsel out the employee and suggest that he or she resign to pursue other career opportunities. The cardinal rule for conducting a termination interview was to never explain. Once you started listing reasons for terminating someone’s employment, you opened the door to arguments and counterarguments. Things got messy fast. That was only one of the many lessons she had learned from her grandmother.#p#分页标题#e#
The difference between getting rid of an ineffective employee and dumping Dr. William Fleming was that, in the case of the employee, she would have sent the person away with a handsome severance package and the conviction that leaving Sanctuary was his own brainstorm.
She had no intention of offering William a damn thing.
“I’m afraid there is nothing to sort out,” she said. She uncrossed her legs and got to her feet. “I appreciate your concern for my psychologically fragile state, but my decision is final. We will not be seeing each other again. Do not attempt to contact me in any way.”
She started across the room, heading for the door. She had stayed too long, she reflected. She was on the verge of losing her temper.
William shot to his feet behind his desk.
“This is nonsense,” he snapped. “Sit down and tell me what is wrong. You owe me that much. I know you have some serious intimacy issues, but we’ve made excellent progress in that area.”
A tide of soul-searing anger swept through her without warning. Her palms tingled with an icy-hot sensation. It was similar to the unpleasant adrenaline rush that accompanied a missed step on a flight of stairs. The realization that a bad fall had barely been averted was always a shock to the system.
She wasn’t furious with William—okay, she was definitely pissed at him. She had a right to be pissed, she thought. But she knew her rage was mostly directed at herself. She shuddered to think that she had been considering an affair with the little creep.
She stopped at the door and turned around to face him. Probably a mistake, she thought. The smart thing to do was to leave immediately and close the door on the near disaster that she had just avoided.