"Thank you for everything. It was wonderful. We'll be using you again." The words echoed repeatedly as Zomba's executives and four of the five Backstreet Boys filed out late that afternoon.

Dana shook hands and smiled as she stood in the foyer, bidding goodbye to the participants and telling each how much she enjoyed serving as hostess, feeling the fraud as she uttered the inanities. It had been a traumatic two days at best.

Alex wasn't one of those departing and when Dana returned the kitchen, he was there, leaning against the counter and chatting with Stephanie.

"He's all yours," Stephanie said, taking off her apron and handing it to Dana. "See you in the morning." She was out the door.

"I'm all yours," Alex echoed.

"Seems that way." She hung Stephanie's apron on the peg, waiting to see what he'd do next.

"You've had a long day. Why don't I take you out to dinner?"

Dana eyed him skeptically. "What makes you think I'd consider going anywhere with you after the way you've picked on me?"

Showing no contrition, Alex replied, "That's your fault for ignoring me. I only did what was necessary to get noticed. So now you can even the score at dinner. I'll be a sitting duck for you all through the meal. Come on, join me. Any place you say."

The twinge of pleasure that rippled through her couldn't be denied. While she now recognized Alex's heckling for what it was, his confession helped eradicate any remaining hostility.

"You showed off like a schoolboy making faces at the teacher."

"I wasn't feeling at all like a little boy," he drawled provocatively.

"I could hardly do my job for trying to keep ahead of your pranks. It was diabolical of you to get so much pleasure out of them."

"Guilty as charged." He hung his head, rolling those bewitching eyes to meet hers. "If you'll forgive me and accept my invitation, I promise I'll reform and be good," he said.

"Then you're admitting you've been bad."

Alex smiled, the sort of smile that always tore down Dana's defenses. She remembered a remark once made about actor Warren Beatty and thought how appropriate it was to Alex. "If he wants you to like him, there's no way not to like him."

But she wasn't going to cave in before giving Alex one last dose of his own medicine. "I'm too tired for dinner tonight. Maybe another time when I'm in the mood."

"You're sure know how to pander to a guy's ego."

"Your ego doesn't need any pandering – it's sufficiently inflated without any input from me. Go away, Alex." She made a swatting motion, as through shooshing a pesky fly.

Alex grabbed the hand and kissed it. "No more. Fess up, Dana, you wouldn't let me get to the front door before running after me. Now be a good girl and get your purse."

She did as instructed.

Chapter 22
Chapter 20
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