'Thanks for that calming thought.' Polly allowed herself a quick gulp of coffee and then checked her BlackBerry. I mean, we're all depending on you, obviously, but I don't want the fact that you have the future of a hundred people in your hands to make you nervous.' And, yes, she was afraid of Damon Doukakis. She was afraid of the responsibility and of the consequences of failure. 'I'm not afraid.' The lie wedged itself in her throat. They sniff out weakness and they move in for the kill.' 'If you show him you're afraid, he'll walk all over you. 'Stay calm,' Debbie swooped across the office and put the plate and the mugs on the desk. Sleeping didn't make any of it go away and reality pressed down on her like a heavy weight.Įverything was about to change. Her heart pounded and deep in her stomach was a solid lump of dread. 'The meeting is in fifteen minutes! Were you hoping I'd just walk in there and talk in my sleep or something?' Polly hit 'save' on the document she'd been working on all night, her hand shaking from the sudden awakening. 'Eight o'clock?' She flew to her feet, sending papers and pens spinning across the floor. Polly rubbed her eyes and squinted at the screen of her laptop.

'Wake yourself up with carbs and coffee.' Here-I brought sustenance.' Balancing two mugs of and a large muffin, the woman kicked the door shut. 'Because you haven't slept for days and you're scary when you're tired. The headache that had been part of her life for the past week still squeezed her skull. 'What? Who?' The words were slurred, her brain emerging slowly from the shadows of sleep. Woken by the panicky voice, Polly lifted her head from her arms and was blinded by sunlight pouring through the window. Damon Doukakis just strode into the building.'

Doukakis's Apprentice by Sarah Morgan