The room was stuffy and the smell of cigarette smoke still lingered. She switched off her computer and tucked some papers into a desk drawer. Even the smoggy Los Angeles air outside had to be better than the stale air in the office. She opened the mini blinds and looked down at the busy city six stories below. Something lonely plucked at her consciousness. Could a man fill that void? Certainly not Denton. Denton might have a lot of girls fooled, but she knew him too well. The woman he married would have to pattern her life to the fickle fate of politics. The last thing Denton needed was a fiery redhead with a tendency to speak her mind. The only thing she had to offer him was an influential father-in-law. Even Denton didn't know she wouldn't inherit her part of the O'Hara fortune until she was married and produced an heir. Maybe it was deceptive to keep it a secret, but if he was marrying her for love, it wouldn't make any difference. The stipulation on the passage of the money was fine with her. It wasn't her money and she hadn't played any part in building the fortune. Mr. O'Hara could push all he wanted, but marriage and a baby would come at her pace, not his.
The last part she had decided only in the last few weeks, but so far she hadn't found the opportune time to tell either her father or Denton. She sighed as she closed the blinds and drew the drapes. It was time to break the engagement. There was no purpose in delaying the unpleasant chore. It wouldn't be easy to tell Denton the marriage was off. He was tenacious. What Denton wanted, he got - one way or another, and lately he seemed driven by some inner demon.
She squared her shoulders. The time to take control of her life was long overdue. Tonight she would break the engagement with Denton...then she would face her father.
The decision made, she marched from the room and locked her office door. The lobby was a mess, with magazines and newspaper pages scattered over several chairs. Clarissa must have left early. She gathered the magazines, stacking them on a table, and disposed of the newspaper. As she tossed the paper into the trash, a phrase caught her eye and she retrieved that page.
"Solitude in the Natural State. Vintage cabin on 40 acres of secluded land near Huntsville, Arkansas. Spring fed well. $30,000.00"
She laughed without humor and crammed the paper into the trash can. Probably some run down shack without electricity or running water - and how much of the 40 acres was vertical? She flipped the light switch off and locked the door.