Anything You Can Do - By Sally Berneathy Page 0,2

to work into the conversation that he was a partner. So much for incomplete evidence. The man was an arrogant jerk, no doubt about it.

Since she couldn't think of any subtle way to retaliate by letting him know that she was up for a partnership in the very near future, she just kept running, increasing her pace slightly even though they were starting up a hill.

He stayed right with her, and while his face was shiny with perspiration, he continued to breathe through his nose, a feat she was finding increasingly difficult. She grudgingly gave him credit. He was doing a lot better than she'd expected.

"That hill was a killer, wasn't it?" he asked as they started down the other side.

She smiled. She'd been right about the health club. This was probably the first hill he'd ever run. "Wait till you get to the one at the end of the fifth mile. We're talking serial killer."

"You sound like you're familiar with the route."

"I've run here a couple of times."

"I've only run sporadically since the high school track team."

Aha, Bailey thought. Already he's making excuses for losing. She increased her pace again, but again he refused to fall back.

"Twenty-eight thirty!" a voice announced.

Bailey's attention snapped to the volunteer with the stopwatch calling out the four-mile time. The marker must be short. Her time should be closer to thirty minutes. Austin didn't seem to notice, and she wasn't about to tell him. Let him relax, think he was doing better than he really was, then she'd run the socks off him.

They strode along in silence for a few minutes. He really did keep an awfully good pace for someone of his size.

"You don't look like a runner," she finally said.

"You do," he answered, and something in his voice made her glance his way, into his bright, appraising gaze.

She directed her attention back to running. That particular stare was undoubtedly calculated to make women melt—a weakness to which she was fortunately immune. Nevertheless, it was time to speed up again.

Adrenaline and endorphins gushing, running on a high, almost flying, she found herself smiling. Only from the joy of the exercise, she assured herself, not from Austin's comments. Nevertheless, she quickly erased the smile lest he see it and think she'd been taken in by his erotic eyes.

Almost without conscious effort, her pace increased a little more. By the time the two of them reached the "killer hill at the end of the fifth mile," however, Bailey thought she just might have pushed a bit too hard. Her breathing had increased almost to the point of panting, and her easy stride felt forced. She gave serious consideration to crawling up the hill.

"How you doing?" Austin asked as they began the climb. It was his first comment in quite a while, and Bailey was grateful for more than one reason. She had no energy left to talk, needed it all for running.

"Great," she answered in a breathy grunt, the most articulate sound of which she was capable. She'd die before she'd let him know how close to the end she was, before she'd expose a weakness, leaving herself vulnerable.

Her legs were numb, but that was better than pain.

As long as she could persuade her brain to keep ordering them forward, they'd be okay. However, the pressure in her chest and the ache in her side were distracting. She decided to wait until the last half mile to sprint past him.

The hill stretched longer than ever. The street department must have added an extra block or two.

Finally the finish line loomed ahead. Less than half a mile to go. Time to sprint for it, leave Austin Travers far behind with his toothpaste smile and blue contact lenses—for surely his eyes weren't really that bright. Her brain ordered her legs to stretch out farther, move faster. She thought they were following orders, but somehow Austin stayed beside her, a permanent fixture in her peripheral vision.

She pushed harder. The red FINISH banner grew larger, but the letters began to blur. Reaching deep inside, Bailey found an extra ounce of energy and stretched farther, churned her legs faster. From the corner of her eye, she saw Austin move ahead, cross the line a split second before her.

She wanted to curse, but couldn't. Breathing was an all-consuming activity. She stopped for removal and recordation of her number then stumbled on to the end of the women's chute.

"That was incredible!" Paula shouted, grabbing her arm.

Bailey wanted to protest that it wasn't