The telephone number Professor Rachel Smith had dialed rang and rang in her ear.
The textbook-filled office she shared at the university with her friend, Professor Kim Woods, suddenly seemed so stuffy and cramped that she could barely breathe.
“He’s not answering, Kim,” Rachel said tensely as she gripped the white telephone. “Maybe I should hang up.”
“You haven’t given the man a chance to get to the phone,” her friend said. “Will you relax?”
“I can’t,” she said, the dreaded ringing hauntingly echoing through her head.
She couldn’t even sit still. She abruptly stood up at her desk, fighting the urge to disconnect the phone before he answered.
“Kim, I can’t do this!” Rachel screeched as she heard the ringing stop and his phone being picked up.
“Zane Farrell’s residence,” an out-of-breath male voice resonated in Rachel’s ear. “How can I help you?”
The deep sensual tone of him momentarily made her heart leap.
“Ahhh, hello, can I speak to Zane Farrell?” she stammered, helplessly glancing at Kim for support.
“Are you bringing me good or bad news?”
Rachel looked at Kim questioningly. Kim immediately leaned her head against Rachel’s to listen in.
“Mr. Farrell, I’m Professor Rachel Smith at State University. I’m calling regarding the university sexuality research study.”
“A sex study?” His manly voice deepened with sudden interest. “You’re kidding, right?”
Rachel exchanged a confused glance with Kim.
“Mr. Farrell, I’d like to set up an appointment to come over to your house. Our first interview should take no more than an hour.”
“Wait a minute, wait a minute,” he said, sounding astounded. “You want to come over here and ask me questions about my sex life?”
“Don’t you recall, Mr. Farrell?” she continued. “You volunteered for the study by E-mailing your résumé to the university. We’re doing research on the sex lives of the nineties single male. I’d like to discuss with you—”
“Oh, I get it,” he interrupted. His voice lightened, as if he was smiling over the phone. “You’re trying to scam me, right?”
“What?” she bellowed, insulted that he was doubting her sincerity. “I certainly am not!”
“Come on, Professor,” Zane stressed with a chuckle. “Admit it. You’re a radio talk-show host. Am I close? And you’re trying to entice me into making sexual innuendos over the air to titillate your listeners.”
She angrily grabbed his résumé from Kim. “Is this Zane Farrell at 312 Crescent Road in Bel Air?”
“Right name, right address,” he replied. He lowered his voice like he was telling a secret. “But I refuse to tell you the shade or size of my cotton briefs.”
“How dare you!” Rachel blurted. Her heart was hammering. Her blood pressure was soaring. “I’m not scamming you, Mr. Farrell. If you’d stop being a pigheaded—”
“Rachel!” Kim called out, pulling the phone away from her. “You’re representing the university.”
“But he’s ridiculing me!”
“Just talk him into the interview,” Kim insisted.
Rachel angrily grabbed back the phone. “Mr. Farrell,” she began, trying to suppress her fury. “I have your résumé right in front of me. You graduated from high school at fourteen years old. You received your master’s degree and Ph.D. by age twenty-four. Now you’re an entrepreneur who owns PLT Corporation, Zantic Corporation, and Afloment Industries.”
“Did I really do all that?”
He was impossible! “Mr. Farrell, I’m not sure why you E-mailed your business background instead of the personally-slanted bio we requested, but that’s your business. However, if you are afraid to participate in our sex study—”
“Who’s afraid?”
“Are you still interested, Mr. Farrell?” She inwardly gloated that she’d finally gotten to him the same way he’d gotten to her.
“I’m one hundred percent intrigued.” Then, in a bass voice almost in an intimate whisper, he added, “Will you ever forgive me for doubting you, Professor Smith?”
The warmth in his voice. His lips seemed so close to the phone that Rachel could almost feel his breath on her face. A pleasurable tingle radiated through her veins. She quickly looked away from Kim, embarrassed by her sensual reaction to him.
“There’s no need to apologize…” she began, clearing her throat.
“How could I have let my memory lapse on such an important project?” he went on. “I’ll be glad to assist you in every way I can.”
Kim shot her a satisfied smile, but Rachel didn’t return it. She got the distinct feeling that Zane Farrell was still goofing on her.
“When can we set up a time to meet?” she asked, preparing herself for his next smart-alecky remark.
“How about right now?” he suggested with an enthusiasm that both irked and excited her.
“Now?” she repeated.
“Sure. I’m very eager to find out what your sex test is all about.”
She glanced uneasily at Kim who mouthed, “Take him up on it.”
“Well, I—” she stammered, plopping down in her chair.
“Great! I’ll be waiting for you.” Then he hung up.
“Kim, I’m not going!” Rachel said, slamming down the phone and turning Zane Farrell’s résumé facedown on her desk.
“You’ve got to,” her friend insisted. “You were given three case studies, and Zane Farrell is one of them.”
“He’s already making it difficult for me,” she said, exasperated. “This is my first research project for the university. I want to do good, Kim. Why, oh, why did the topic have to be sex?”
“I can’t believe you’re complaining.” Kim stared at her incredulously. “I know five female professors who begged on their knees for this assignment, but you were lucky enough to be chosen by the administration.”
“Lucky?”
“You can’t fool me, Rachel Smith,” Kim said. “I know exactly the reason you’re doing this sexuality study on the nineties single male.”
“Why?”
“Because you want to meet the sexiest, hottest men in Los Angeles, that’s why.”
“Oh, no, definitely not!” She blindly fiddled with the case-study folders on her desk, suddenly aching inside.
Kim studied her. “Rachel, you’ve got to forget what happened with you and Kent. That was two whole years ago.”
“I’m over Kent,” she insisted. “I really am.” And she was. Kent was out of her system for good.
“Then why aren’t you dying to meet a great guy?”
Rachel opened her mouth to speak, but the words wouldn’t come out.
Even though Kim was her best buddy, she’d never told Kim the real reason that Kent had called off their wedding only three days before the ceremony. She was too ashamed and humiliated by what she’d learned about herself.
“I’d