All's Fair

Not Really a Florida Girl

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER

Before you start reading . . .

A special announcement about this book

Dear Reader –

If you've read any of my other stories here on Wattpad, you know that like most content on Wattpad they are free to the Reader.

BUT this story is part of a new Wattpad Paid Stories program, so only part of the story will be free.

HOW IT WORKS.  You will be able to buy coins through Wattpad, and use those coins to pay for stories like this one, chapter by chapter. It's not like paying for an entire book without knowing what to expect.  The beginning chapters of every book in this program will be free, so you, the Reader, can find out first whether you like the story.  Then you decide if you want to help support moving the story forward by paying a few coins to read the next chapter. And if you lose interest in the story, then you can stop reading – and paying – at any time.

WHY I JOINED THE WATTPAD PAID STORIES PROGRAM.  Like most authors, I don't make a living writing. I have another job - a demanding job with long hours that doesn't leave me a lot of time for writing.  It's simple. If I can get paid for writing, then I can work less at my job and have more time to write, which means I will be able to put more stories on Wattpad, both paid stories and free ones.

SO I'M ASKING YOU TO TRY IT. If you love this story and you want to support the authors who write the stories you love, you can make a difference by rewarding writers like me who spend many hours working hard to bring stories from our heart to yours.

MY PROMISE TO YOU.  I know not everyone can afford to pay for stories. Life is expensive. My Readers matter to me and I don't want to lose a single one of you. That's why I will ALWAYS have some of my stories FREE on Wattpad.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.  And I hope you enjoy my story ALL'S FAIR as much as I enjoyed writing it.

LOVE ALWAYS,

-Jane

* * * * *

And now . . .

Not Really a Florida Girl

The moment Grace stepped through the doors of the airport baggage claim area the blast of hot, Florida air hit her like a solid wall of heat.  She would so much rather be in Philadelphia.

She started toward the taxi stand, heels clicking on the cement, pulling her suitcase behind her.   Her flight had been twenty minutes late, and she was meeting Florida counsel at the client's office in less than an hour.   She calculated whether she had time to stop by the hotel and leave her luggage with the bell captain.  Probably not.   Doubtless Jack Rollins already resented the fact that her firm had sent an attorney in from out of town to oversee his handling of the sexual harassment case that threatened to derail the merger between the Philadelphia-based RKO Electronics and its small but aggressive Tampa-based competitor Shell-Morr Industries.   The last thing she wanted to do was make a bad impression by arriving at the meeting late. 

"Grace Wallace?"   The convertible pulled beside her and she looked over with a start. 

"Yes?"

"Good.  I was getting tired of circling."   He stopped the car, and smiled at her, taking the sting off the impatient words.  He unfolded long legs as he got out of the car, popped the trunk and started loading her luggage.  He was dressed casually, in faded jeans and a soft cotton polo shirt, and his light brown hair fell in unruly waves over his forehead.  Probably the result of speeding along the highway in a convertible.  She'd put him in his mid-thirties, if she had to guess. A little old for the typical law firm "runner," but life had a slower pace in Florida.  She ought to know – she'd grown up here.