Saibo-creator/bookcorpus_deduplicated · Datasets at Hugging Face

text stringlengths 1 461k
to hell with zack , bob and the snotty little kid .
if mccallum and horton was n't good enough to snare him then maybe it was time bob re-invented the company with some fresh talent .
he may not like it , and her father certainly would n't if he were alive , but it was her life .
she intended to start living it on her terms .
a polite cough drew annie out of her thoughts .
she looked up into the harried , concerned eyes of bob .
`` just twiddling my thumbs until dug-e arrives .
have you sent someone to the airport to pick him up ? ''
`` is the conference room ready ? ''
`` what about a packet of mandm 's ?
he likes those . ''
`` and i should tell you , i 'm not changing my appearance just because dug-e expects to see a hip , groovy person .
he 's getting me , annie mccallum , and the best service the mccallum and horton agency can offer . ''
she crossed her arms for emphasis and waited for bob to answer .
he tossed the newspaper he 'd been holding onto her desk .
`` read this to take your mind off things before he gets here . ''
he strode away and annie frowned .
she tapped her fingers on the desk .
maybe bob was ill. well , one thing was for sure , if she did n't get dug-e signed up , they were probably all going to be out of work soon .
she did n't mind , but bob , lenny and the others would have trouble finding good jobs at their age .
she slouched back into her chair and scanned the headlines of the paper without really taking any of it in .
until she got to the first page of the business section .
dimarco sells stancorp , the headline read .
the article went on to say that zack had sold his share of multi-media giant stancorp for what annie thought was an obscene amount of money .
the writer could find no reason for the sellout as the company was doing well .
i lose an account before i even get it and he makes a fortune .
there 's no justice in this world . ''
the end of the article had a reference to another in the gossip section of the paper .
`` typical , '' she snorted , turning the pages eagerly .
the gossip columnist wrote that she 'd seen zack at louisa mondeo 's party with `` mccallum and horton agent , annie mccallum , the hottest girl in town this summer after her recent arrest . ''
annie 's jaw dropped when she spotted the author 's name-melanie monsoon .
a picture of the watermelon-girl herself beamed out from the top left corner of the page .
the article mentioned how melanie had learned from the man himself that he wanted to spend more time on his montana ranch and scale down his la-based business .
annie read and re-read it .
when bob passed her desk , she stopped him and waved the newspaper in his face .
`` did you read the article about zack ? ''
`` which reminds me , what did you do to him ? ''
`` he only sells an entire company when he 's angry or upset .
and since you two have been together a lot lately i wondered if it had something to do with you . ''
i think you 're over-reacting a little .
i do n't have any influence over zack 's actions at all . ''
bob humphed .
the guy 's smitten . ''
`` he called here five times the other day looking for you . ''
he perched himself on the edge of annie 's desk .
it sunk perilously under his weight .
they needed to sign up dug-e urgently-the office furniture was in danger of collapsing if bob ate any more doughnuts .
`` this article just confirms it . ''
her mouth was n't working properly .
nor was her brain .
a mass of thoughts jumbled together to form an incoherent message .
all she did know was that zack told her he did n't want a relationship .
there was no maybe about it-he was definite .
he was n't the settling down kind , even if he did like her more than he liked melanie or any other women he 'd dated .
a commotion in the foyer drew their attention .
the double doors burst open and the receptionist poked her head through .
`` dug-e 's here ! ''
she whispered so loudly the entire office heard , including dug-e who stood behind her looking bored .
`` show time , '' annie said , pushing away any thoughts of zack .
*** the meeting was n't a complete disaster , if dug-e 's lack of enthusiasm was anything to go by .
at least he did n't rant or throw things or even call anyone names .
actually , it could even be called successful when his mother said she 'd think about the mccallum and horton offer .
annie and bob left the meeting with the words `` do n't call us , we 'll call you '' ringing in their ears .
it was better than an outright no .
`` i have to go , '' annie said after dug-e and his mother left .
bob followed her to her desk , a frown on his face .
`` i thought we could celebrate with a drink first . ''
`` that 's a little premature do n't you think ?
he has n't signed yet . ''
it was a welcome sight , and a rare one lately .
his smile vanished as he studied her face .
`` are you going to see zack ? ''
she grabbed her jacket , avoiding looking directly at him .
he 's made it perfectly clear he 's not interested . ''
`` in that case , there 's probably something you should know . ''
she barely heard him as she sifted through her over-sized handbag on her daily hunt for her car keys .
`` i set you up . ''
`` it was one of those spur of the moment things .
i 'd often thought you two would be perfect for each other and when the opportunity arose i took it . ''
he held up his hands defensively when annie glared at him .
i just thought you could be the one to change him .
you are perfect for him , you know , '' he added quickly .
she chewed on her lip as she studied her boss 's double chins .
it seemed everyone was pulling her strings lately , like a puppet in an overly dramatic play .
she felt like she 'd completely lost control of her life .
who needed coincidence when you had zack and bob ?
`` what do you mean , change him ? ''
`` it 's about time the boy settled down .
i know that , but he does n't , or does n't want to admit it .
that 's why he never dates relationship women . ''
`` relationship women ? ''
`` he only dates the sort who just want to party and paint their toenails pretty colors .
he avoids the sort of women he should be dating . ''
you 're just what he needs .
i thought he might figure that out after spending some time with you . ''
he shook his head and his jowls jangled like a turkey 's .
`` obviously he 's a bigger fool than i thought . ''
and obviously bob had got it all wrong .
she was n't zack 's perfect partner or he would n't have tried to turn her into someone she was n't .
*** zack leaned back in his office chair and closed his eyes .

to hell with zack , bob and the snotty little kid .

if mccallum and horton was n't good enough to snare him then maybe it was time bob re-invented the company with some fresh talent .

he may not like it , and her father certainly would n't if he were alive , but it was her life .

she intended to start living it on her terms .

a polite cough drew annie out of her thoughts .

she looked up into the harried , concerned eyes of bob .

`` just twiddling my thumbs until dug-e arrives .

have you sent someone to the airport to pick him up ? ''

`` is the conference room ready ? ''

`` what about a packet of mandm 's ?

he likes those . ''

`` and i should tell you , i 'm not changing my appearance just because dug-e expects to see a hip , groovy person .

he 's getting me , annie mccallum , and the best service the mccallum and horton agency can offer . ''

she crossed her arms for emphasis and waited for bob to answer .

he tossed the newspaper he 'd been holding onto her desk .

`` read this to take your mind off things before he gets here . ''

he strode away and annie frowned .

she tapped her fingers on the desk .

maybe bob was ill. well , one thing was for sure , if she did n't get dug-e signed up , they were probably all going to be out of work soon .

she did n't mind , but bob , lenny and the others would have trouble finding good jobs at their age .

she slouched back into her chair and scanned the headlines of the paper without really taking any of it in .

until she got to the first page of the business section .

dimarco sells stancorp , the headline read .

the article went on to say that zack had sold his share of multi-media giant stancorp for what annie thought was an obscene amount of money .

the writer could find no reason for the sellout as the company was doing well .

i lose an account before i even get it and he makes a fortune .

there 's no justice in this world . ''

the end of the article had a reference to another in the gossip section of the paper .

`` typical , '' she snorted , turning the pages eagerly .

the gossip columnist wrote that she 'd seen zack at louisa mondeo 's party with `` mccallum and horton agent , annie mccallum , the hottest girl in town this summer after her recent arrest . ''

annie 's jaw dropped when she spotted the author 's name-melanie monsoon .

a picture of the watermelon-girl herself beamed out from the top left corner of the page .

the article mentioned how melanie had learned from the man himself that he wanted to spend more time on his montana ranch and scale down his la-based business .

annie read and re-read it .

when bob passed her desk , she stopped him and waved the newspaper in his face .

`` did you read the article about zack ? ''

`` which reminds me , what did you do to him ? ''

`` he only sells an entire company when he 's angry or upset .

and since you two have been together a lot lately i wondered if it had something to do with you . ''

i think you 're over-reacting a little .

i do n't have any influence over zack 's actions at all . ''

bob humphed .

the guy 's smitten . ''

`` he called here five times the other day looking for you . ''

he perched himself on the edge of annie 's desk .

it sunk perilously under his weight .

they needed to sign up dug-e urgently-the office furniture was in danger of collapsing if bob ate any more doughnuts .

`` this article just confirms it . ''

her mouth was n't working properly .

nor was her brain .

a mass of thoughts jumbled together to form an incoherent message .

all she did know was that zack told her he did n't want a relationship .

there was no maybe about it-he was definite .

he was n't the settling down kind , even if he did like her more than he liked melanie or any other women he 'd dated .

a commotion in the foyer drew their attention .

the double doors burst open and the receptionist poked her head through .

`` dug-e 's here ! ''

she whispered so loudly the entire office heard , including dug-e who stood behind her looking bored .

`` show time , '' annie said , pushing away any thoughts of zack .

*** the meeting was n't a complete disaster , if dug-e 's lack of enthusiasm was anything to go by .

at least he did n't rant or throw things or even call anyone names .

actually , it could even be called successful when his mother said she 'd think about the mccallum and horton offer .

annie and bob left the meeting with the words `` do n't call us , we 'll call you '' ringing in their ears .

it was better than an outright no .

`` i have to go , '' annie said after dug-e and his mother left .

bob followed her to her desk , a frown on his face .

`` i thought we could celebrate with a drink first . ''

`` that 's a little premature do n't you think ?

he has n't signed yet . ''

it was a welcome sight , and a rare one lately .

his smile vanished as he studied her face .

`` are you going to see zack ? ''

she grabbed her jacket , avoiding looking directly at him .

he 's made it perfectly clear he 's not interested . ''

`` in that case , there 's probably something you should know . ''

she barely heard him as she sifted through her over-sized handbag on her daily hunt for her car keys .

`` i set you up . ''

`` it was one of those spur of the moment things .

i 'd often thought you two would be perfect for each other and when the opportunity arose i took it . ''

he held up his hands defensively when annie glared at him .

i just thought you could be the one to change him .

you are perfect for him , you know , '' he added quickly .

she chewed on her lip as she studied her boss 's double chins .

it seemed everyone was pulling her strings lately , like a puppet in an overly dramatic play .

she felt like she 'd completely lost control of her life .

who needed coincidence when you had zack and bob ?

`` what do you mean , change him ? ''

`` it 's about time the boy settled down .

i know that , but he does n't , or does n't want to admit it .

that 's why he never dates relationship women . ''

`` relationship women ? ''

`` he only dates the sort who just want to party and paint their toenails pretty colors .

he avoids the sort of women he should be dating . ''

you 're just what he needs .

i thought he might figure that out after spending some time with you . ''

he shook his head and his jowls jangled like a turkey 's .

`` obviously he 's a bigger fool than i thought . ''

and obviously bob had got it all wrong .

she was n't zack 's perfect partner or he would n't have tried to turn her into someone she was n't .

*** zack leaned back in his office chair and closed his eyes .