Read Online All Jacked Up by Desiree Holt - Free Book Online Page A

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    Well, that was fine. She had no intention of ever seeing him again. She had enough stress with Hugh Rodgers who refused to give her the title of director without taking on a relationship with a man who she had nothing in common with.
    And speaking of Hugh, she planned to attack him again first thing Monday morning. She knew she did damn good work. Her résumé was the credits on the video she directed. If he wasn’t going to let her put director next to her name then she wanted more money. So she could get a better leg-up to leaving and forming her own production company.
    She groaned when the phone rang. She was in no mood to talk to anyone today. She wanted to soak in the tub then bury herself in a huge container of vanilla bean ice cream.
    “Who is it?”
    “Nice, Darcy. That how you greet everyone? It’s no wonder you can’t get a decent date.”
    Oh, god, her sister Tricia. The icon for suburban soccer moms. Just what she needed right now. Not. She closed her eyes and threw her arm over her forehead.
    “Hi, Trish. What’s up?”
    “I haven’t heard from you in two weeks. I’m just checking to make sure you’re okay.”
    Darcy swallowed a sigh. “I’m fine, Trish. Really. Just working a lot.”
    “Aha!” Tricia sounded as if she’d just struck gold. “I knew it. You never get out of that mouldy studio. You have no life.”
    Darcy sat up, rubbing her forehead. “The studio isn’t mouldy and I do so have a life, I just don’t discuss it with you.”
    “Because all you date are those weirdos?” Trish’s voice held just a tinge of disapproval.
    Darcy wondered how two sisters had grown up so differently. One had graduated college with a degree in finance and married an attorney. They had the requisite two perfect children (well, okay, not perfect—snotty little brats), and lived a magazine life. While Darcy was…Darcy.
    Maybe it had to do with the fact Trish was five-foot-six with cascades of burnished gold hair and boobs to die for. And smart on top of it. While Darcy was the shrimp in the family with breasts that were too small and hips and thighs that had got all the flesh she should have had in her boobs.
    Darcy was always odd-man-out, always in trouble. The one who developed the ‘eccentric’ personality to compensate for not being the ‘perfect’ daughter. She should tell Tricia about Jack Manning. He was exactly what her sister had in mind for her.
    Only she probably wouldn’t have believed a man as button-down as Jack would have anything to do with ‘eccentric’ Darcy.
    “Darcy?” Trish’s voice penetrated her mental fog. “You still there?”
    “I’m here. Listen, I’m really tired. I’m fine but worn out. Thanks for calling and I promise not to work so hard this week.” She started to pull the receiver away from her ear.
    “Wait, wait! Don’t hang up.”
    Darcy bit back another sigh. “What, Trish?”
    “I was hoping you’d come for dinner tonight. Nothing fancy. But we haven’t seen you in ages and the kids miss you.”
    Yeah, right. Those irritating tadpoles didn’t miss anyone, as self-absorbed as they were.
    “I appreciate the invite, but not tonight. Maybe another time.”
    “How about next week?” Trish’s voice sounded so eager.
    “Maybe. I’ll call you in the middle of the week and let you know.” She clicked off before Trish could say anything else.
    She pushed herself up from the bed, stripped off last night’s clothes and tossed them in the hamper. What had she been about to do? Oh, yeah. A long, soaking bath and an orgy of ice cream. Right. What every single woman wanted at night. Right?
    Maybe tonight she’d be daring and eat the ice cream in the bathtub.

    * * * *

    Jack pulled a beer from the cooler on the back porch and rolled it across his forehead. Touch football was a hard, sweaty game and he really needed a cool-down. He was also trying to hold off the headache that had plagued him ever since he’d pulled out of