Read Online Dangerously Big by Cleo Peitsche - Free Book Online

insisted on using a laptop.
    At least the room is beginning to empty. The caterers have gone for the day, and the trays of carefully arranged snacks they left behind look like they were attacked by a pack of wild dogs.
    Someone sits next to me in a faint cloud of lilacs, and I’m surprised to see it’s Meghan Tunsten. She’s helping with the merger. Technically she works on behalf of Food4Life, but now that we own them, I guess it means her job is done.  
    “How are you?” she asks.
    I smile. “It’s an experience. Not what I was expecting.”
    Her brown eyes sparkle. “It’s not just you. This was unusual.” She pauses a moment to dig in her purse, and I quickly take stock of her. She’s wearing more makeup today than the first time we met, and her clothes are a little tighter.
    It could be a coincidence, but women don’t usually transform from understated to sexy for no reason. A flutter of nervousness tickles my stomach, and I clear my throat in a futile attempt to dislodge the bad feeling.
    Meghan has a thing for Slade. I wasn’t sure before, but now I am. Of course I shouldn’t care because I’m leaving. But I’m jealous. She’s pretty and successful and commands respect, and she smells like lilacs after a thirteen-hour day.
    She hands me her business card.  
    “Thanks,” I say. My gaze flickers over her shoulder to where Slade is in deep conversation with some of the company lawyers. I look back at Meghan. “We’re not hiring.”
    She flicks the card, and I notice her elegant fingers are manicured in a soft, subtle pink. She’s class all the way. “I don’t need a job,” she says as she tucks a lock of dark hair behind her ear. “I’d like to hire you.”
    I stare at her. “But I’m not even experienced as an assistant.” This is how I was introduced to her a few weeks earlier. “Most of my career so far has been in sales.”
    With an amused, breathy exhale, she stands. “Assistant? Oh, it’s obvious you’re part of the strategy team. If Chris Slade trusts you, it means you’re valuable.” She leans in. “I’ve been thinking about starting my own company. We should talk.”  
    She takes back her card, flips it and scrawls a phone number before handing it back to me. “My cell. Call anytime.”
    After she walks away, I stare at the card. It’s inconceivable that anyone would want to hire me. I’m a fraud. My résumé is fake. I never graduated from high school, and while I took a few online college courses, I most certainly don’t have a degree. The only reason I have this job is because Romeo took pity on me. I didn’t have any experience, and for all intents and purposes, I still don’t.
    But I find myself sliding Meghan’s card into my bag. I know I’ll never call her, but to have the respect of someone like her… Yeah, it warrants a souvenir.  
    “I think we’re just about wrapped up,” Slade says as he walks over. “Did you hear about your car?”  
    “No.” My heart beats faster. “Did they find it?”
    He nods. “Hawthorne has the keys, I think.”
    “And the thief?”
    “He ditched the car and was surely long gone. No fingerprints, though you’ll have to talk to the police.”  
    That is most certainly not going to happen. But my car is back, and I almost press my fist into my chest because I feel like my heart is going to rip a hole clear through. I’m supposed to be happy because now I can skip town.  
    But not only can I leave, I have to leave. Kidnapper Joe could be preparing to grab me again. He could be telling my grandfather everything. If my grandfather shows up…
    I don’t want Slade to notice anything is amiss, so I casually smile goodbye to the lawyers as they leave the room.  
    “Where is Hawthorne, anyway?” I ask nonchalantly.  
    “In the other room,” Slade says, referring to the adjoining conference room that the executives took over. I bet their sandwich platter still looks pristine.
    I go to the door and am about to knock