Read Online Red Alert by Jessica Andersen - Free Book Online

to pass.
    Still, the same principles applied. Do it right the first time.
    The first failure could be attributed to bad luck, the second to poor planning. Yet he was still free, still undiscovered. That very freedom gave him another opportunity to complete the task.
    The bitch would die soon.
     
     

Chapter Five
     
    Three days of relative quiet later, Meg sat in on Raine’s interferon treatment and then retreated to her office to hit the phones.
    It took her five calls to realize something was up. She would’ve realized it sooner, but she was distracted by Erik, who’d put Raine in a cab, returned to the lab and set up shop in a corner of her office with his laptop and cell phone.
    She scowled at him, trying not to notice that today’s suit was blue-gray, and his burgundy tie wasn’t quite snug to his collar, giving him a more casual, approachable air.
    Not that she was looking to approach him, of course. He was her enemy in the battle of the NPT licensing.
    The executive assistant at Donoway Drugs came back on the phone line. “I’m sorry, Dr. Corning, he’s tied up in a meeting.” But she didn’t sound one bit sorry. She sounded like she was lying through her teeth. “I’ll have him call you the moment he’s free.”
    Which, Meg realized as she disconnected the call, would be exactly never.
    She glared at Erik, whose fingers flew on the compact keyboard of his laptop. “You called them, didn’t you? You told them not to buy into my licensing offer. That’s cheating.”
    “You’re just mad that I got there before you did.” He looked up at her, his eyes deceptively mild. “Or did you think I was going to pull my punches because you’ve sent me a few ‘come hither’ looks and flipped your hair over the past few days?”
    Anger flared low in her gut, directed at herself as well as him. She’d tried not to look, but hadn’t been able to help herself. It had been a long while since she’d been cooped up in close quarters with a man that she—like it or not—found attractive. She’d only hoped he hadn’t noticed.
    Obviously he had.
    “Damn it,” she said to the room at large, not sure whether she was talking to herself or him. She grabbed the phone, punched in a string of numbers and waited for it to ring through. When a female voice answered, she said, “Meg Corning here, returning your call. Do you have good news for me?”
    There was a beat of startled silence on the other end. Meg muttered something under her breath. “Falco got to you, too, didn’t he? What did he say?” She nodded and shot him a furious glare. “Mmm-hmm. Mmm-hmm. No, that doesn’t surprise me in the slightest… What? Yes, I agree that it certainly sounds like blackmail—or at least undue influence.Would you be willing to write that up and have it notarized for me?” She nodded and flashed him a gotcha grin. “Perfect. I’ll owe you one… What? Yes, this definitely gets you priority when the licensing deal goes through.” She punched the disconnect button with a cry of victory and pointed the phone at Falco. “How do you like that?”
    With no change in expression, he tipped his head toward the open doorway. “You might want to reassure your assistant that you haven’t lost your mind.”
    Meg winced and looked out into the lobby, where Jemma sat at her desk, typing furiously, a hot blush staining her cheeks.
    Busted.
    “And when bluffing,” Erik said mildly, “might I suggest that next time you make sure to dial an outside line?”
    “Hell.” She stared at the phone, realizing she’d given herself away by dialing the five digits of an inside call rather than the ten-plus required to phone any of her possible investors. “That was stupid.”
    He shrugged. “Beginner’s mistake.”
    She remained staring at the phone, unwilling to look at him, hating the strange tension that had snapped into place between them. “Did you threaten everyone?”
    There was a beat of silence before he said, “I don’t