Read Online Risky Business by Melissa Cutler - Free Book Online

been impressed with the cutting-edge research and rehab methodology offered in the area of neurological disabilities. It wasn’t long before his American therapists suggested he look for a construction job working for Duke. He’d taken Theo under his wing and arranged for him to live in one of Shorty’s old, broken houseboats in exchange for doing odd jobs around Cloud Nine. That was more than ten years ago.
    Less than a year after Cloud Nine’s ownership shifted to Whitley, Shorty died. That had been another hard pill for Theo to swallow because the two of them hadn’t parted on the best of terms. Theo had been so angry at the carelessness with which Shorty handed the business—including Theo’s home and livelihood—to a dirty politician who couldn’t have cared less about it, that he’d confronted Shorty. That argument had been their final words to each other, which became yet another regret for Theo to pile on with the others.
    One of the many reasons he’d wanted to buy Cloud Nine was as a tribute to Shorty, a way to right his wrong by remaking the company into the thriving business it’d been under Shorty’s care. It’d taken years to achieve, but Theo had finally amassed enough money to buy the business outright with the help of a bank loan he’d been pre-approved for. He’d scrimped and saved to put himself in that position and had nearly made it happen.
    â€œOkay, then if Shawna was getting paid and business was happening as usual, why would she quit? Why would Lowell’s arrest matter to her?”
    Behind her, Duke and his crew fidgeted uncomfortably. If he’d been in Allison’s position, the pity would have made the terrible truth hurt even worse. So he kept a stony face and maintained eye contact to keep her focused on him, rather than the other men.
    â€œThe
why
doesn’t matter. She quit, and now I need to hire a new receptionist, which I was waiting to do until closer to the start of the tourist season in May.”
    Allison stared at him, the wheels clearly turning. Then her eyes widened into a lost, hurt look that was so raw and vulnerable and genuine that Theo drew a sharp breath and nearly let his stoic façade slip. She wrenched her gaze to the floor, blinking.
    It was disgraceful how terribly Whitley had treated his wife, a fact that hadn’t bothered Theo nearly as much before he’d put a face with Allison’s name. Before he’d stood before her and witnessed the pain in her eyes at discovering the extent of her husband’s sins. That expression of hers would haunt him for a long time to come.
    Sure, she was grating and stubborn and irrational, but no woman deserved to be cheated on or abandoned on a regular basis for a mistress. Why would a man do that if he had a real, beautiful woman at home—a woman who was having his baby? It didn’t add up—and it ticked Theo off that it bothered him.
    He shook off the feeling. It didn’t serve him to be angry at Allison’s circumstances on her behalf. She may not have belonged with Lowell Whitley, but she also didn’t belong here. It wasn’t as though he were plotting some dastardly overthrow that would leave her in ruins. By selling Cloud Nine to him, she’d have plenty of money to tide her over until she found a job she was better suited for.
    When Allison looked up again, it was with an expression of cool determination. She stood taller and hitched the baby higher on her hip. “Lowell was arrested outside a strip club. Apparently he was a regular Thursday night customer, so what you’re nobly trying not to tell me doesn’t come as a surprise. I might not be a genius, but I’m not stupid, either.”
    If that’s the way she wanted to play it, like she was unaffected by the revelation, then he was fine with going along. By the looks of it, the other guys were, too.
    She wrinkled her nose in an exaggerated