Read Online Tarzan & Janine by Delilah Devlin, Elle James - Free Book Online Page A

muttered.
    Scott’s lips twisted.
    Tanner frowned. “Is there something in particular you wanted, Dad?” He hoped to end this conversation and get back to his day trading, so he could continue to build a comfortable nest egg to retire on when his father finally fired him from the used car business.
    “Nope, just wanted to congratulate you on all the free publicity. By the way, Beans and I wanna know when you’re airing the next episode of The Tarzan and Janine Show?”
    Tanner muffled a groan.
    “What was that you said, son?”
    With a sigh, Tanner crossed his fingers. “Next Friday, Dad.”
    “Great, that’s just great. I look forward to seein’ you two. Funniest thing I’d ever seen. Beans thought it was an accident, but I told him it was your clever idea.”
    Not often did he receive praise from his father, and Tanner...well...being Tanner, wasn’t going to let him down over the phone. “Thanks, Dad. Well, I have to go.”
    “Hey Tanner, just one other thing,” his father added.
    What now?
    “Leave all the sales to Scott and the other salesmen on the floor. You can concentrate on the marketing. If you can bring them in, the sales force can clinch the deals. Got it?”
    “Got it,” Tanner grinned. No more sales for him. “Gotta go, Dad. I’ll talk to you later.”
    Pressing the speaker off button, Tanner sat staring at the phone for several minutes, stunned. His father had actually told him he was doing a good job. God, being appreciated felt good. Almost as good as his daydream, except for the one fly in the ointment.
    Janine.
    Tanner leapt to his feet, grabbed his car keys, and headed for the door.
    “Where ya goin’?” Scott stepped aside to allow Tanner through.
    “I’ve got just a few short days to cook up the next commercial, and I haven’t got the key ingredient.”
    “And what’s that?”
    “Not what...who,” Tanner said. “Janine Davis.” No way was he telling his father he didn’t have her contracted for the next commercial. He could handle this little challenge. How hard could convincing her to sign one little piece of paper be?
     

Chapter Five
    Tanner stood outside Janine’s apartment, clutching a bouquet of roses, a box of chocolates, and his flagging confidence. A lot was riding on this meeting, and he couldn’t screw it up.
    He jabbed a finger to the doorbell and then waited, his palms growing clammy. What if she said no? That single word could mean he’d be fired from the family business faster than he could say, “Hey Dad, a funny thing happened...”
    After what seemed like an eon, the door finally opened and there she stood. Her hair curled in wild disarray around her face. Even with sad, red-rimmed eyes and smeared makeup in need of repair, she was still the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.
    Tanner sucked in a breath, his gut clenching liked he’d taken a hit in the solar plexus. His well-thought-out speech slipped from his thoughts like water through a sieve.
    He stared at Janine, tongue tied and gripping the bouquet as though it was a lifeline in a sea of teenage, raging hormones. What was wrong with him? He wasn’t asking her out or courting her. He wanted her to work for him. Yet an image of her climbing up his body and wrapping her legs around his waist shot through his mind, spurring his cock to immediate titanium hardness.
    His gaze slipped downward from her face, taking in the fact that she wore a fuzzy old robe with pink rabbits and lambs scattered all over it. Her feet were encased in Bugs Bunny slippers, complete with six-inch ears, and she clutched a box of tissues.
    “What do you want?” she asked in her breathy voice, then blew hard into the tissue in her hand.
    “Are you all right?” Tanner asked in lieu of answering her question. As soon as he saw her, he’d forgotten what he’d come about. “You look like you’re not feeling well.”
    “I’m fine.” Her mouth tightened and her brow furrowed. Before she could say anything else, her