Read Online The Morning After the Night Before: Love & Lust in the city that never sleeps! by Nikki Logan - Free Book Online Page A

motivated about my work.’
    Tssss! Burned.
    But he didn’t even blink, damn him. ‘I don’t have to be astonished. I’m going to see it.’
    â€˜When?’
    â€˜When we cut you a cheque for fifty thousand pounds.’
    Her respiration seized for shocked moments, but she had just enough left to stammer, ‘I thought we weren’t in your top five?’
    â€˜You’re not. But you are sixth, fair and square. And, as you rightly point out, it doesn’t cost a mountain extra to have you. I’ll just shave ten grand off each of the others. They’ll barely feel it.’
    â€˜I…um…thank you.’
    â€˜Don’t thank me. You’ll be working for it as our UK domestic focus. You’ll cooperate with Darcy on possible media exposure and with Kevin on a style guide for all your visual material. We’ll expect multiple public relations opportunitiesevery year and invitations to any significant otter-based events.’
    Wow. Had she been this much of an autocrat when approving previous recipients?
    Her smile stretched. ‘Of course.’
    And just like that she found herself working for Harry Mitchell again.
    Crap.
    * * *
    â€˜Ms Dean, a word?’
    Ugh…so close. She’d even called the lift already.
    On a careful lungful of manners, Izzy turned. ‘Mr Mitchell.’
    He glanced around them to ensure they were alone. ‘Nicely played.’
    â€˜What do you mean?’
    â€˜I mean exactly that. Well played.’
    â€˜It’s not a game. The Lutra Trust has as much right as any other group to petition Broadmore Natále for support.’
    â€˜Is that why you didn’t put your own name on the application? Because it’s all so transparent?’
    Heat threatened at the back of her neck. Only some of it was embarrassment at being caught out, because she had thought putting her own name on the application might have lessenedthe trust’s chances, given how she’d left things with the company.
    â€˜The trust’s EO signs off on all our pitch submissions. I wasn’t trying to hide it.’
    Much.
    â€˜I made it my business to check into the whole shortlist,’ he said. ‘Just to be sure.’
    â€˜Sure of what?’
    â€˜That they genuinely earned their spot. A couple of them have been in our top ten for years.’
    â€˜Because they’re worthy and deliver a guaranteed return, not because anything dodgy was going on with their selection.’ Too bad if she was defending the competition. She’d chaired that selection panel the past five years.
    God, twenty seconds back in his company and he’d questioned her integrity and capabilities in close succession. ‘Anyway, if it offended you so much why did you shortlist us?’
    â€˜Because you are a recently departed staff member with an axe to grind. Not shortlisting you could have been made to look like sour grapes.’
    If she was that kind of a person, sure. And, naturally, he assumed she was.
    â€˜Then why did you grant the submission? You would have been quite within your rights—andwithin your policy—to draw your line at number five, as usual.’
    The lift arrived empty and he herded her into it.
    â€˜I felt a certain amount of pressure.’
    â€˜Because I’m an ex-staff member?’
    He smiled and then murmured between his teeth, ‘Because we’ve slept together.’
    It was only then she realised that he’d strategically positioned his tall self between her and the lift’s surveillance camera. And that his casual palm-down lean on the little speaker/microphone above the emergency phone wasn’t as casual as it appeared. He didn’t want this conversation monitored.
    If she didn’t know him so well, she’d have guessed he was protecting her.
    But Harry Mitchell only prioritised one person.
    Offence surged through her body and fired her up. ‘You think I would use