A Match Made by Cupid (Harlequin Special Edition)

A Match Made by Cupid (Harlequin Special Edition) Read Free

Book: A Match Made by Cupid (Harlequin Special Edition) Read Free
Author: Tracy Madison
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for pleasure.” Kurt pounded one fist against the surface of his desk, causing another stack of papers to topple. “No dice, Mel.”
    She’d forgotten about that one. She still felt it was good advice. “I mean it this time.”
    “What about when you blithely told a reader that if her husband was staying late at work every night, then he was most certainly cheating, and she should go talk to a good divorce attorney and take him for everything he had?”
    “That could have been true! That husband hadn’t been home on time in over a year!”
    Kurt’s mouth straightened into a taut line. “The problem,” he said in a monotone voice, “is that you’re giving advice based on your issues with love and your distrust of men. It can’t continue. Simple as that.”
    She coughed to cover her surprise at her boss’s words. At the truth of them. “I don’t distrust all men. But come on, Kurt—Jace? Stick me with someone else. Anyone else.”
    “Really, Mel? You think you’re in a position to make demands?” Kurt swept his beefy fingers through his curly mop of hair. “Besides which, it isn’t all bad. You’ve been begging me for an assignment, and I have one for you and Jace to work on together. If you decide to stay.”
    She was all set to argue her case—weak as it was—when she realized what Kurt had said. “An assignment? As in an actual, honest-to-God, my-name-on-the-byline assignment?”
    “I thought that would interest you.”
    Yeah, well, loathe as she was to admit it, she was interested. The Portland Gazette was small, but Jace had a wide readership. Wide enough that he’d been offered positions with larger papers. But for whatever reason, he continued to stick it out here. So an assignment with him might give her a platform to build on.
    “What’s the assignment?” she asked through gritted teeth.
    “A Valentine’s Day feature.” Kurt grinned at her. “You might actually learn something about love that you can apply to the advice column. A win-win situation, if you ask me.”
    “Are you kidding? You want me to write a fluff piece with Jace?”
    “I do, and you get to keep your job to boot. You might not like the terms, but I’d say they’re worth considering. Of course, it’s your choice.” Kurt’s chin was set, his gaze firmly planted on hers. He was not going to change his mind.
    She should be grabbing on to this with both hands. This was a chance to prove herself. She should feel excited. Instead, every part of her tensed with panic. “Why is Jace even willing to do this? Doesn’t he have more important things to take up his time?”
    “Strangely, working with you was his idea. You owe him a thank-you, because if it wasn’t for him, you’d be out of a job.”
    Jace’s idea? She silently counted to ten before freaking out. Maybe Jace had a heart. Maybe she was jumping to all the wrong conclusions regarding his motivation. She gave herself a few seconds to consider that. “How did this conversation take place, Kurt?”
    “One word at a time,” Kurt said, completely straight-faced. “Other than that, I have no idea what you mean.”
    “I mean, how did you and Jace happen to discuss the fact that you might be firing me in the first place? Isn’t that sort of a breach of confidence?”
    Kurt looked at her for so long she began to wonder if he’d even heard her, but then he laughed. Loudly. “Breach of confidence. Nice one, Mel. Nah, all that happened was Jace read your column and knew you’d be up to your eyeballs in hot water. He approached me, I listened and we made the deal I offered you.”
    “Right. Because he’s so friggin’ kindhearted.” She backed up and braced herself against the closed door. Knowing Jace, this deal was more about seducing her than helping her. He’d flirted with her relentlessly almost from the day she was hired, had asked her out repeatedly and hadn’t even tried to hide his interest. “Did you ask him what he expects to gain from

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