A Taste of Honey Read Free

Books the best publishing house I can.”
    It’d take a while to settle down and it wouldn’t be easy taking his uncle’s place. Staff usually didn’t like change, forced or otherwise. But he also knew that he could win their trust and loyalty once he proved to them that he was the same cut as his uncle.
    The only true downer he could think of was that his mother would want him to meet every single girl she could find. Okay, he could live with that. He liked women’s company. Just because he’d been hurt and humiliated didn’t mean his urges had died. But he was careful about his choice of woman. If they started cooking him lamb roast and apple pies or wanted to take his dirty laundry home wrapped in brown paper, he’d back off.
    He knew his mother wanted him married and she wanted grandkids. He felt a tug of compassion that this was something he could never give her, and somehow he had to make her understand that he’d never marry again. Once hurt, a million times shy.
    He finished off the whiskey, rose from the chair and walked to the large French doors and out onto a beautiful stone veranda overlooking a magnificent garden.
    He’d take over the reins tomorrow. All a man needed was a challenge to get the blood surging through his veins.
    Maybe Charles could arrange a cocktail party where he could meet the authors. Maybe he should take the staff out for lunch to get to know them in a more relaxed atmosphere and vice versa.
    There was so much to learn, and so many people to meet that Will gave a silent prayer of thanks for Charles Honey. A man he could rely on. A man he could trust not to stab him in the back.
    The first thing he’d do was to make Charles’ job permanent. He didn’t want to lose him, and, as an added incentive, give him a raise.
    Yeah, man, life was great.

Chapter Three
    Bring her candy and flowers. Shower her with gifts and write her a love-letter.
    Charli had made sure she arrived early for work, but she still hadn’t arrived before the young Mr. Knight as she could hear him moving about in his office. She hesitated outside his office door, her hand raised as if to knock. She lowered her hand, moved away, and sat at her desk pondering on the correct course of action. She wanted to appear professional and in control of any situation. Show him that she handled any new circumstance that came her way with a clear head and strong shoulders. A chief editor he could rely on in any emergency.
    She imagined he’d be uneasy, on edge about taking over the reins. After all, he knew no one here at the house. She’d be the calmness he was seeking, the friend in need, and the comrade-in-arms he could rely on.
    Still, the question remained, should she barge in and introduce herself or wait until she was summoned? Her answer came to her with the sound of a buzz from the intercom. “Please, come into my office.”
    His voice had sounded firm but nice. Heart resolute and spine ramrod straight, she was nervous and excited at the same time. She straightened her skirt and fluffed her hair, taking a quick peep in the mirror to reassure herself that everything was in place for the big meeting. Drawing in a deep breath, she entered his office. A large hulk of a figure sat behind the desk.
    “What in the hell — ?” he said rising to his feet.
    Charli was looking into the face of the most overpoweringly handsome man she’d ever seen in her life. His eyes had a hypnotic effect. A gaze that was as fascinating as drifting leaves in an autumn’s breeze. When William Knight walked into a room, women the world over liquefied. Her eyes lowered and, oh my God, his mouth. A vision of it pressed against hers filled Charli with the strangest and most wonderful sensation.
    He stood and moved around the desk to stand in front of her. Charli, at five-foot-seven was dwarfed by the sheer height of the man facing her.
    “Mr. Knight? I’m Charli Honey, Mr. Knight’s chief editor — I mean the deceased Mr. Knight’s chief