Dangerous Curves: Naughty Little Secrets Read Free Page B

like I was sleeping.”
    “ I gathered as much.” He laughed. “Either way, I won’t keep you,” he promised. “With all those e-mails, I thought it might be best to just pick up the phone and call.”
    “I see,” I said, trying to keep my tone casual. It was no use. My heart was beating at a thousand miles a minute. I was having a hard time concentrating. What could he possibly want?
    I was thinking,” he said. “That we should meet.”
    “We have met,” I blurted out, and instantly feel foolish. That was a long time ago. At a huge staff event with hundreds of people. After Nick had commanded the room with his speech, we’d been introduced, briefly. But I didn’t expect him to remember.
    “Ah, yes,” he said. “December, three years ago.”
    He remembered? I felt my heart beat even faster.
    “But that’s not what I’m talking about. I was t hinking of something a bit more…private.”
    “Oh,” I gulped. I was so shocked I couldn’t quite manage to answer.
    “I had an idea I’d like to run past you,” Nick began. “A proposition of sorts. Would you like to come by my office tomorrow after work to discuss it in person? Say eight p.m.?”
    Of all the things I expected Nick Colby to say this was not one of them. A proposition? Come by his office? I could barely find my voice long enough to speak, but I somehow got out the word, in what I hoped was a confident tone.
    “Yes.”
     

Chapter Two
     
    I had no earthly idea what kind of “proposition” Nicholas Colby could have for me, but I spent the entire next day anxious waiting to find out.
    I was only scheduled to work a half day – Mariah’s “reward” for me coming in on my day off – so I had plenty of time to get ready. I’d been planning to duck out early and get a manicure, pedicure and blow-out. But things at Brown-Eyed Girl ended up being busier than expected and I wasn’t able to slip away from the office until it was almost time for our meeting.
    Ah, well. I’d have to go “as is” – wavy hair, self-painted nails and a dress I’d picked up from the plus-size section of Target a few days before. It was hardly haute couture – I was pretty sure I was the only girl to ever venture to Mr. Colby’s office without wearing an outfit that came straight off the runway. Never the less, you had to work with what got, as they always say.  
    Nick had sent an e-mail earlier in the day to confirm our meeting that night. In it, he’d mentioned casual attire , so I figured something off the racks of Target should suffice.
    When I arrived at his office – an enormous building on Madison Avenue, I immediately felt underdressed and outclassed. I was reminded of one of the first rules I learned when I moved to New York: no matter how hard you try, you never seem to be wearing the right outfit. Tonight was no exception – although, to be honest, I hadn’t even tried that hard. Sure, the dress was super cute and it really accentuated all of my curves, but what was I thinking showing up in such a casual outfit? So what if Nick’s e-mail had instructed me to do so? This was likely a business meeting, and even his assistant was wearing at three-piece suit.
    Right off the bat, I was informed that Nicholas was running late. His assistant was apologetic – something about a last-minute conference call – as he showed me to an enormous boardroom on the 45 th floor. He told me to make myself comfortable until Mr. Colby arrived, then proceeded to ask what I’d like to drink. I told him I was fine, and he left, only to return a minute later to double check that I’d really wanted nothing.
    Finally, after I sensed he wasn’t going to leave me alone until I said yes, I agreed to a mineral water.
    “Nothing stronger, Ms. Lewis?”
    “No, water will be fine.”
    I was dying for a glass of wine, even a vodka tonic, but the last thing I wanted to do was get drunk while I waited for Nicholas. I figured it was best to have all of my faculties when