Double Dare Read Free Page B

publicity shots. It all looked pretty solid, but one could never tell. He was about to snap the file shut when something caught his eye.
    Adrianna was still verbalizing her concerns in the background, but her voice faded away. He flipped the pages back. There she was, the receptionist. His blood heated immediately.
    He scrutinized the group shot. She was dressed impeccably and standing between the head of the organization and another suited man. He scanned the names. Abigail Douglas. Investment Advisor. He did a double take.
    What do you know? He flicked through the resumes at the back of the file. According to the suggested Ashburn team list, she was heavily involved in running his Mother's affairs. How amusing.
    "Well, well." He glanced up.
    "What is it, have you found something already?"
    "Don't get carried away with your wishful thinking." He closed the file. "Trust me. I'll do all that I can to watch over your interests."
    "And you won't tell your father?"
    "I won't tell," he assured her, smiling. He was happy to take it on. Especially if it meant he had access to the lovely Abigail Douglas.

Chapter Two

    Abby closed the boardroom door behind her and joined the meeting. Tom Robertson, the Executive Director, watched over as they arranged themselves. It was a fairly small, select group that had been summoned for the project control meeting and they gathered at one end of the polished mahogany table.
    Aside from herself and Ed, Penny Conroy had been summoned. Penny had been working as an assistant to Abby and Ed for the past eighteen months. She sat poised at the edge of her seat, her ash-blonde hair scraped back into a tight swirl, speared at the nape of her neck with a carved wooden creation akin to a spear. She had strange gray eyes and looked as if she never needed to rest.
    Caroline Bradshaw, the legal representative of their company, was also present. She was the one who kept them all on their toes. Quiet and observant, her personal characteristics reflected her role as shadow to the team's work.
    "Thank you for gathering so promptly," Tom began, rising to his feat and pacing, as was his way. "I want to discuss some re-organization of project control, with changes taking affect immediately. If anyone has any problems with my suggestions, please voice them." He was, as ever, leading the group, but giving an appearance of shared control and responsibility.
    "I'd like to begin by stating that I don't normally advise shifting project control about like this, and you may be wondering why I am taking this route now." A murmur of acknowledgement ran round the assembled group. "The situation is that I've been asked to personally manage a prestige account, so the asset management of the Pascal portfolio is going to have to leave my hands. This will have an inevitable impact on the team workload, but I've already informed all the clients involved so we can move forward."
    "Pascal has been a complicated client portfolio because they wanted analysis of previous investments as well as onward management. I'm only mid way with the analysis, so that's the first priority." He rested his hands on the table and looked round at them. "It's a two person job, so you're all going to be shifted."
    As the meeting rolled on, it turned out to be just as Ed had suggested. Tom was handing over to Ed, who would lead the team for Pascal. Penny would also go over to the project full time. Abby wondered how Ed had found out so much beforehand, then she noticed that Penny anticipated every word from Tom's mouth with a self-satisfied gleam in her eye. Abby began to wonder what the purpose of the meeting was, if everybody already knew what was going to be said—where was the fun and the mystery in that? She smiled inwardly. It was one of the reasons why she didn't socialize with them as much as she used to—they all took themselves far too seriously.
    Tom turned to Abby. "And briefly, in conclusion, the matter of the Ashburn portfolio. That I am