Exposed (Tropical Nights) Read Free

Leo for short. It wasn’t much. He’d followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather and gone to Yale for his undergraduate studies, Harvard Business School for his MBA. He worked at the com pany started by his grandfather and was now its CEO. She found several articles about the death of his parents in a plane crash, and she felt the pang of grief and loss when she read them. She knew what it was to lose a parent. Her own mother had died when Rachel was eighteen, and Rachel missed her every moment of every day since then.
    She found Leo Hanlon’s name mentioned in a few business articles and he was named in sev eral “40 Richest Under 40” lists, but there was little else beyond that. She couldn’t find any scandals or salacious secrets. She couldn’t find any mention of friends or girlfriends, but she knew there had to be many. His type dated models and starlets and young heiresses, all impossibly tall and thin and gorgeous. He must have a posse as well, perhaps frat brothers from college or other trust fund types. New York was crawling with them and they usually moved in packs.
    She spent several hours searching the internet and calling sources, but it seemed the few details she had discovered already was all there was.
    She studied his photo on the company website. It was one of those stiffly posed affairs, meant to show how doggedly professional and yet affable the face of the company was. Karen was right, the man was handsome, with dark, thick hair and a pleasingly angled face, but Rachel wasn’t impressed.
    She would show up tomorrow and do her best to “dazzle” and work her magic, but she knew she wasn’t going to like this assignment. Men like Leo Hanlon were the worst. Rich, privileged, with everything handed to them. They lived in huge houses, drove huge cars, had huge bank accounts, and had the huge egos to match it all. He may be CEO of the company, but Rachel was certain he did little actual work.
    She had nothing in common with him and wasn’t sure how to get him to open up to her. Rachel was from a small town upstate, she had gone to school on scholarship while working two jobs to help support her father and brother. They had been devastated by the death of her mother and neither man had been able to work steadily since. Rachel did everything she could to help them, and it left little time for the kind of carefree life of leisure Hanlon likely led. The fact that the family home had just been lost to foreclosure and her father and brother had had to move to the city to live with her, the three of them crammed into a tiny Brooklyn apartment, meant she had even less time or patience for nonsense.
    So, yes, she would show up to the offices of Hanlon Enterprises this afternoon, and she would get her story because she excelled at her job, but she wasn’t going to like it. And she couldn’t imagine liking Leo Hanlon, either. Their lives were so completely different they might as well inhabit different planets.
    The sooner this was over, she thought, the better.
     
     
     
    “I need this deal signed, Harry.” Leo swiveled his chair toward his wall of windows and looked out over the Manhattan skyline, though he was barely aware of what he was seeing. He was too focused on the conversation with his attorney to really notice the sights and sounds of the city below him. “It needs to be done this week, next week at the latest.”
    “I’m aware of our tight deadline,” Harry said on the other end of the phone. “I’ve amended the contract to include the negotiated changes and I’ve sent them to Bondell Aviation’s attorneys. It’s just a waiting game now.”
    Leo tucked the phone receiver under his chin and turned back to his desk. He leafed through the contract on his desk. “I see you’ve included a clause saying they must respond within five days. Good.”
    “Yes. I’ll keep in contact with Bondell’s legal team during that window to make sure the pressure stays on