In my Arms Tonight (NYC Singles Book 2) Read Free Page A

really.
    Coffee. She needed her coffee to think.
    She could get another job in a different industry, couldn’t she? Marketing, public relations or consulting, maybe? She had good credentials, good writing skills… What was she thinking?
    Nobody was going to fire her. She was a beat reporter. She had the most secure kind of job one could possibly have at a newspaper.
    This was her coffee-craving mind going into overdrive. Nothing else.
    A sharp tap on the table jerked her away from her worries.
    “Mr. Anderson.” Asserting control over her thoughts, Kat greeted him with professional poise.
    Paunchy, with a frame weighed down by years of hedonism, John didn’t bother smiling at her. He slammed one fleshy hand on the table and folded himself onto the chair opposite hers. “What do you want?”
    “A hot cup of cappuccino would be great.”
    John gave a smothered laugh, like she’d pulled a killer punch line. “I meant what do you want in exchange for burying that story about me using an escort service.”
    Kat snapped awake. The adrenaline in her system roared again and compensated for the lack of caffeine. This was getting interesting.
    “So you’re admitting that you used campaign funds to pay for an escort service.” Smearing lip gloss onto her dry lips, she deliberately irritated him.
    “You don’t need my admission. You already have enough to go on.”
    “I won’t ask you how you know about—”
    “Camila talks. And not just to you.” Camila was the escort Kat had interviewed in connection to this case. “I’m telling you. Don’t do it. You’ll regret it. You might think you’re invincible, but you’re not.”
    “Are you threatening me?” Indignant, Kat brandished a tube of Maybelline Great Lash mascara at him.
    Another supercilious smirk came her way. Just because the tube was pink didn’t mean he could mock it. Pink had power, too. “I’m giving you a chance to have a better life. Be sensible here. You could work a lifetime and never save up enough being a reporter. Don’t you want things? Just name the figure and I’ll have it in your account. Believe me, one little article is not worth it.”
    He tried to seduce her like he seduced the public. But she was immune to these tricks.
    Kicking her heels, Kat raised her butt from the seat. It was time to unleash some strong body language. Planting her feet in a wide stance, she wagged her finger authoritatively. “No amount of money can shut me up, Mr. Anderson.”
    “Oh, drop the ‘I’m an honest reporter’ act. The economy’s in recession. You could lose your job any minute. Ideals won’t feed you. Money will. Imagine your future. You could retire early, buy a home in France and move.”
    Ideals might not feed her, but they were what let her sleep at night. Her one fatal flaw was that was that she couldn’t violate her principles. Democracy and integrity were the two most important principles.
    “Your empty promises might work on voters, but I have more discrimination than to fall for them.” Averting her face, Kat started to leave, only to have him latch onto her wrist.
    For one instant, her spine tingled with fear. Spit choked her throat. The face of her stalker burst out from nowhere. She went to the place she hadn’t gone to in months.
    For all her bravado, she wasn’t invulnerable. She could be stupidly cowardly at times.
    “Let go.” The weak words somehow squeezed past her tight vocal cords.
    John slanted his gaze up. His blue irises were almost translucent. Kat didn’t sense any danger in them. “Think about it. You have twenty-four hours.” That line was stolen right out of a James Patterson thriller novel.
    “Thank you for the offer, but my answer remains a no.”
    Without wasting a second, Kat bolted out of the door.

    At nine-thirty am, all the politics staff writers gathered in the newsroom for an editorial meeting. From the slumped shoulders and tense smiles, it was clear that they’d all read the press release