Ruining Mr. Perfect (The McCauley Brothers) Read Free Page A

refusing to act like she’d been looking for him, she refrained from increasing the speed on the machine. It was difficult, because she didn’t want him to think she’d been slacking off her normal regimen. And I should care what he thinks…why?
    “Cameron.”
    He gave her a subtle once-over, and she had a bad feeling he was mentally comparing her clothed to unclothed.
    “Take a picture. It’ll last longer,” she snapped.
    He smirked. “You’re in fine form today. For the record, I was checking out your shoes. I’ve been thinking about getting a new pair, and I hear those insoles are incredible. They new?”
    “Oh.” She blushed. “I, um, my old ones were pretty worn.”
    He nodded and started his workout. “How’s the arch support?”
    She answered and tried not to look at his elliptical console, but she couldn’t help noticing he’d started at a workout level higher than her own. She continued to study him out of the corner of her eye, wondering when she should increase her speed without looking foolishly competitive.
    After a few moments spent chatting about her shoes, he said, “Good to know, thanks. I think I’ll get myself a pair.” The bastard wasn’t even breathing hard. “So tell me, because I’m dying to know. How was the office party?”
    Man, he had nice legs, as well as broad shoulders, trim hips, and an ass she’d do anything to bite, just once. He normally dressed in tailored clothing that flattered his coloring and rangy frame. But here in the gym she was treated to nylon shorts, a cotton T-shirt, and exposed muscle that showed off his lean runner’s build. Yum.
    “The party?” he asked again.
    She blinked. “Oh, ah, the party. Good as far as office functions go. I did my best not to scare off any more interns.”
    “Oh?”
    She filled him in on her altercation with Taggert a few months ago, and he laughed.
    “He’ll remember that ass-chewing. Hell, I still remember my first one.”
    Pleased he didn’t view her as the ogre her coworkers had not-so-quietly compared her to, she asked, “What happened?”
    “I told you I interned at an international bank. Well, I thought I was hot stuff, so one day, after I’d been there a few months, I took the liberty of intercepting the secretary to assist one of the bank’s larger clients. She’d come in a few times a month, knew everyone in the upper echelons, and had a big wallet. I wanted to meet her too, to show I was part of the team.”
    “And maybe strut around a little.”
    “Yeah, I wanted to strut. Did I tell you I was the youngest intern they ever hired?”
    “No, but thanks so much for that detail.”
    He grinned. “Anyway, I did nothing more than get her—”
    “Her? The client was a her ? Oh, now I see.”
    “She was a fifty-year-old grandma. Gimme a break. Anyway, I just went to get her coffee and chat her up a little. She smiled and seemed to appreciate my charm. And yes, I can be charming when I try.”
    “That has to be seen to be believed.”
    He laughed.
    “So what happened with the client?”
    “After we chatted a while, she let me help her to her feet, kissed my cheek, then went in to see my boss. No mess, no fuss. I’d done my part to ease the client. An hour later, my boss took me into a private office down the hall, shut the door, and went ballistic.”
    “Really? Just because you were being polite?”
    “Apparently the older lady thought I was offering my services and wanted to take me up on them.”
    She frowned. “Is that what you were doing? Because that’s serious stuff. Even I know stealing a client is bad etiquette, Cameron.”
    “I wasn’t trying to steal her. And she didn’t want me for my financial skills. She wanted a different kind of service.”
    “I don’t get it.”
    “She’d met her last boyfriend at the bank. She thought I was into older women, that I was hitting on her. She wanted me—and not to invest her money for her.”
    Vanessa gaped. “Really?”
    He grimaced.