Ruthless Temptation Read Free Page A

the pain in her voice. Pretty girl, obviously
intelligent enough to have earned an MBA and been hired at HCS, which meant
there was no dirt in her background. Had she thought she’d uncovered a juicy
secret about him and the other Weathermen, and that’s why she was here? She had
guts. No doubt about it. To get past Dorothy in the lobby without an
appointment she must have put on a convincing face. Why did she sound so
insecure now?
    “ No, I won’t. Please tell me.”
    “ The complete anagram was via grim gong.”
    He
thought for a second, then grinned again. “My name. Viggo Ingram. You made an anagram from my name. Why?”
    She
shrugged. “It’s just something I do.”
    “ But when did you do it?”
    “ When I saw the huge plaque on your door.”
    “ You mean you did it in your head?”
    “ Yes.”
    “ How long did it take you?”
    “ I don’t know. It just … popped in there. I see the
letters in my mind.”
    “ Add my middle name and tell me what you come up with.
It’s Dennis. D-E-N-N-I-S.”
    She
glanced down at her lap and he counted. No less than seven seconds later she
lifted her gaze to his, smiling. “I came up with several, but I’m not sure
you’ll like any of them.”
    “ Tell them to me anyway.”
    “ All right, but don’t hold these against me.”
    He’d
like to hold something against her, but it wasn’t words. “Agreed.”
    “ Governing as dim gin, governing in mid gas, um … and
governing a dim sign. Also misgiving on red nag, and misgiving no danger. But I
like this one the best. Aggrieving on minds.”
    “ Is that how you see me? Aggrieving?”
    She
didn’t answer right away, as if she were weighing her words.
    “ It’s all right. I’d like to know.”
    “ More like arrogant, but that didn’t fit.”
    “ No, I suppose not.” Viggo wasn’t easily impressed, and this went well beyond that. He was astonished.
“How do you do it?”
    “ I don’t know. Honestly. The words just come to me.”
    “ Tell me why you’re here, Madison.”
    He
swore he felt her shiver slightly. He knew what effect that tone of voice
usually had on women. He wasn’t being fair, but he really wanted to know now
because he was probably going to ask her out. Assuming she wasn’t trouble for
any of them. No amount of charm was worth that. They’d each had enough trouble
the past couple of months to last five lifetimes.
    “I
thought I could blow the lid off a scandal. ”
    “ That’s not a good enough reason.”
    She
sighed. “You’re right. It’s not. It would also be a really sleazy thing to do.”
She eyed him warily, like she wasn’t sure if she should continue.
    “ Did you hope to do that because of who we are, or is
there another reason?”
    She
glanced at the floor for a second before meeting his gaze again, and he didn’t
like the fear in her eyes. “Something is going on at HCS. Something isn’t
right. That’s not the only conversation I heard Ralph have on the phone where
it made me wonder why he was spilling what sounded like carefully guarded
secrets.”
    Viggo said nothing, but his mind raced
with the realization that Ralph was more of a threat to them than this young
woman was.
    “ Were the other conversations you overheard along the
same lines as the one that led you here this morning?”
    “ Yes, but it’s not only that I thought there was a
scandal surrounding all of you. I can’t help wondering whether Ralph is
involved, as well as key people at HCS.”
    “ Then why not simply go over his head and address your
concerns with his supervisor?”
    “ Because I didn’t know who he was talking to. HCS is a
government agency, and I’m just an AA who has been there for a month.”
    Viggo understood her dilemma, but that
didn’t excuse her behavior. He leaned forward. “Madison, you still haven’t
convinced me your intentions were honorable.”
    “ There was an article in the Central Free Press a few months ago that suggested all of you know
the names and