The Courtship of Dani Read Free Page A

sleaze-ball!" she ground out in a furious cutting voice that made Lewis blink. "Who the hell do you think you are?" Dani looked him up and down, a grimace of pure disgust twisting her face. "You're nothing but a weak, spineless parasite. What on earth ever gave you the idea that I would be interested in you? You make me sick." "Now, see here—"
    Dani jabbed him again and continued as though he hadn't spoken. "Don't you ever dare to touch me again. You got that? You keep your slimy hands to yourself, or I swear I'll make you regret the day you laid eyes on me." She shoved him hard, sending him staggering backward, then turned and jerked open the door to her car.
    "You... you'd better be careful," Lewis blustered. "I doubt that my father would like it if he heard you talking to me that way." He was breathing hard and there was a look of acute dislike in his eyes, but there was fear, too, and it was on that Dani focused, savoring the grim satisfaction it brought. "You seem to forget that you're just the hired help," he sneered, whipping up his anger and growing steadily bolder at her continued silence. "You can be replaced at any time."
    Standing in the wedge of space between the door and the car, Dani paused and looked at him. Inside she was shaking, but it was from fury, not fear. "You can tell Frank that he can have my resignation anytime he wants it."
    Lewis began to backtrack immediately, his aggressive anger turning to apprehension. "Now...now wait a minute, Dani. You know I didn't mean it that way," he insisted in a panicked voice when she slid in behind the wheel and started the car. "Anyway, I would never mention this to Dad." Grasping the door, Lewis leaned down and treated her to his most charming, persuasive smile. "I mean, what's a little quarrel between friends?"
    Dani gave him a scornful look, put the car in gear and shot down the drive, sending Lewis stumbling backward with a startled cry.
    In the rearview mirror she saw Lewis silhouetted against the brightly lit house, standing in the drive with his hands on his hips, looking after her worriedly, and she gave a short, humorless laugh. She had no doubt that Lewis would keep quiet, not out of friendship but fear. It was very unlikely that Frank would fire her, and they both knew it. Frank himself would not even dare to use dismissal as a threat, since he knew that she could have her pick of any one of a dozen different jobs the minute the word got out that she had left Update, Inc.
    Dani mulled over the ridiculous incident all the way home, her icy fury slowly subsiding. If she had thought for a moment that Lewis had any real feelings for her, she wouldn't have reacted so strongly or been so blunt. But she knew he didn't. If anything, Lewis resented her. Her intelligence, her position in the company and the high regard his father had for her were all sore points with Lewis, which, until recently, he had not bothered to hide. This sudden about-face was not due to a change of heart. Oh, no, Dani thought as she parked her car in her condominium's underground garage. Only at Frank's urging would Lewis pursue her so determinedly.
    And it was not difficult to figure out Frank's reason for wanting to bring about a match. Frank was looking to the future. He was a hard working, ambitious man who had built his business-consulting firm into a thriving concern. He loved his son but he wasn't blind to what he was. Frank knew that Lewis didn't have the brains, the ability or the backbone to run Update, Inc. And he knew that Dani did.
    When she entered her apartment Dani was shaking her head and chuckling, a soft, cynical sound that held little mirth. She owed Frank a lot. Eight years ago, at twenty, she had graduated from college with top honors, yet no one had been willing to give her a position of responsibility because of her youth. No one, that is, but Frank Manders. Once he had hired her, he had been quick to recognize and reward her ability, allowing her to rise rapidly