Texas Pride. Gerry Bartlett

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СКАЧАТЬ the announcement that they were partnering with Billy Pagan on the charitable donations.

      “We don’t have a choice, Ms. Wilson.” Shannon stood in front of the woman’s desk. She hadn’t been invited to sit. She thought about collapsing in the chair next to her anyway, but she was determined to play this game to win. “Cassidy approved it. Mr. Pagan is willing to front the money to save our pride, if you want to call it that. It is unbelievably generous of him.”

      “Are you sure he won’t let it leak that he’s all the money behind this?” Wilson frowned. “What an embarrassment that would be. Do you trust him? Should we get something in writing? A nondisclosure?”

      “Since he’s acting as our in-house counsel at the moment, I don’t know how I could ask him for such a thing.” Shannon gave up and sat. God, her feet were killing her. “Look. He’s a family friend.” Yes, that was the way she was spinning his offer. “He’s doing this as a favor. Because he realizes that his own image, as a lawyer who has represented some pretty shady characters, could use some polish. Donating to local charities is good public relations for him as well as for us. He’s promised to keep his mouth shut that he’s footing all the bills as long as I stay by his side for the events on this list.”

      “Oh my God! This is a dating scheme.” Wilson smirked. “Seriously? You’re willing to go out with the man to save the company embarrassment?”

      “I’d date a chimpanzee if it would keep us from becoming the town laughing stock.” Shannon slammed the papers down on the desk. “In case you aren’t paying attention, that’s my last name on the company. My father built it from the ground up. If I have to go around with Billy Pagan on my arm at a few charity functions, then that’s a no-brainer, Caroline.”

      She marched—or tried to—back to her cube. Too bad she was limping now. What would happen if she showed up in flats tomorrow? Oh, who cared? She fell into her chair and almost landed on her butt when one of the rollers fell off. Great. She’d obviously been given a piece-of-crap chair to sit in.

      The papers on her desk rustled as she tried to straighten them with shaking hands. Had she blown it? Would she be fired on her first day? No big deal. The consequences were merely her entire inheritance. She looked up and realized Caroline was standing in front of her desk.

      “I’ve been giving you attitude.” The vice president frowned. “Get up.”

      “What?” But Shannon struggled out of the wobbly chair anyway.

      “Someone’s idea of a joke. Friday was a nightmare. Six people laid off. Everyone knew a Calhoun was coming in on Monday while they were out of a job.” She walked around and grabbed the chair then rolled it awkwardly over to another cubicle. “This one’s better. I’m sorry about that.” She tested the new chair, then brought it back and slid it over to Shannon. “Can we start over?”

      “I’d like that. I went over your head about the charity thing. I’m sorry.” Shannon held on to the chair back. “My inheritance rides on my performance here. If I’ve screwed up already…” No, her voice did not crack.

      “Actually, your idea is perfect. We won’t let down the charities and Calhoun is still seen as philanthropic.” Caroline smiled. “Mr. Pagan knows a lot of influential people. Yes, most of those have been in trouble with the law, but he got them off. I’d say that just makes him more interesting.” She shook her head. “You sure you don’t mind going out with him for the cause?”

      Shannon sighed. “He won’t do this any other way. We have a history. Bad breakups in the past. You’d think he would give up, but he just keeps trying.”

      “I’ve seen his picture. You could do much worse.” Caroline glanced down the room. “My phone is ringing. Would you believe I don’t even have an assistant now? Just you. And I expect you to get busy on those calls this afternoon. Spin it like we’re collaborating with Pagan. Full partners. The charities don’t have to know we’re not kicking in a dime.”

      “Oh, that’s what I planned.” Shannon sat and kicked off her shoes. “I’ll get right on it.”

      “He must really, really want you, Shannon.” Caroline frowned when her phone rang again. “Rich and handsome. I’d give the man a shot.” She hurried down the hall.

      Give him a shot? Sure. If she didn’t mind letting him order her around like one of his clients. Don’t do this. Don’t drink that. You’ve had enough, Shannon. She’d be damned if she’d let him boss her around, even if he was paying for the privilege. That would be like… No, she wasn’t even going to think it. Her phone rang and she stared at it. Who had this number? But maybe it was public relations business.

      “Public relations, Shannon Calhoun speaking.”

      “Don’t you sound professional. Very impressive.”

      “I am very impressive. What do you want, Billy?”

      “I think we need to finish going over our calendars. I want to get together tonight.”

      Shannon thought about it. Did she want to see him again? “We could straighten out our calendars over the phone. Or with an email. Let me give you my address.”

      “That’s so impersonal. There are things we need to discuss. Dress codes, stuff like that. I wouldn’t want to embarrass you, Shannon, by wearing the wrong thing to an event.”

      “Seriously, Billy? You’ve been going to social gatherings for years now. And embarrassing me didn’t used to worry you.” She remembered being hauled out of a party when he’d decided she’d had too much to drink. Billy had a caveman mentality. She needed to remember that. Of course, when they’d got back to his place… No, some things were best left in the past.

      “I’m trying to change. I could use your help.” He actually sounded sincere. Of course, she knew he could turn that sincerity on and off, like he did in front of a jury.

      “I’m really tired, Billy. It would have to be casual.”

      “Exactly what I had in mind. I’ll pick you up at seven. We’ll catch dinner and coordinate our plans. Is that okay?”

      The very fact that he’d tacked on a question was progress. “Since you asked instead of told, yeah.”

      “Perfect. I’ll see you at your house. Casual. Wear jeans. I have a surprise for you.” Then he hung up.

      Shannon frowned at the phone. Didn’t he remember that she hated surprises? He loved them, of course. It was just one thing they didn’t have in common. Wear jeans. That could mean any number of things, none of them good as far as she was concerned. But jeans meant boots or maybe even, bless them, tennis shoes. She glanced down at the torture shoes under her desk and decided Billy would be surprised at just how casual she could be. She was smiling as she picked up her list and began to dial. She didn’t like anyone to surprise her, but surprising him would be something to look forward to all afternoon.

      Jeans with strategically placed tears really shouldn’t cost more than those without a single hole in them, but the designer label had made this skintight and faded pair ridiculously expensive. It seemed a shame to pair them with the leather running shoes but her feet thanked her for the choice. No way was she dragging out another pair of stilettos. Shannon picked up the phone in her bedroom when it beeped.

      “Your date is here, honey.” СКАЧАТЬ