Heiress Recon. Carla Cassidy

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СКАЧАТЬ Bree Waverly, who was accustomed to the finest things and the world revolving around her axis, would probably take one look around and break out in hives.

      Troy wasn’t sure why that particular thought gave him a bit of pleasure.

      Lucas shrugged. “Compared to some of the jobs we’ve had, this sounds easy enough. All he’s asking of you is that you be a glorified babysitter for a couple of days.”

      Lucas was right. It sounded easy enough. So why were all of Troy’s instincts screaming at him to run as far away as fast as possible from this particular job?

      BRIANNA WAVERLY was happy to be home. Even though she’d lived in Hollywood for the past six years, Kansas City, Missouri, was the place she thought of as home, and after the events of the last couple of days, she was even happier to be here.

      There were times when it was hard for her to believe that the daughter of a Kansas City developer had become a “name” in Hollywood. All it had taken was her showing up at some of the hot spots and catching the eyes of several paparazzi. Suddenly her pictures had been in the tabloids and the girl from Kansas City was a star.

      She stood in front of the full-length mirror in her childhood bedroom to check her appearance one last time before going downstairs for dinner.

      She would have preferred a quiet evening spent with just her father and her stepmother, Heather. But the minute Brianna had walked through the front door, Heather had informed her that Brianna’s father had invited a business associate to join them for dinner.

      Tucking a strand of her long, straight blond hair behind her ear, she turned away from the mirror. She’d been hoping to have a little time alone with her dad this evening to tell him of the life-altering decision she’d made, but as she looked at the clock on the nightstand she realized she’d probably have to wait until the next day for the heart-to-heart chat.

      She smoothed a hand down the front of the designer dress she’d bought the day before and thrown into her suitcase at the last minute. The little black number was sinfully short and fit her slender curves as if it had been designed specifically for her. The label would impress Heather, and Brianna’s father would predictably ask what animal had eaten the lower half of her skirt.

      Knowing that it was getting close to mealtime, she left her bedroom and went downstairs to search for Heather. She found the attractive redhead seated in the formal living room sipping a glass of wine.

      “There you are,” she said as Brianna entered the room. “Your father is upstairs changing for dinner, and I’m expecting Troy to show up any moment. Nice dress.”

      “Thanks. Troy?” Brianna walked over to the bar and poured herself a glass of the wine that Heather had opened.

      “Troy Sinclair, Grace and Lyle’s son,” Heather replied.

      Brianna sank down on the love seat opposite Heather. “Troy Sinclair. I haven’t seen him since I was a kid.” She hadn’t seen him in years, but she remembered him. At ten years old she’d had a huge crush on the boy with the blond hair and the gunmetal-gray eyes. “He’s working for Dad now?”

      Heather shrugged her bone-thin shoulders. “I guess so. You know I don’t pay any attention to your father’s wheeling and dealing. Now, tell me all about what’s going on in your life.”

      Her mother had died when Brianna was ten, and her father had married Heather eight years ago. Brianna had just turned twenty-one; Heather had been thirty.

      It had been Heather who had encouraged Brianna to head to California and enjoy her youth, beauty and financial freedom while she could. Heather loved the gossip magazines, and in a bid to please the woman who was now her father’s wife, a young and naive Brianna had left Kansas City with the goal of becoming one of the women her stepmother seemed to admire.

      It had only been in the last couple of years that Brianna had recognized that her stepmother might have had an ulterior motive for urging Brianna out of the nest and halfway across the country. With Brianna gone, Heather could have her husband’s attention all to herself.

      The two had only been talking a few minutes when Brandon swept into the room. “There she is!” He held out his arms to Brianna, who instantly jumped up to greet him.

      Hugging her father had always been as comforting as hugging her favorite teddy bear, and this time was no different. He wrapped her up and gave her a smacking kiss on the forehead, then released her.

      “Did the seamstress forget to add the skirt to that blouse?” he asked gruffly.

      She smiled and touched his cheek with her fingers. “I’ve missed you, Dad.”

      “I’ve missed you, too. Are you doing all right?” His sharp blue eyes gazed at her intently. “Curt doing okay?”

      She nodded. “I spoke to him right before I got on the plane. They’re going to release him in the next day or two.” She fought a shiver as she thought of the attack in the club.

      Brandon frowned and said, “I can’t believe they didn’t catch the person responsible.”

      “It all happened so fast. When I spoke to the police yesterday they said they couldn’t get a credible witness statement. According to the people they interviewed in the club, the man who attacked me was a tall blonde, a short bald man and a burly dark-haired man.”

      “She’s safe and she’s here now,” Heather said. “Let’s just put that unpleasantness behind us.” Before she could say anything else the doorbell rang.

      “Ah, good. That will be Troy,” Brandon said. As he left to greet the houseguest, Brianna sat up straighter in her chair. It would be interesting to see what kind of man the boy had grown into.

      Hot. That was the first word that popped into her head as Troy Sinclair entered the room at her father’s side. His buzz-cut blond hair emphasized lean, elegant features. His broad shoulders, slim hips and long legs were a perfect display form for the dark-blue suit he wore.

      Living in Hollywood, Brianna was accustomed to seeing handsome men, but Troy Sinclair radiated an energy that warmed her and sent butterflies dancing in the pit of her stomach. Her reaction to him shocked her. It had been a very long time since any man had made her particularly pleased to be a female.

      “Troy, it’s nice to see you again,” she said. The warmth that had momentarily swept through her vanished as she met his gaze. His eyes were as cold as a gray winter sky.

      His head bobbed in a curt nod and he smiled, but there wasn’t any warmth behind it. “Nice to see you, too,” he said, then turned away from her as Brandon offered him a before-dinner drink. Okay, so the man was hot to look at and apparently very reserved. She sat back down on the love seat.

      “We need to make a toast,” Brandon said and took Brianna’s glass from her. “I’ll fill this up for you. Troy, have a seat there next to my little girl.”

      He smelled wonderful, Brianna thought as Troy sat close enough to her that she could feel the heat radiating from his body. A combination of clean male and a spicy cologne. “I understand you’re working for my father. What exactly is it that you do?” she asked.

      “I’m an independent contractor,” he replied.

      “Troy is helping СКАЧАТЬ