More than a Fling?. Joss Wood

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ extra. My gut instinct tells me that this is the guy,’ Luc stated, his voice taking on that tone that suggested that he was digging his feet in. ‘He’s a new breed of CEO—part bad-ass—’

      Patric leaned across the table to interrupt him. ‘Did you hear about how he walked into a meeting with the boss of the biggest movie studio in Hollywood and then refused to give them the rights to adapt Win! into a movie because they were too—as he later explained— “up their own ass corporate”?’

      ‘I read that he’s sold the rights to an independent, small company because they understand the vision of Win!. He’s very determined, very focused, and he marches to the beat of his own drum.’

      Direct translation, Ally thought, prima donna. Just what she needed.

      ‘Luc, trust me on this. He’s not the right guy,’ Ally said in her most rational voice. She didn’t work well with people who coloured outside the lines. They confused her.

      ‘No, Alyssa, trust me,’ Luc responded. ‘I’ve met him a couple of times and I thinks he’s exactly who we are looking for. He’s rich and successful in his own right, even though he comes from a wealthy family. He’s in touch with a new generation of tech-savvy people who have money. He’s charismatic and interesting. I want you to go to Cape Town, meet the guy, and if you still think he’s the wrong choice then we’ll talk again.’

      The wrong choice? Ally now thought. Hah! The perfect choice.

      Her mobile rang and she glanced down at the name that flashed on the screen. Luc...of course. She slid her finger across the screen and answered the call.

      ‘Where are you?’

      ‘Waiting to meet Ross Bennett again,’ Ally replied in a resigned voice. ‘He’s a strong candidate.’

      ‘I am the man!’ Luc crowed with a loud, undignified whoop. Ally hoped that he was alone in his office and that nobody could hear his self-congratulations. ‘And that is why they pay me the big bucks, ladies and gentlemen!’

      ‘Yeah, Luc.... You are the man,’ Ally grumbled. ‘Luc one, Ally zero.’

      Luc was silent for a minute before he spoke again. ‘Ally, you can’t possibly be upset because I had an idea that panned out...can you?’

      ‘Maybe a little,’ she admitted.

      Luc’s chuckle was warm and affectionate in her ear. ‘You are such a pork chop, kid. We run Bellechier as a team effort—you know this. I might be the CEO but I frequently ask my dad for help and advice. When Patric gets stuck on a design he calls our mother and they talk it through. You can’t find the face and we’re trying to help you out. When are you going to stop taking everything so personally, sweetheart?’

      But it was personal. Because if she wasn’t performing at a hundred per cent she was failing them, wasn’t she? They’d given her so much, and since she couldn’t give them what they most wanted—her thoughts and feelings—she gave them what she could—her labour and her loyalty. ‘I’m sorry.’

      ‘Don’t apologise...you’ve done nothing wrong!’

      His words were kind but Ally could imagine Luc shoving his hand into his coal-black hair in frustration. She frequently frustrated her very emotionally expressive and intelligent family. Dammit.

      She looked for an excuse to end this conversation. ‘I’m just a bit tired, Luc.’

      ‘Tired, thin...probably undernourished. You’re working far too hard and you are going to burn out, Alyssa. And then Maman is going to kill me!’

      Back to this old chestnut... She’d always been thin—that was nothing new. And, yes, she was working hard, but she always had. ‘Luc, I’m fine! How many times do I have to say it?’

      ‘We don’t believe you...mostly because you look like a panda and you barely touched your food the other night. Are you coping at work?’

      Ally’s eyes narrowed as the barman topped up her wine and she sent him a grateful smile. ‘Do you have any complaints?’

      ‘No, of course I don’t.’

      ‘Then I’m coping at work.’

      Ally heard the long breath he expelled. ‘You are the reason I don’t have a girlfriend, Ally; I spend too much emotional energy worrying about you.’

      Ally had to smile at that. ‘Rubbish. You don’t have a girlfriend because you have a low boredom threshold.’

      ‘That too. Listen, with Ross try your best, okay? Be charming...funny...because despite the fact that you are as prickly as a hedgehog I know you can be both. Je t’adore, Alyssa.’

      She wished she could give him those words back but, as always, they stuck in her throat.

      ‘Bye, Luc.’

      Luc disconnected and Ally dropped her phone into her bag. Her brothers: good-looking, smart, kind. Even if she was prepared to get involved with a man, could get involved, she’d probably still be single because they’d set the bar extremely high.

      One day maybe she’d feel brave enough to try to find a man who matched up. Maybe one day she’d have the time to try. One day.

      But not any time soon.

      TWO

      ‘Something with your wine?’

      Ally looked up into those amazing green-brown-gold eyes and her heart kerplopped in her chest again. His caramel-brown hair was squeaky clean and had been left to curl down his strong neck. Even in the low light of the bar she could see the sun-kissed blond streaks and tips. Too natural to have come out of a salon, she decided, and he didn’t seem to be the type to fuss. He’d removed the two-day-old shadow off his face—sadly, in her opinion—and his cargo pants and vivid red tee had been replaced with a very nice fitted pair of dark jeans and a loose button-down black linen shirt, the cuffs of which he’d rolled up his tanned arms.

      Oh, yeah...he so had the X-factor and the Y-factor...and the make-her-hum-factor.

      ‘Ally?’

      The way he said her name, in his deep, quizzical voice, had her pulling herself together. ‘Wine... Hi... The wine is fine. Why do you ask?’

      ‘You were scowling into it.’ Ross slid onto the stool next to her and ordered a beer from the bartender. Then he turned back to her and made a big point of inspecting her from top to toe. ‘You surprise me, Jones. I was expecting another black and white combo. Nice.’

      So he’d noticed...good. Changing his perception about Bellechier—that it was snooty and snobby—was her first goal, and that was why she’d deliberately chosen a very different outfit for this evening. He needed to see that their new line was fun and casual and would suit his obviously casual approach to life and work.

      So as part of her strategy for the evening she wore the only dress she had brought with her: a short, flouncy cobalt number that was trimmed in black and cinched in at the waist with a funky silver belt. It also happened to come from the new line they were launching in a few months’ time.

СКАЧАТЬ