Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 74597 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 373(@200wpm)___ 298(@250wpm)___ 249(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74597 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 373(@200wpm)___ 298(@250wpm)___ 249(@300wpm)
That hand felt awfully possessive. Yes, this could work out perfectly for him. “Hey, I took you to Loa Mali on a private plane. It wasn’t all bad.”
She went up on her toes. “I’m going to get dressed. I didn’t think I would have to meet your coworkers until we got to the retreat. I’m going to change.”
She winced slightly as though she realized the mistake she’d made.
“I’ll get rid of them,” he promised.
He tilted his head down and she came up to brush her lips against his.
“I’ll explain. I promise,” she whispered.
She thought he was way smarter than he was. Or more trusting. Fuck. He couldn’t tell her he’d known why she’d said what she said. He needed a plan or she would walk out on him and then he would lose the girl and his father would be angry he’d screwed everything up.
But first, he had to deal with the snakes in his suite. It did not escape him that every one of them was on the Agency’s list. He couldn’t see it. He knew that trio could be hard to take at times. Still, he couldn’t see them betraying not only the company but the country. However, figuring out who was the spy was Nina’s job and he was going to let her do it.
If he could pull off the fiancée thing. He nodded and she strode off to the bedroom—after she took her coffee and the bag of breakfast goodness.
He turned to the intruders, and he didn’t have to pretend to be irritated. He fucking was irritated. “You want to explain why I’m not having a very nice morning with the woman I’m going to marry?”
“You want to explain how you’re marrying a woman no one has met?” Deanna asked. “I don’t buy this, JT. What the hell is going on?”
“I don’t give a damn about what you want to do with your romantic life. I want to know what’s going on with David Malone,” Jordy said.
“Why isn’t he going on the retreat?” Patrick stood behind Jordy. “He hasn’t missed the retreat in twenty years. Your email said something about his health. Did he have a heart attack? Because we have the right to know if the CEO of the company is on death’s door.”
“And how could you send out that email?” Deanna complained. “That should never have gone out. We have people to do that. People who know how to word things so you don’t spark a bunch of rumors that could potentially tank our stock.”
He winced. “Yesterday was rough. I didn’t think about it. I’m sorry. My father is fine. He had his gallbladder out. His recovery time is minimal, but he needs to take it easy for a few weeks.”
Deanna’s shoulders came down from around her ears. “All right. I’ll write up a brief report and I’ll handle the press. I was already going to the retreat, so I can get you up to date on everything very quickly.” She frowned. “I made your father’s travel arrangements. He said he was bringing a new assistant with him. Her name was Nina, too.”
Fuck. He was not a damn spy. “Yeah, Dad wanted to ease Nina into the business part of our world, and he thought the retreat would be the perfect place to do it. The fact that she’s also his future daughter-in-law isn’t really anyone’s business. I’m sure it would have come up, but he wasn’t going to make a big deal out of it. It was also going to be a good way to spend time with her. Instead she got to sit in a hospital room and listen to my parents bicker about how long he would have to stay in bed. Now, if you don’t mind, we drove out here to Dallas late last night so we could get everything we need for the retreat. I’ll be in the office tomorrow if you need anything. I’ve got a meeting with our security company at one, and I would like to spend some time with my fiancée. Deanna, do all the things you need to do, starting with getting these two out of my suite.”
She looked like she wanted to argue, but she simply nodded. “Gentlemen, you have your answer.”
“I don’t have any proof,” Patrick replied. “He could be lying.”
Deanna stepped in between them, which was a good thing because he was about to show Patrick how he handled assholes.
“He’s a terrible liar,” Deanna said with a tight smile. “Trust me. I would know if he was lying. We’ve reached the end of his patience. You have your answer. Let’s get back to the office.”
She sent him a look that let him know this wasn’t over.
He closed the door behind them.
“I can explain.” Nina was standing in the doorway to the bedroom, a worried look on her face. She’d put on her clothes from the night before and despite a few wrinkles, looked all buttoned up again.