Deal of a Lifetime Read Online Free Page A

of TLC Distribution.”
    “Let me see that.” He reached for the folder, but she held it away from him. “Please.”
    “Oh, fine.” She shoved the folder at him.
    “This is easy enough to fix.” He pulled a pen out of his pocket. Crossing out O’Neal Corp., he added CEO after her name and wrote in TLC Distribution with quick, bold strokes beneath. He wasn’t so underhanded that he’d try to belittle her. That she even implied he would hurt so much he lashed out. “I didn’t do this, but part of me wishes I had.”
    “Why?” Shock paled her features.
    Con placed her nametag atop the reassembled folder, added one of his business cards, and returned the packet to her. She sat frozen, pressed back in her chair, as if cornered by a dangerous animal.
    He gave her a sharp-eyed gaze. “Look around you, Tam. How many women do you see wearing conference nametags?”
    She shifted her shoulders and surveyed the space. “One or two. That’s not surprising. Distribution has been male dominated for a long time. Women are just beginning to become part of the corporate structures in this field.”
    “Exactly.”
    Tam sent him a puzzled look.
    “There are over a hundred men attending this conference and only two or three women. Each female is a prime target for male attention. If it were up to my supposedly obsessive territorial nature every man here would know that you’re taken. You’re mine, Tamsin.”
    “I am not yours.”
    “That will change.” What insanely arrogant impulse possessed him to utter that ultimatum, he couldn’t say.
    “Hmpf.” She dismissed his claim, then poked a finger at the closed folder. “Thanks for the pen and ink corrections. Nonetheless, I paid a lot of money for a top-notch conference, and I intend to get this set right. While I’m at it, I’ll make certain there are no other mistakes. As for your wild idea that I belong to you, you’re delusional.”
    She rose, tossed her napkin on the table, and picked up the folder. As she passed by, he gripped her wrist, slowing her. “Think what you like. I intend to prove to you and the rest of the world that we belong together.”
    She shook her head, removing his hold. “Really? Then this will be the first time the famous Connor O’Neal determination fails miserably.”
    Con watched her walk away. Her hips swayed gently. Her long legs carried her swiftly from the room. Too soon, all that remained of Tam were the seeds of doubt and the scent of ginger-laced peaches. Suddenly he discovered he’d lost his appetite.
    Tam was wrong. Any failure wouldn’t be his first. He’d already failed her, or she would have found a way to contact him—sick or not. He’d been left with a fledgling company plus a hole in his heart bigger than a crate of lemons and just as bitter. That hole still ached. She hadn’t believed in him or them. For that, he had no one to blame but himself. He’d treated her like something that would always be exactly where he’d put it. He hadn’t confided his most private thoughts or asked about hers. He’d never shown her that he needed her and her faith in him, or that a long-term committed relationship was not only possible but what he wanted for them both.
    The acid memory of days, months, years spent wondering what happened churned in his stomach. Wrong as she was about how many times he’d failed, he feared she might be right about the rest. No matter how determined he was, if Tam didn’t want him, he’d never win her back. He rejected the possibility. He held a passionate attraction for her. Yesterday he’d seen want in her sleepy blue eyes. He’d felt need in that incendiary kiss. She hid a wealth of desire. All he had to do was figure out how to mine that wealth.
    Tam had been skittish of commitment from the day they met at an orientation for interns working in the company where he was a junior exec. He’d been careful of her feelings and happy enough to shack up. They shared goals and dreams; the world was