Double Jeopardy (Entangled Select) Read Online Free

an ulcer. She also ruled his office with an iron hand, which made his life easier. More than one prosecutor had trembled under the gruff secretary’s wrath and slunk away to lick his wounds in private.
    “Look at it this way—she finally showed you her true colors. And I’m not surprised she turned out to be such a cold-hearted bitch. She only smiled with her teeth, not her eyes. Maybe you had a good time between the sheets with her, but she was still one cold lady. Now, let’s see. The score is, them six, you zip. That’s unless you count the mystery lady who sends you flowers every Thursday. We’ve kept a list out there, and this week is Susan’s turn for whatever floral offering you receive.”
    He looked up. “All of you women are sick. Keeping a list as to who gets the next batch of flowers.” He hadn’t confided in Ginnie his uneasy feelings about the woman sending him the flowers perhaps being the same one who’d broken into his house the night of his birthday. But knowing the secretary, she’d already figured it out and was just waiting for him to voice his thoughts to her.
    “It makes the days go faster.”
    Ginnie stepped forward to snag the ringing telephone. “Mr. Brandon’s office.” Her expression didn’t give any indication as to the identity of the caller. “One moment, please.” She punched the red hold button. “Are you available for the Wicked Bitch of the Eastern Seaboard?”
    Josh raised his eyes heavenward. “Did my horoscope read this was the day to make Josh’s life hell?”
    “Buck up, Moondoggie, and take your lumps,” Ginnie ordered him, without the least bit of compassion. She held out the receiver.
    Muttering curses, Josh snatched it out of her hand and scowled at his departing secretary.
    “What do you want, Stephanie?”
    “As sparse with words as ever, aren’t you, Joshua? It wouldn’t hurt for you to say hello and ask me how I am.” Cultured tones that could be warm as honey or cold as ice assaulted his ears. Right now, he figured the Arctic Circle would look like the tropics compared to her.
    “Since you only call to bitch at me, I don’t see any reason to act polite.”
    Stephanie Carver’s silence was as eloquent as her dialogue. “Your check is late again.”
    Josh silently counted to ten. “I suggest you take it up with the postal service, since it was mailed out on time. I have to get to court. Anything else?”
    “Nothing you would understand, much less be interested in.” The click was loud in his ear.
    “Didn’t she get her distemper shot for the month?” Ginnie walked back into the office carrying a file folder.
    “She has a trust fund that could pay off the national debt, not to mention a father who’s rolling in money,” he grumbled. “But if her damned alimony check is one day late, she threatens to send out an enforcer.” His scowl would have intimidated a lesser person, but Ginnie was familiar with her boss’s moods.
    “You should have gotten married in a state with community property laws. You might have been able to get alimony out of her!” She laid the folder on his desk. “Here’s something that will improve your mood. I only read the first couple of pages, but I’d say it’s a pretty interesting autopsy report. Just the kind you love.”
    He chuckled at her false cooing. “Ginnie, there are days when you can be a real bitch.” He picked up the file and opened it.
    She snorted as she walked back out to her desk. “Flattery will get you nowhere. Don’t you have enough woman problems without adding me to the group?”
    Josh scanned the pages until he came to the last one and found a signature. He chuckled. “And she says my handwriting is illegible.” He returned to the first page and began reading.
    By the time he’d muddled through several pages of medical terminology, he felt his suspicions growing. When he’d reached the last page and read the preparer’s conclusions, he was ready to chew nails. He leaned forward