High Strung (Power Station Book 1) Read Online Free

to eat him.” I cringed, squeezing my eyes tightly, stupidly believing that would shut out the embarrassment of my earlier activities.
    “Alex Stone was there, too?” Megs’s voice rose in excitement, taking my arm and shaking it vigorously.
    “Yes, and he is every bit as impressive up close. I’m pretty sure my tongue was polishing the floor.” I opened my eyes to Megs’s beaming face.
    “I just want you to know I hate you right now. It’s not fair you got to meet Alex and Dan and you aren’t even a fan.” Megs folded her arms across her chest and pouted. “So…were they nice?”
    “Trust me, I would have rather it had been you. No matter how cute Dan is, he is also an obnoxious pig.” I can’t believe I just called Dan Evans cute. Why couldn’t I focus on the fact he was offensive rather than the fact he was attractive? When was the last time I had eaten? Maybe my blood sugar was low.
    “Aw, you think Dan is cute?” Megs smiled, unfortunately not willing to let the tiny word that had unconsciously slipped from my mouth, go. “Wow. Your libido is still intact. I was sure it had taken a flight to Boca. When was the last time you went on a date?”
    “There is nothing wrong with my libido. I’m just choosey about who I date. I don’t see the point wasting time with someone who obviously doesn’t have the potential for my long-term goal. I told you, I have criteria.”
    Sure, there had been guys that had caught my attention and I had dated sporadically in college, but I hadn’t met anyone I’d really wanted to hold on to. I could count the number of guys I had slept with on one hand and still have a finger or two spare. It’s not that I was saving myself or I had an aversion to sex, I just had found it a little underwhelming, usually having to take things into my own hands—literally—to climax.
    “Ash, you know you are allowed to date just for fun right? You don’t have to see every guy for his long-term potential . Maybe just go out and let your hair down. Screw your criteria.”
    “No. I refuse to be a woman who settles. I worked my ass off to get into a decent college, and even though things are tough right now, I’ll eventually make it back onto Wall Street. I want to find a guy who’s going be a good husband with a decent earning capacity. I’m not trying to sound conceited, but my parents have both been slaving away at that bar their whole lives. They’ll be working till the day they die. I’m the first one of my family to go to college. I love them, but I don’t want that life for me. If my future husband and I are smart, we can build up a sizeable nest egg and let our money work for us. I need someone who is disciplined and like-minded in order to do that.”
    “What about being in love, Ashlyn? It can’t just be about money and security. Don’t you want a guy who will give you butterflies? Someone who is more than just a financial partner but who will also love you back?” Megs was ever the romantic. Her ideas of love were twirled around a wonderful fantasy, tied with a fancy red bow, and while my heart craved it, it was luxury I would admire from a distance.
    I winced, realizing how contrived it all sounded. “Well of course I have to like the guy, it’s not like I’m going to marry someone I don’t like. I’m not that shallow.” Is that how I came across? Shallow? Conceited? Vocalized, the clinical plan for my future sounded so much worse than it was. I envied the freedom Megs had, to live without the fear of being broke. With that freedom, love stood a chance. How did the conversation turn from the interview from hell to my dating life?
    “Okay. Here is what is going to happen.” Megs’s eyes gleamed with excitement. “The interview is done and we have no way of controlling the outcome. Right?”
    “Sadly, you’re right.” I nodded. There was really nothing I could do. While I had answered Lexi Reed’s questions competently, I could tell she wasn’t