One Night with the CEO Read Online Free

minute she’d decided to walk away from him forever, to place him squarely in her mental Rolodex as the man who’d fondled her footsies that night long ago when she’d had one whiskey too many. And he’d just witnessed the barely suppressed horror on her face when she’d realized her sister knew him.
    This was Gracie’s baby sister? Gracie was his best friend’s girlfriend. And given how happy Ethan seemed to be lately, owing in large part to Gracie, Mark figured he’d have to interact with Karen at some point. Christ. The things she’d told him. The things he’d said in response. He couldn’t undo any of it. And judging from Karen’s wooden demeanor, she’d come to the same conclusion.
    Maybe he could salvage the situation, though, with some acting on his part. Maybe, just maybe, he’d inherited his mother’s flair for drama and would be able to play off their encounter in a way that wouldn’t embarrass Karen.
    He stood, buttoned his suit jacket, and offered Gracie his hand. “Gracie. Good to see you.”
    Gracie sidestepped his outstretched hand and hugged him. “Stop acting ridiculous, Mark. Ethan’s been looking for you. We wanted to get everyone together.”
    When Gracie released him, he stumbled back—that’s what people did when they were drunk, right? “Sheesh. I guess I had too much Scotch tonight.” He donned a dazed expression, hoping to make his performance convincing. Given that he’d just said “Sheesh,” he doubted his success.
    Oblivious to the tension, Gracie turned to her sister and drew her forward, forming a circle with their bodies. The circle of hell couldn’t have been any worse than this. “You guys saved me a step. I see you already met my baby sister.”
    Karen grimaced. “Younger sister.”
    Gracie flinched at Karen’s sharp tone, but her face remained calm. “Right. Younger sister. Karen just graduated from college, and we’re celebrating that amazing accomplishment. Starts medical school at George Washington in the fall.” Gracie beamed with pride. “She’ll be the first doctor in our family.” She covered her mouth and leaned toward him. “Not that we’re pressuring her or anything.”
    Mark wished he were a beaver so he could tunnel through the floor, leaving a cloud of dust in his wake as he escaped. If Karen had just graduated from college, that made her…what? Twenty-one? Twenty-two, at most? Which meant he was almost eleven years her senior. He’d called himself plenty of unflattering names over the years, but now he could add “cradle robber” to that illustrious list. And he cursed his father’s genes, the ones that had led him to be attracted to someone who was all wrong for him.
    His resolve to erase whatever had happened between them moments ago solidified. “Yes. She mentioned a celebration. Dara, was it?” He hit his forehead with the heel of his hand. “Sorry. Kara, right?”
    Karen squished her eyebrows together and frowned. “It’s Karen.”
    He wished he could tell her he’d never forget her name. Wished he could tell her he wanted to take her home, have sex with her against a shower wall, and end round two in his king-size bed. But that wasn’t going to happen. One, she was Gracie’s sister. Two, she was Gracie’s baby sister. And three, relationships weren’t his forte— his problem, of course, not hers —and the alternative, a no-strings hookup, was out of the question, because of…points one and two.
    He loosened his tie, and then he ran his fingers through his hair. “Forgive me, Karen. It’s been a long, frustrating day, and the liquor hasn’t helped set my head straight. Next time we talk, I’ll promise to remember your name and what we talked about.”
    Her head snapped back, and she formed an O with that lovely mouth of hers. In his head, he urged her to go with it, to suspend disbelief just enough to save them from further embarrassment. For several taut seconds, it appeared she wouldn’t make it easy for either