Tempting Taylor Read Online Free

interview.
    She’d googled him, trying to glean as much information as
she could. It wasn’t hard to find articles about the divorce of his parents,
how his father, Mason, had cheated on Cooper’s mother with his then secretary.
Taylor had winced as she’d read the articles. It was such juicy gossip that
even the society pages couldn’t resist chronicling the battle between the
couple who’d built their publishing business from the ground up, with the
husband eventually leaving his wife for a much younger woman. It was all so
sordid. There were few pictures of a young Cooper and only a mention that his
mother had won full custody.
    With a sigh, she shifted and leaned against the wall. Mason
Hathaway had divorced his wife and taken their family’s publishing company.
After the divorce, there weren’t as many articles about Cooper and his mother.
The only thing she could find about him after that was when he started becoming
successful in business, mentored by John Callas, who’d owned Aegis, Inc. Cooper
had worked for him until he eventually took over the company when Callas
retired.
    She’d seen more pictures of Cooper with John Callas than he
had with his own father. Clearly Cooper had been very close to his mentor.
    More than his business accomplishments, an internet search
showed a number of references about the nasty battle he was waging with Bettina
Hathaway. The vitriolic comments that Bettina continued to make in the gossip
rags were all meant to put Cooper in bad light.
    Bettina was bitter, that was for sure. Cooper’s takeover of
Hathaway Publishing had left her nearly bankrupt and unable to support her
lavish lifestyle. Bettina’s son from her first marriage, Rich Lange, was also
prominently featured in some articles, his comments further fueling the
inflammatory articles meant to discredit Cooper in the public’s eye.
    In all that, Taylor had never once read an article where
Cooper retaliated. He or his lawyer never commented on anything personal and
steadfastly ignored Bettina’s increasingly desperate public pronouncements. It
was the right thing to do, of course. But Bettina was not one to back down. She
was now in the process of suing Cooper’s company for taking over Hathaway,
alleging irregularities in the way Aegis, Inc. acquired the business that she’d
all but run to ground.
    Taylor sighed. Nasty stuff. It brought back memories of when
her father and mother, both prominent surgeons, had waged a public battle
during their divorce. They’d fought over everything, down to the last piece of
china they owned. Worst of all, they’d fought over her, their only child, using
her as a pawn. It had all come to a head when her mother had whisked her out of
state in an attempt to take her away from her father, which had resulted in
kidnapping charges that were later dropped. Their family was the topic du jour
for weeks, even months. It was an awful time in her young life. One she’d
rather forget.
    Her parents had since developed a fragile civility with each
other, made easier by living on opposite coasts. Her father had remarried,
while her mother had preferred to stay single, scarred by the events that
marked the end of her marriage. As for Taylor, she’d developed a very close
relationship with Emily and her family, who had embraced her like she was one
of their own.
    Pushing those ugly memories aside, Taylor glanced around the
auditorium. It was definitely standing room only. Taylor took out her pen and a
small notebook, ready to take notes. From the snippets of conversations she
heard, people were very excited to listen to Cooper speak. There were plenty of
women as well, which really didn’t come as a surprise.
    The crowd fell silent when a man strode to the podium and
made the introductions. Thunderous applause broke the silence as Cooper made
his way to the center of the stage.
    “Thank you,” Cooper spoke into the microphone and motioned
for everybody to sit down. As he launched into his