The Guest Read Online Free

look up at him. “You were almost in
the clear with it! What the hell was he doing?”
    Jared sighed, pulling her back to rest against his shoulder. “Fuck if I
know, baby, but Jamison thinks we can salvage it if I come in today. So I’m gonna
have to go over there in a few.”
    “But didn’t you tell him you took the whole weekend off? You’re not
even supposed to be on call, dammit! What about Cole, have you forgotten about
him? You were supposed to show him the site you found and work through the
budget for your new offices.”
    “I know Jules, but I do still work for Technisoft. Until I hand in my
resignation, I’m still obligated to fulfill the tasks outlined in my job
description.”
    Julie knew he was right. He really had no other choice in the matter.
Jared was a man of principle and he always took his responsibilities seriously.
His reputation at Technisoft was spotless and even though he was currently
working on moving to operating his own company, she knew he wouldn’t want to
leave on a sour note.
      She heaved a sigh of her own, to
calm her nerves a little. “So where do we go from here? Just let Cole waste the
day waiting for you to get done with whatever it is you’re going to have to do
to get things back on track again?”
    His hand trailed up her back, rubbing across the upper section in slow,
calming circles. “No, I have no idea when I’ll get done so that doesn’t make
sense.”
    “Exactly. He’s come all this way to help us out, the least you can do
is make time for him.”
      “Would you mind taking him over to
the site for me? You know all the ideas I have, you should be able to put them
across to him just as well as I would.”
    “I don’t know, Jared. This is your baby, you should be the one to—”
    “I’ll add my two cents later on if necessary. Right now though, I just
need you to do this for me.”
    “Won’t Cole be upset that you pawned him off on me?”
    Jared chuckled softly, shaking his head as he looked down at her.
“Upset? Hell no! I’m sure he’ll be completely content to spend time with a
beautiful, intelligent, fascinating woman. Trust me on that.”
    A giggle erupted from Julie’s chest and she rolled her eyes as she
pulled out of his embrace. “You sound like you’re putting me out to him!”
    He shot her a wicked grin. “Would you mind if I was?”
    “Oh please, as if you could!” she said, shaking her head. “Besides, a
rich, worldly man like Cole Richardson wouldn’t even want little ole me.”
    Jared folded his arms across his massive chest, one eyebrow quirking
upward. “Don’t you dare put yourself down like that, angel. What man wouldn’t
want an amazing woman like you?”
    She scoffed, waved him off and then went about selecting a suitable
outfit for the day. “You’re biased so your opinion doesn’t count.”
    “Maybe so, but I still don’t want to hear that kinda self-deprecating
talk from you, ever. You got that?”
    “Fine! I’m amazing,” she said, offering an overly bright smile.
      “Much better. Now what about you,
do you find him attractive?”
    His question caught her off guard and she froze, her breath catching in
her throat. What the heck was that supposed to mean? And what was this all
about anyway? Was he trying to test her loyalty to him, was that where this was
coming from? She’d certainly never given him any reason not to trust her and
there was no way he could possibly think she would even contemplate cheating on
him with this guy she’d just met. But then she recalled how her mouth had gone
dry at her first look at Cole and the way her pulse had quickened when he’d
enveloped her much smaller hand with his. Had Jared noticed those things? Had
her face betrayed the wayward thoughts she’d had during dinner?
    Before she jumped to any undue conclusions though, she sought
clarification. “Ah, excuse me?” she asked, slowly turning to face him again.
    “Oh, come on, Jules!” he said, holding up his hands