Hammered Read Online Free Page A

talk to
her about himself and his brothers.
    And to keep those pesky emotions back where they belonged.
This could be the boost she needed for that partnership if she handled
everything right. Love or whatever had no place in her life. At least right
now.
    Jo had done a great job digging out the bit about the
jogging, along with the when and where. It had cost her a gift certificate to a
spa for the weekend to get her friend Lois to go along with the charade but it
was worth it. She’d managed to “run into him” in a casual manner.
    “You jog a lot?” she asked as they walked along the shaded
sidewalks to Starbucks.
    “Whenever I can. At least three times a week. Keeps me alert
and in shape for a lot of the long hours we work.”
    “So you put in a lot of late night work?”
    He nodded. “Don’t you?”
    “Part of the process,” she told him.
    They’d arrived at Starbucks and he held the door open for
her. At the counter she ordered a skinny mocha latte, half cafe, no whipped
cream. Alex ordered a Columbian roast with a double shot of espresso.
    “High octane,” she commented. “Like you.”
    “Why, Ms. D’Angelo. Are you flirting with me?” He winked at
her.
    “Just a little Saturday teasing.” She grinned.
    But flirting with him certainly wasn’t out of the question
at a later date. He was exactly the type of man she enjoyed—focused on
business, not looking for a long-term commitment, great between the sheets. The
last two she guessed at but she knew his type. Definitely. When she got to know
him better he’d prove her point.
    They decided to split a banana muffin and took it and their
drinks to a corner table.
    “So,” she began, “how did you all get into this business,
anyway? Family?”
    “Lord, no.” He took a swallow of the hot liquid. “Our
parents own a restaurant. They’ve lived and breathed food for as long as I
remember. Until my dad had a heart attack. A pretty bad one.”
    She sobered at once. “I’m so sorry.”
    “Oh, he’s doing great now. They sold the restaurant and
moved to Arizona, to a seniors community where some of their friends live.” He
laughed. “He organizes barbecues and picnics on a regular basis and insists on
doing all the cooking. You can take the guy out of the kitchen but you can’t
take the kitchen out of the guy.”
    Livy sipped her drink. “None of you wanted to take over?”
    Alex threw up his hands. “Are you kidding? It was my
father’s greatest disappointment that none of us could boil water. It wasn’t
until we were all living on our own that we discovered the importance of
preparing food. Eating out and nuking food can get old really fast. Anyway, in
the beginning it was more of an economic necessity.”
    “Did you all move out at the same time?”
    He looked at her over the rim of his cup. “Is this Twenty
Questions?”
    She shrugged as casually as possible. “Just getting to know
the personal side of you a little. It always helps when I’m working with
someone.”
    She was getting a picture of Alex McMann that unsettled her.
A family man who came from a background of love and affection. Her own might
have taken place on another planet. Maybe playing games with him wasn’t the
best idea after all. Most of her lovers were like her, committed to nothing but
business.
    “And this project is the most innovative one Concordia’s
done yet so you want to make sure you don’t have a bunch of screwballs messing
it up.”
    She couldn’t help laughing. “You’re anything but a
screwball, Alex. I promise you that. You’d never have gotten the letter of
invitation for that first meeting if you were.”
    He peeled the muffin very carefully and used the plastic
knife to split it precisely into two parts. Then he set hers on a napkin pushed
it toward her.
    She broke off a tiny piece, popped it in her mouth and
chewed on it thoughtfully, letting the flavor linger on her tongue. “You still
didn’t answer my question about moving out.”
    Now