A Man of His Word Read Online Free PDF Page A

what a mess. She’d assumed he was one of Cecil Armstrong’s mercenary “security” guards. That had been her second mistake. She couldn’t be sure it had been her last one.
    Finally, as Aunt Emily began to wind up, she noticed that Armstrong was starting to fidget in his chair. All that coffee was finally getting to him. Normally, she’d take advantageof his discomfort to really rake him over the coals, but not today. She needed to get out of this room, far away from this unusual man, and figure out her next move.
    On Dan’s way out the door, Joe still didn’t shake Armstrong’s hand, but Aunt Emily did. Then Dan shook Rosebud’s hand. “I look forward to working with you,” he said as he put the slightest pressure on her fingers. The warmth was still there, but this time it moved up her arm with a greater urgency until she was afraid her face was going to flush.
    Damn. Damn, damn, damn. She was afraid she was looking forward to it, too.

Three
    R osebud was sure she’d thrown the files in her office and locked the door, but that part was a little hazy. The next thing she was really conscious of was the soft breeze and the warm sun on her face as she stood in the parking lot, facing south. The breeze still had a touch of cold spring in it, which was just enough to let her mind clear a little.
    The situation was far from out of control, she quickly decided. Dan Armstrong might be a different kind of danger to her, but he was still just a man, and a woman didn’t make it through law school without figuring out how to handle a man. She just needed to remember who he represented, not what he looked like or how he addressed her with all that “respect” and “compassion.”
    â€œYou okay, Rosie?” Joe’s hand rested on her shoulder.
    â€œOh, fine.” Not true, but she was a lawyer, after all. Never admit weakness, because weakness is defeat. She opened her eyes to see Aunt Emily standing before her, a serious look on her face. “What?”
    Aunt Emily looked to Joe and then sighed. “That man…”
    â€œI can handle him.”
    Aunt Emily regarded her for a painful second. Then she leaned forward and grasped the sticks holding Rosebud’s braided bun into place. The whole thing unfurled like a sail. “He is different. He is a handsome man, dear. And you are a handsome woman.”
    Something about the way she said it hit Rosebud funny. “What are you saying?”
    â€œKeep your friends close, but your enemies closer,” Joe said, sounding surprisingly serious about it. The weight of his hand suddenly felt like a vise, pinning her in place.
    â€œYou want me to—what? Sleep with him?” When Aunt Emily didn’t say anything, Rosebud tried to take a step back, but Joe held her in place. The breeze—colder now, so cold it chilled her to the bone—caught the straggling remains of her braid and unwound it for her. “You want me to sleep with him?” Shame ripped through her.
    Of all the things asked of her—leaving home for so many years to get that damned law degree when she really wanted to study art; giving up any semblance of a normal life to eat, drink and breathe legal proceedings against Armstrong Holdings; having dead animals show up around her house; losing her brother—sleeping with the enemy was the worst. Even if the enemy was as attractive as Dan Armstrong. That was irrelevant. It didn’t matter that she’d given her life to the tribe. Now it wanted her body, too.
    â€œNo, no,” Joe finally protested, too late. “But a beautiful woman can muddle a man’s thinking.”
    â€œThis may be the chance we’ve been waiting for, dear,” Emily added. Rosebud could hear how little her aunt really believed it, but she kept going. “He could let something…useful slip about his uncle. He might know something about Tanner.”
    The blow was