Beyond The Limit Read Online Free PDF Page A

right now.
    Biting back the urge to ask, Cali was afraid. Afraid that he knew she’d screwed up big-time. And yet, if he didn’t know, she didn’t want to bring it up. Her gut twisted painfully and she brushed her stomach area unconsciously in response. Feeling trapped, Cali stared back at him.
    â€œNo, my CO was male. But if it had been a woman, I’ll have adjusted. I’ll get over my shock, Cali, don’t worry,” Pete stated. Tough. She was tough. But she was beautiful, too, in a natural way he liked. Yet liking Cali for her feminine attributes wasn’t in the cards. Not on a work site. And not with his bad track record with women.
    â€œGood to hear, Major.” Cali decided to stay on respectful military terms with him now. To call him Pete was premature.
    â€œYou will find that Cali Roland is one of the bright stars in the global construction field, Major Trayhern,” Elliot said. “Roland has a permanent office here in Kabul. They do a lot of business in the region.”
    â€œThat’s reassuring,” Pete murmured. “Why not introduce me to the rest of your team, Cali?”
    Her heart pounded with anxiety. Cali hoped the men she worked with stayed loyal and didn’t gossip about her last project.
    She turned to her right. “Ray Billings is our general foreman. He’s the man that puts the muscle into getting things done.”
    Pete saw the forty something-year-old grin proudly, revealing missing teeth. His face looked like a road map from having obviously been exposed to a lot of harsh elements. “Mr. Billings, nice to meet you.”
    â€œSame here, Major,” he growled.
    Billings was built like a pit bull. He was shorter than Cali, his shoulders broad, his chest wide and narrowing into a slight potbelly just above his belt. His hands were square and scarred, the complete opposite of Elliot’s pampered ones. Pete immediately liked the look in Billings’s small, wide-set blue eyes. His nose had been broken in the past and hooked slightly to the right, and Pete decided he seemed like the type who had gotten into plenty of barroom brawls in his youth. Pete also noted how Billings’s eyes softened whenever he looked at his boss.
    The longer Cali watched the major, the more complex he seemed. Despite his military bearing and muscular frame, she could see compassion in his eyes. He was probably a good assistant company commander. The fact that he let himself show boyish embarrassment over his mistakes suggested he didn’t mind revealing vulnerability. And he didn’t get prickly when he wrongly assessed a person. She was pleased, for she knew a bad boss could be hell personified. In this industry, structures got built with the help of a lot of antacid tablets if it was the wrong “marriage” of titans. So far, she held out hope that she and Trayhern could hammer out a peaceful working relationship.
    The bigger issues would be making sure Trayhern didn’t learn about her bad judgment, and proving to her father that she was worthy of a second chance. Her family name was on the line, and she wasn’t about to let her father down again.
    As the rest of her team introduced themselves, her gaze strayed back to Trayhern. He had nice hands. Workman’s hands. Cali could tell he was used to being out in the elements from the dark tan there and on his face. She was curious about his relationship status, but decided to table those questions. His personal life was none of her business. Was he just like Russ, the mechanical engineer she’d fallen for? He never wore a wedding ring, either, but the bastard was married with three children. Gun-shy, Cali swallowed any attraction and stuffed it deep within her.
    â€œSo this is your team from Roland,” Elliot said as Pete sat down after all the introductions. “Cali is legendary as a project engineer, as I told you. She’s brought in all her jobs on budget and on