BOMBSHELL Read Online Free PDF Page B

wise, so while I appreciate the opportunity, I’m going to have to decline.”
    He looked at me thoughtfully and added, “What do you have to lose? If it all works out you’ll get paid and if it doesn’t, you’ll still get paid for what you do.”
    “If it doesn’t work out, my reputation will be ruined. With a company your size, what you are trying to bring to the forefront would just be a blip on the screen. In my case, the fallout would be astronomical, but you would bounce back. I can’t afford this.”
    “Do you think I’d set you up for failure? I’m not asking you to work on this project alone, but I’m asking you to work with my team?”
    I stared at him and said, “Let me think about this.”
    I cut into my chicken, but I honestly couldn’t eat. This was the biggest news since I started S&W and I didn’t even know what to do about this. I wasn’t talking to Roslyn, because I was still pissy mad at her. I could call Elliot, but he lacked the expertise in Marketing that Roslyn had, but he would know about a good investment or business venture. So, technically I could consult with him.
    “Fair enough,” he replied and cut into his chicken.
    We ate in silence for a while and then he asked me, “Why did you leave Nunce?”
    I almost corrected him and said, ‘the dunce.’ “It was time to go. I made senior partner, but felt like I saw the same thing and I started to get restless.”
    He smirked at me and said, “What’s the real reason?”
    I squinted at him and said, “What do you mean? Do you have a theory?”
    “I don’t have a theory, I have sources that told me why, but I wanted to hear it from you.”
    “What did your sources say? I might be able to confirm or deny.”
    “Some said you were a gay, man-hating shrew, who couldn’t take the heat. Some said you got into it with the CEO and he fired you or was asked to leave. Some said, you quit. Which one is it?”
    “The last one,” I said and put my head down. I was not accustomed to bad mouthing my previous employers, but someone advising him that I quit, seemed to bring back Roslyn’s words. I brushed that aside and concentrated on not bad mouthing anyone from ‘the dunce.’
    I felt something on my chin, and realized Joshua was lifting my face up to look at him with his index finger.
    “Road runner, you are giving me the sad eyes again.”
    That snapped me out of my funk. I said, “My apologies. That was a bittersweet time in my life.” I exhaled, “Well, thanks for lunch. I’ll go through this and be in touch by Wednesday.”
    I started to gather my things and he got up and sat on my bench, while forcing me to move over. This movement startled me and I looked up to him and said, “What are you doing?”
    “Preventing you from running again.” He moved my plate over in front of me and brought his plate to him. Go ahead, eat.”
    “Joshua, I need to go.  Do you mind moving, please?” I politely asked.
    “I’m not moving. You haven’t eaten and we haven’t even gotten to my entire agenda. We’re going to sit here until you finish your food since Nandos is one of your favorite places to eat, then I’ll show you what else is on my agenda for the day.”
    What in the hell? 
    “Joshua, I’m not sure who you think…”
    He dropped his fork and turned that familiar scowl on me. I stopped talking mid-sentence and jerked my neck back. “Samantha, eat.” He commanded.
    “I will …”
    “Eat, now.”
    “Joshua,” I gasped.
    He picked up the fork with a piece of chicken on it, opened my mouth with his two fingers pressed against my cheeks and put the food in, then slid the fork out of my mouth so it scraped the top row of teeth ever so slowly. He stared at my mouth as the fork slid out and let my face go. I started to chew the chicken, against my better judgment, while staring back at him. His gaze did not falter as he looked at my mouth. He leaned down like he was going to kiss me, but said, “God, your lips, that