Deal of a Lifetime Read Online Free PDF

onto the cocktail party. She’d progressed a scant yard, when at least two men offered her drinks. Every man here seemed to be on the hunt and not just for Buddswell’s contracts.
    She shook her head, dismissing each man. Her eyes traveled in his direction. That’s my Tamsin. She knows what she’s looking for and won’t accept substitutes .
    He watched her glance sweep the room, then settle on the area where he stood. If other women were present, he didn’t notice. She squared her shoulders. She’s found her target. I’d better meet her halfway . He excused himself to the group he was with and headed in Tam’s direction.
    She walked toward him, her gaze fixed over his left shoulder. He supposed she needed to salvage some pride, after the way she responded to his kisses. He could play her game. He’d eat an entire humble pie, if it would get Tamsin back in his arms.
    Ten feet and everyone would know she’d come straight to him. He raised his hands to take hers. Tam veered to the left, placing a knot of Buddswell staffers between them. Where is she going ?
    He dusted pretend specks from his suit jacket, then swiveled around the human roadblock to see Tam join the group surrounding Mike Buddswell. Con’s protective hackles rose, and he hurried to join them.
    Buddswell held out his hand to Tam. The big man with the red hair looked at her as if she were one of his prize-winning snacks. She took his hand and smiled. She was just the kind of tasty morsel to suit the former basketball star. Even if she was up to the kind of games Buddswell played, Con couldn’t allow the man to take aim, let alone score. Caution be damned—time to steal the ball.
    Once she got rid of the two men who approached her, Tam had no trouble finding Buddswell. Even cropped short, his shock of bright red hair wasn’t easily missed, especially since he towered over his nearest companions. He was larger than Con and blatantly athletic. To Tam, Con’s slim strength appealed more. Still, the athlete’s physique and sports background made the snack food king an excellent advertisement for his healthy products.
    That background was her way in. She’d done her homework and would use what she knew about basketball to garner Buddswell’s attention. Then, she’d impress him with her knowledge of his present and potential markets.
    She wound her way through the crowd, fending off men all the way. As she approached, she heard Buddswell growl.
    “Bryant, Bryant, Bryant—he’s a good man and a better basketball player. The way the newspapers and the fans fawn over him, you’d think no one else ever played the game.”
    The men around Buddswell nodded as if he’d uttered the Beatitudes.
    “I don’t know, Mr. Buddswell,” Tam interjected. “I think Bryant would admit that he couldn’t have made any marks on basketball without greats like Jordan, Magic, Kareem, Bird and Cazzie Russell.”
    Buddswell leaned forward, taking a good look at her nametag and her chest. “That’s very perceptive of you, Ms. Donal. Are you acquainted with Kobe?”
    “No.”
    “I must introduce you to him sometime. Gentlemen, if you’ll excuse us, I think Ms. Donal needs a drink.” He grasped her elbow and moved. The group parted before them.
    “Do you know more about basketball than a few names, Ms. Donal?” They edged away from Mike’s admiring group.
    “I played in high school and college.”
    He checked her nametag once again before guiding her toward the bar. She was forced to move with him.
    “Donal, Donal? My manager briefed me on a reservation mix up involving someone of that name. Would that be you?”
    “I am,” she responded, pleasantly surprised.
    “Are you satisfied with the present arrangement?”
    Much as Tam wanted to put distance between herself and Con, now was not the time to complain to the man she wanted to impress. “I would be upset if a competitor suffered a disadvantage, simply because I can’t give up a room I can afford not to