Deep Dixie Read Online Free PDF Page B

creative approaches to get what he wanted.
    Dixie, however, did not have her father ’ s large frame, cold eyes, booming voice, or personality—one so big it projected out from his physical form like an aura of electricity that could be either benevolent or dangerous. No, she did not have her father ’ s presence to call upon. Or his skill with firearms. What she did have was his absolute refusal to put up with snobbery, arrogance, or nonsense.
    She dropped her palms to the desk and leaned forward. “ It ’ s too much to take on for what, Mr. Greenhow? A woman? ”
    She refrained from saying “ a little woman ” or “ a pretty, fickle, frivolously rich woman, ” even though those were the words she suspected had run through the middle-aged lawyer ’ s balding head. Dixie eyed him over the mound of file folders still scattered before her.
    This man, with all his paper rattling, negativity, and now foggy innuendo had just gotten on her very last nerve. Not an easy thing to do, by most people ’ s account. She knew all too well that talk around town painted her as some kind of saint capable of putting up with things far beyond the reach of most human endurance—most notably, her family
    That bump in her train of thought made her tilt her head to one side and hone her gaze even more keenly on the man standing possessively in the dead center of Daddy ’ s office. “ Or perhaps you were alluding to some failing in the Fulton, Cunningham, and/or Fulton-Leigh gene pool? ”
    She rattled off all the variations of her family ’ s surnames, though folks in town still tended to refer to them all succinctly as The Fultons . There had been no actual Fultons in town since her great-grandfather died in 1960. It had been a smart business move on her father ’ s part to hyphenate his family name, Leigh, with the old family name—just a gentle reminder of who his family was and how they were connected to the town ’ s founder and the town ’ s only factory.
    “ Were you going to say this job is too much to take on for someone from my family, Mr. Greenhow? ”
    “ No, now, I did not say any such a thing. ” He raised his hand.
    She noted that he sported a bona fide manicure. He had to have gone a far piece away from tiny Fulton ’ s Dominion, Mississippi, to have gotten that without causing tongues to wag.
    “ What extravagance , ” folks would say, shaking their heads.
    “ Who does that Howard Greenhow think he is? Some movie star? Some TV lawyer? Certainly throws his money away like one . ”
    “ Mr. Greenhow, it appears to me that my family ’ s business has provided a very nice lifestyle for the members of your law firm. ” It wasn ’ t as blatant as accusing him of squandering cash like a TV lawyer but it got the point across.
    “ We worked for every penny we ’ ve earned, I assure you. ”
    She nodded, managing an amicable smile. “ And you stand to earn even more should you convince me I am unequal to taking on my father ’ s obligations, because you will then do it for me. With due compensation, of course. ”
    “ Are you making some kind of accusation, Miss Fulton- Leigh? ”
    “ No, but I have the feeling you are, Mr. Greenhow. ” Her pulse fluttered like a scared rabbit ’ s but she dared not back down now. Fear and uncertainty would not win out today. She would be strong and sure. She would be her father ’ s daughter and starting now she would not let anyone ever doubt that. “ Why don ’ t you just come out and say what you mean? I can tell you want to leave me with the impression that I should not even try to deal with my daddy ’ s business and I want to hear why you think that. ”
    A thin veil of sweat beaded up on the man ’ s now-flushed forehead. “ Well, there have been some questions...some speculations... some... ”
    “ Down and dirty, mealy-mouthed, too-good-to-be-true and too-juicy-to-be-kept-to-yourself gossip? ” She was just trying to help the man get to the meat of