Determined: To Love: (Part 2 of the Determined Trilogy) Read Online Free PDF Page A

“Ok, I will. Thanks for the tip.”
    Our server brought our plates and set them down in front of us.
    “Is there anything else I can get for you, ladies?”
    Jenna and I exchanged glances. “Nope, we’re good. Thanks so much,” I replied.
    Jenna reached down to her purse and pulled out a little silver pill box. I had seen her with the box when we were with David’s family over New Years. I assumed they were birth control. She caught me staring at the small tin.
    “Vitamins. You know, for my skin. I used to have terrible acne,” she explained. I found myself looking more closely at her. Jenna had always had flawless porcelain skin since I’d known her. Whatever mix of vitamins she took, it was working. She took a quick swig of water to wash the pill down and put the tin back in her purse, changing the subject. “So how is everything at the gallery?”
    I took a bite and paused for a moment. “Um. Good. It was my first day back yesterday, after the holidays.”
    “You’re part time there, right?”
    “Yeah.”
    “And you like it?”
    “Yeah, it’s great. I really like Curtis. And Eve is nice, too.”
    “But the job. Do you like the job?” she looked at me, skeptically.
    “What do you mean?”
    “Just that.”
    “I mean, it’s fine. It’s not what I want to do for the rest of my life, but it pays the bills for now.”
    “You know, you could come work for me.”
    I snorted, surprised at the suggestion. “Me? In the fashion industry? I don’t think so.”
    “What’s wrong with the fashion industry?” she demanded, feigning hurt.
    “Nothing, I didn’t mean it like that. I just mean it’s not for me. I mean, I like clothes as much as the next girl, but I could never be a designer or marketer.”
    “Well, what about Keith Ventures?”
    David’s company? He had brought that up himself numerous times, not including that morning. I was starting to feel like everyone was trying to recruit me for KV.
    “David would find a role for you in a heartbeat, you know that, right?”
    I frowned. “Yeah, he mentioned that before. But I don’t want a job because of who I’m dating. I want to build my own career.”
    Jenna’s lips twitched up at the edges. I could tell she was trying to keep down a smile. “That’s great, Sam. Really. It’s just…” She stopped mid-sentence.
    I felt like there was something she wasn’t saying. “Jenna?” I shot her a firm look. “Are you not telling me something?”
    She looked up at the ceiling, avoiding eye contact. I persisted.
    “Jenna.”
    She broke out into a huge grin. “I’m sorry! He asked me to! But I wouldn’t have agreed if I’d thought it was a bad idea.”
    I sat back in my chair, trying to process what she was confessing to.
    “So David put you up to this?”
    “No, not exactly…” Boy, she was really making me drag it out of her.
    “Well then what exactly? Tell me.”
    “He had mentioned the idea of you working for him. But I figured maybe you’d prefer to work with me. So that part was my idea.”
    I picked up my coffee and took a long, slow sip, biding my time as I determined my response. Was I surprised? Not really. David had joked about having me come work for him several times, and I turned him down each time. But I had thought it was all in good fun. Bringing his sister in to pitch the idea was a new tactic, and one that made me think he was more serious than I’d realized.
    “Will you excuse me for a moment?” I got up out of my chair and walked over to the lobby.
    “Sam, wait…” Jenna pleaded gently as I walked away.
    I pulled out my phone and dialed David’s number. He answered on the first ring.
    “Hey, baby, what a nice surprise. What’s up?”
    I kept my voice low, not wanting to attract the attention of the throngs of people in the lobby. “Did you ask Jenna to coerce me into working for you?”
    His answer was smooth and even. “Coerce is a strong word, Samantha.”
    I could tell he was smiling over the line, which