Fair Game Read Online Free PDF Page A

years of his seven-year marriage had been hell. The painful breakup hadn’t soured him on women or relationships in general; it had soured him on bad relationships. Josie, it seemed, wasn’t looking for a commitment. She had her career to build. They could come to a mutually satisfying personal agreement with no strings attached, and for now that would be great. Whatever the outcome in the long run, though, this thing with Josie Tybrook was a compelling opportunity he’d regret missing if he failed to act on it.
    He’d use the drive on Tuesday to convince her she didn’t want any regrets, either.
     
     
     
    JOSIE closed Ernie’s door behind her, then slipped into the chair across the desk from him. The office was fairly small, with only the one extra seat. “I’m sorry I didn’t notice something was wrong.”
    “I didn’t want to admit anything was wrong myself.” He leaned back, his chair creaking. The bags under his eyes were darker, and there was a deep sadness in his gaze she’d never noticed before.
    Correction. She’d never bothered to look closely enough. “I apologize for being such a snarky bitch lately.”
    “You’ve been the same as always.”
    Yeah, she was probably always a snarky bitch, but she knew Ernie didn’t mean it derogatorily. “I was even going to read you the riot act about not making the meeting today.”
    “And I deserved it.”
    “No, you didn’t. But I wish you’d told me so I wouldn’t have been making such an ass of myself so much recently.”
    “You’re always hardest on yourself, Josie, expecting the most out of yourself. And you’ve been just fine to me, even lately, so forget about it.”
    She swallowed with difficulty. “Isn’t there some treatment or something?”
    He held up his hand, and she noticed the wrinkles in his palm, as if he’d stuck his hand in water for too long. “Don’t make me talk about it, okay?”
    That was the thing; nobody liked to talk about dying. All she’d wanted to do was get in here and get it over with. “God,” she sighed, “that’s actually kind of a relief.” Then she heard how it sounded, and . . .
    Ernie grinned, a real honest-to-God one. “That’s what I’ve always liked about you, Josie. You just say it like it is.”
    “Bull in a china shop, according to my mom.”
    “Your mom could take lessons.”
    Everyone knew her mom. Dora Tybrook, who was a board member of Castle only by virtue of marriage to Josie’s father, Preston, never missed a board meeting or an expense write-off if she could help it. Of course, she’d gotten her dander up last year when Connor said her spa was not a business expense.
    But was Ernie complimenting her or her mom?
    “Thanks for recommending me for the job.” She didn’t say his job.
    “I think you’ll be the best at it.” He’d had four other program managers to choose from.
    It was her dream. Oh, not just managing the department, but moving up in Castle, being VP of FI&T, then CEO. Why not? She could do it. Not now, of course, but eventually, with experience, starting with department manager.
    “Thanks, Ernie.” He’d never really expressed his confidence in her before. She just wished it wasn’t coming this way.
    “I’ll call a meeting tomorrow to tell everyone. I want to get through today first.”
    “That’s fine.” She could understand how hard it must be. “You want to go over the open projects now or save that for tomorrow, too?”
    The poor guy was probably wiped. She was noticing all sorts of other things about him, such as how thin his skin seemed, like parchment paper, his veins blue and prominent beneath the surface. He’d never been a body builder type, always on the thin side, tall but gaunt, yet now, he seemed a shadow of a man. How could she have missed that something was terribly wrong?
    “Let’s do it now.” He tapped a folder on his desk. “We need to start recruiting to fill your position, plus decide who’s going to take over your