The CEO Buys in (Wager of Hearts #1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

battery. A self-mocking smile turned up the corners of his mouth and carved lines in his cheeks. “Its value is more sentimental than real. It changed the direction of my life.”
    He turned his head so their gazes met as he said, “It’s unusual to be able to mark a turning point so clearly.”
    Chloe was held in thrall by the emotions roiling in his gray eyes and by the fascinating tilt of his lips. She pivoted back toward the battery because she didn’t want to see the man inside the CEO.

CHAPTER 2
    Chloe was typing the meeting notes when a tall brunette in a belted raincoat tried to breeze past her desk.
    “May I help you?” Chloe asked in her best you-may-not-bother-the-boss tone.
    The woman halted and made an impatient gesture. “Where’s Janice? She knows who I am.”
    “Not available,” Chloe said. “May I ask your name?”
    “Teresa Fogarty.”
    Chloe checked Trainor’s schedule. “I’m sorry. I don’t see your appointment with him.”
    The brunette gave her a tight, fake smile. “That’s because it’s a personal visit. We’re having dinner.”
    “I’ll let him know you’ve arrived,” Chloe said, pushing the phone’s intercom button as the brunette started to protest. “Mr. Trainor, Ms. Teresa Fogarty is here to see you.”
    There was no response and Chloe tried again. “Mr. Trainor, Ms. Teresa Fo—”
    “I heard.” Trainor’s voice snapped like a whip through the headset. Chloe actually drew back from the phone console before he continued. “She can come in.”
    When Chloe nodded to her, Ms. Fogarty flashed Chloe a triumphant look and turned on her heel. Which was shod in exactly the sort of high-heeled pump Chloe planned to wear tomorrow. Except Teresa’s heels had the red sole that labeled them as coming from a very expensive designer. As the superior Ms. Fogarty stalked into Trainor’s inner sanctum, Chloe rolled back from the desk and contemplated her simple, functional ballet flats. She sighed. She did like beautiful shoes.
    She glided back in to finish the notes. Once that was done, she glanced at her watch and blew out a breath. If they were going to dinner, she wished they’d go, so she could get home to Grandmillie.

    Courtesy brought Nathan to his feet as Teresa stormed through the doors into his office, her raincoat flapping open to show a deep red dress that clung to her body. That would have tempted him to run his hands down over her hips and up under her skirt until yesterday. Now he just wanted her out of his office.
    “Nathan, you canceled our dinner date,” she said, shedding her coat and tossing it on a chair. She perched on the chair’s arm, crossing one long leg over the other so the narrow skirt rode up her thighs. The display had no effect on him. “Why?”
    Her directness was one of the things he’d liked about her. Except now that he knew it wasn’t real, it seemed more abrasive than refreshing.
    The hangover headache he’d been battling all day jabbed at his temples. He and his two new drinking buddies at the Bellwether Club had consumed more alcohol than he cared to remember. He considered blaming his hangover on Teresa, but he knew it was his own fault. As was the ridiculous wager he’d made with Luke Archer and Gavin Miller. He had fully expected one or the other to contact him today to call the whole thing off.
    Now that he thought about it, he could blame the bet on Teresa. He walked around the desk to face her. “Since you’re here, we might as well—”
    Her face lit up and she started to gather up her coat.
    “—talk about the end of our relationship,” he finished.
    Her expression hardened and her eyes sparked with temper. “I can’t believe you’re making such an issue out of the little joke I played when we met.”
    “Maybe if you’d told me yourself,” he said, but he wasn’t sure that was true anymore. For a brief, gratifying moment, he’d believed that a beautiful, desirable woman had wanted him just as a man. Not as a