The CEO's Accidental Bride Read Online Free PDF Page B

touched and—
    â€œKaitlin?”
    She gave herself a firm mental shake, telling herself to get control. “What kind of papers?”
    He glanced around, obviously confirming a sufficient buffer of space between them and the other Harper employees headingout the doors. “Confirmation of my positions as the president and CEO.”
    â€œWhat are you now?”
    â€œPresident and CEO.” His gunmetal eyes were as dark and impenetrable as the storm clouds. He was not a man who easily gave away his emotions. “There’s been a change in the company ownership,” he explained.
    It took a moment for the enormity of his words to sink in. Without her signature, his position in the company was in jeopardy. He couldn’t do what he’d always done, and he couldn’t be who he’d always been, without her consent on paper.
    Something hard and cold slid though her stomach.
    It wasn’t right that she had this kind of power. All she wanted was to do her job. She didn’t want to have to sift through her confusing feelings for Zach. And she sure didn’t want to have to analyze the circumstances and decide if they were fair.
    They weren’t. But then neither was the alternative.
    â€œGet in the car, Kaitlin,” he told her. “We need to get this signed and settled.”
    She couldn’t help but note the stream of employees exiting from the building. Even as they dashed down the rainy steps, most of them glanced curiously at Zach. Climbing into his car in full view of a dozen coworkers was out of the question.
    She leaned slightly closer, muffling her voice. “Pick me up on Grove, past the bus stop.”
    He gave a subtle but unmistakable eye roll. “You don’t think that’s a bit cloak-and-dagger?”
    â€œI’m trying to blend,” she reminded him. Her plan to rescue her career would come to a screeching halt if people had any inkling that she had some leverage over Zach.
    â€œYou’ll get soaked,” he warned her.
    A little water was the least of her worries.
    Well, except for what it would do to her shoes. They’d been on sale, her only pair of Strantas. She loved what they did for her legs, and they looked great with anything black.
    She braced herself, mentally plotting a path around the worst of the scattered puddles.
    â€œHave a nice evening, Mr. Harper,” she called loud enough for passersby to hear as she trotted down the stairs.
    She made her way along the sidewalk, surging with the crowd toward the traffic light at the corner. When it turned green, she paced across the street, avoiding numerous black umbrellas in her path and hopping over the gurgle of water flowing against the opposite curb.
    On the other side, she negotiated her way to the edge of the sidewalk, raking her wet hair back from her forehead and tucking it behind her ears. She swiped a few raindrops from her nose then extracted her cell phone, pressing the speed dial as she hustled toward the bus stop shelter.
    â€œKaitlin?” came Lindsay’s breathless voice.
    â€œWhat are you doing?”
    â€œRiding the bike.”
    Kaitlin pictured Lindsay on the stationary bike crammed into the small living space of her loft. “I’m going to be late for dinner.”
    â€œWhat’s going on?” Lindsay huffed.
    As she wove her way through the wet crowd, Kaitlin lowered her voice to mock doom. “I’m about to get into a big black car with Zach Harper.”
    â€œBetter send me the license plate number.”
    Kaitlin cracked a grin, comforted by Lindsay’s familiar sense of humor. The two women had known each other so long, they were almost always on the same wavelength. “I’ll text it to you.”
    A deep, classic-rock bass resonated in the background. A fixture whenever Lindsay exercised. “Why are you getting in his car?”
    â€œHe wants me to sign something.”
    â€œBetter let me read it