The Comeback Read Online Free PDF Page B

top revealed just the right amount of lean muscle in those strong arms and broad, perfectly proportioned shoulders. The rowing machine showed off his long legs and powerful chest.
    Through the mirror that ran along the end wall of the gym, Zack caught her looking. His eyebrows quirked. Gaby tore her gaze away and focused on the blank page of her notebook. She’d all but lost her chance at the promotion, and here she was admiring her client’s body.
    It was his mind she needed to focus on…and that wasevery bit as intriguing. He was smart—as she’d told Sandra, sometimes he was a genius. And yet he kept screwing up, and he was more vulnerable than he should be to the ebb and flow of family dynamics. Gaby sighed.
    “What’s the problem?” Zack asked.
    She jumped—it was the most he’d said since she’d arrived—and closed the notebook. “Just thinking about the next step in our campaign.”
    “Do you ever stop thinking about your work?” he asked.
    “Do you ever stop thinking about yours?”
    He frowned, “No, but…”
    Gaby’s eyes narrowed. “But yours is more important than mine?”
    “I didn’t say that.”
    “Mine’s more challenging than yours,” she said with grim certainty.
    He snorted and Gaby realized she enjoyed talking so bluntly to him.
    Zack adjusted the settings on the rowing machine to a higher level. “So what did you come up with?” It didn’t seem fair he could still talk while hauling that much weight.
    Gaby took a deep breath. Since he’d asked her outright, she would just say it. She raised her voice over the whir of the machine. “That your best chance of satisfying your sponsor is the Bachelor of the Year contest.”
     
    “N O WAY .” Z ACK ’ S RHYTHM faltered; he scowled at Gaby. “I told you, I’m not doing that contest.”
    “Thanks for giving it your serious consideration,” she said, her normally full lips tight. The light in her eyes faded, then something flickered there that might have been hurt. Or panic. Then again, it might have been the intent to whack him over the head with a barbell.
    “It’s nothing personal, Gaby.” Dammit, why was he defending his perfectly reasonable response? “You’re my fifthMMG account manager since January.” He saw her gathering steam and added quickly, “I’m not proud of that statistic. But it’s a sign that I’m just not good at PR.”
    Gaby’s chin lifted; by now he knew that meant she was getting ready to argue. “No one’s asking you to be someone you’re not,” she said. “You’re not a guy who’ll churn out happy sound-bites for the media, and that’s fine. We need to harness your natural style to make the best impression.”
    That would have made sense, if she hadn’t been talking about the bachelor contest. Zack eyed Gaby. In her cream-colored wrap dress, she looked as cool and delectable as vanilla ice cream. It was weird—she got prettier every time he saw her.
    Zack stopped rowing, ignoring the beeped protest of the electronic timer and grabbed his towel. He rubbed down his face, shoulders and back. He’d reached his chest by the time he became aware Gaby was sneaking surreptitious glances at him. Hmm, Ms. Vanilla Ice cream wasn’t as cool as she appeared….
    He tamped down the awareness. “I don’t feel right about this whole PR business,” he said. “What’s the point of having a great image, if the reality doesn’t live up to it? It’s better to put my effort into fixing reality.”
    “You mean, you intend to work on your personality defects?”
    He stretched his arms behind his head, saw the reluctant way her gaze followed the movement. “I intend to work on my racing.”
    She lost interest in his physique, snapped her eyes back to his.
    “I’m sorry,” he said, and he almost meant it, because Gaby had tried hard, and he had to admit, he liked her. “But the contest isn’t going to happen.”
    Gaby blinked rapidly. Hell, was she going to cry? Zack put out a hand toward