The Real Deal Read Online Free PDF Page B

sake.
    She got out of the car and stood so her head and shoulders were clearly visible above the car door.
    â€œYou’ll have to step around the door, if you don’t mind.”
    Now he decided to be polite, while asking her to do something totally ludicrous.
    â€œWhat difference does it make?” She glared with unconcealed belligerence at the camera at the top of the gate.
    â€œYou got something to hide, missy?”
    â€œNot if you discount a body that isn’t femme fatale material,” she muttered to herself as she stepped around the silver car’s door.
    Thoroughly out of sorts, she threw her arms wide. “Look, no automatic weapons, no hidden cameras, no nerve gas. Are you satisfied?”
    â€œI think I could be.”
    No! No. No. Darn it. No. This had not been the housekeeper’s voice, but another, unforgettable one—that of Simon Brant. In a reflex move, she crossed her arms over her chest as she felt heat crawl from the back of her ankles right up her body and into her cheeks. She was going to kill that housekeeper when she got her hands on him.
    She was going to pick him up by his toes and hang him above a tar pit. And then she was going to let go.
    â€œHello, Mr. Brant. I’ve been informed that I’m late.”
    He didn’t answer, but the gate swung inward.
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    If Simon tried to talk, he was going to laugh and that would just encourage Jacob in his irascible ways. So, he pressed the button for the gate release without answering Amanda. He watched as she climbed back into her car, her dark hair all twisted on the back of her head in a tidy knot. The severity of her hairstyle and the suit she was wearing could not erase the image he had of her with her arms flung wide, her generous breasts pressing against the fabric of her blouse and her eyes glittering with pure temper.
    â€œShe’s a tad feisty, sir.”
    Simon didn’t know why the old man called him sir. He’d never been in doubt who was in charge between the two of them, and it wasn’t Simon Brant. “I have no doubt she has cause.”
    Jacob just shrugged his thin shoulders. “Might have upset her a bit, I suppose. I got poor company manners, sir.”
    Considering the fact the man had at one time been on the presidential detail of the Secret Service, Simon took that comment with the credence it deserved. “What you have is an unfulfilled wish to go undercover and it comes out in the different roles you like to assume here.”
    Jacob’s gray head cocked to one side. “Could be. Or could be I’m just a crabby old geezer who’s lucky to have an eccentric millionaire for a boss.”
    Simon didn’t have a chance to answer as the first few bars of Beethoven’s Fifth played over the house-wide sound system. He did not like doorbells.
    â€œI’ll get it. I think Amanda could do without another dose of your company manners.” And he wanted to be alone when he greeted her. He didn’t want any distractions when he discovered if his reaction to her in Eric’s office had been an anomaly.
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    Amanda’s hand clenched and unclenched on the handle of her briefcase while she waited for the door to open.
    Okay, the guy was a genius and so sexy he made her heart imitate a Morse code operator, but that did not mean he would succeed in scotching the deal. If he was so smart then he would definitely see the benefits of merging with Extant.
    She had a briefcase full of reports and graphs that he’d have to be a fool to ignore.
    So, stop worrying, already .
    He was just a man with some preconceived notions she needed to help him reprogram.
    The door swung open.
    Simon Brant stood with his strong, masculine hand curved around the edge of the door. “Amanda. Welcome to my home.”
    How did he do that? Five words, none of them remotely sexual, and her insides were turning into warm honey.
    Just a man.
    Uh huh.
    Right.
    Her