Tycoon Takedown Read Online Free PDF

“If you need anything, this is my cell phone number.”
    Melanie stashed it in her backpack, then raised her eyes to meet his. Her heart beat double time in her chest. She had no intention of calling him.
    He waited for her to say something. Melanie shifted her feet awkwardly and buried her hands in her front pockets. “Thank you for the ride.”
    He glanced at his watch and swore. “I hate to leave, but I’m late. Do you have everything you need?”
    Melanie nodded even though nothing could’ve been further from the truth. She fought back the desire to call out his name when he turned and strode across the foyer and back out to his car.
    As he walked away, Melanie sank into one of the chairs in the lobby and covered her face with her hands. In a moment she would head up to her room, put a huge smile on her face, and video chat with her son. She would thank Sarah for sending someone to meet her and tell her again how grateful she was for everything.
    Yes, she would look brave, happy, and appreciative.
    In a minute.
    She took a deep breath and kept her hands over her face.
    Or maybe two.
    Charles navigated the award ceremony on autopilot. Despite this one being held in Manhattan, many of these events were reruns of prior ones. The same people. The same conversations. People came to them either because they cared about the cause or they wanted people to think they did. He didn’t waste his time trying to sort out which category any of them fell into. He supported the causes the same way he supported his family—financially and from a distance.
    He smiled graciously as he received the award and posed for the cameras. He shook hands with all the right people, inquired about their families, and walked away from them, instantly forgetting each interaction as soon as it ended.
    He was debating how soon he could leave the event, even while the mayor was telling him about his last golfing trip and some mishap that was supposed to be amusing. Charles listened just enough to smile at the right times, but couldn’t have been farther away in his head.
    Just before h e’d exited the hotel, h e’d made the mistake of glancing back at Melanie. The sight of her with her hands over her face in despair haunted him. I should have stayed with her.
    And then what?
    She needed a friend, not a lover. And Charles didn’t do friendships with women.
    He didn’t get involved.
    His cock countered with an opinion of its own. It didn’t care why sh e’d come to New York. Just the thought of having her in the same city was enough to keep it in a constant, throbbing state of arousal.
    Stand down, nothing is going to happen. She’s not my problem. She’ll call Sarah if she needs a sympathetic ear.
    Still, he couldn’t shake the image of her in the hotel foyer. What had brought her to New York and why was she so sad?
    If she wanted my help she would have asked for it.
    I was right to leave.
    I don’t get involved with women who have children.
    I don’t date them.
    I don’t fuck them.
    Children have always been and will always be a deal breaker.
    Sarah often called Charles overprotective, but in reality, when it had counted, he had failed to protect the one who had most needed him.
    And that was something he could never forgive himself for.
    Something h e’d never put himself in a position to do again.
    “Charles, if I can have a moment?” Mason broke in to the conversation between Charles and the mayor and pulled his friend away. Together they walked to a small landing that looked out over the throngs gathered for the event.
    Frowning, Charles asked, “What do you need?”
    “Me? Nothing. You need to stop smiling while the mayor tells you about the issues he’s having with getting funding for his latest project.”
    “Shit, I wasn’t paying attention.” Charles looked back at the mayor, who was talking to his wife and waving his hands around as if reenacting their conversation. “I thought he was still talking about his golf