Winner Takes All Read Online Free PDF Page A

mocking me,” he said.
    “Only a little,” she admitted. “I’ve had a few paper cuts in my time. They’re certainly no laughing matter.”
    Just then the waiter returned with their coffee. He put the demitasse cup in front of Reed before laying out cream and sugar for Eva.
    “I really should be getting back to the office soon,” she said, taking a sip of her coffee. “A two-hour lunch is extremely decadent for me. I feel like I’m about to turn into a pumpkin.”
    “That’s a shame.”
    “Not at all. I won’t really turn into a pumpkin, unless, I suppose, I keep eating like this. That soup really was fabulous.”
    Reed laughed. “No, I meant that you think a two-hour lunch is decadent. This is nothing. I see now that a large part of your education had been sadly overlooked. But don’t worry. We’ll rectify that.”
    Her heart leaped at his words. He’s just flirting, she reminded herself. It’s what handsome men in Italian suits do. “We will?” she asked, her voice breathless.
    “Right away,” he said, his eyes alight with mischief. “Instead of going back to work, we’ll hop on a plane and go to my house in the Bahamas for the weekend, where we’ll spend many decadent hours sitting on a beach and drinking margaritas.”
    He wasn’t serious, of course. Eva was both relieved and disappointed to realize this. “But it’s only Tuesday.”
    “A long weekend, then. What do you say?”
    Eva turned away from those sapphire eyes and reminded herself to stay sensible. He was only teasing her. “I say it’s time I got to work on that proposal. I want to send it first thing in the morning.”
    The change in conversation from the exciting to the mundane did not dim the light in his eyes. “All right. But maybe next weekend?”
    He’s irrepressible, Eva thought. “Sure, maybe next weekend.” She knew it was a safe answer. By next weekend he will have forgotten her name. Men like him had long attention spans when it came to business and considerably shorter ones when it came to women. Her father was the same way, working long hours in the office and often forgetting he had a family waiting at home.
    “I don’t think you mean that, but I’m going to hold you to it anyway.” He caught the waiter’s attention and motioned for the check. It arrived a few moments later on a plastic tray with two chocolate mints.
    While Eva unwrapped a chocolate, Reed reached for the check.
    “Uh-uh,” she said, with a shake of her head. “We had an agreement. Lunch is on me. I’m going to need the receipt as evidence that I was working. Do you have a business card?”
    He seemed baffled by the idea. “A business card?”
    “Yes, you know, a little rectangular piece of paper, frequently made of cardboard, with all your contact information embossed on it. Typically has the company logo.” Digging through her shoulder bag, she retrieved her wallet and withdrew her credit card. As soon as she had put out her card, their waiter darted out of nowhere and disappeared with the tray. “I wanted to staple it to my expense report. I find having physical evidence usually speeds the reimbursement process along. Give accounting a reason to drag their heels and they’ll take it. They seem to have a real hang-up with issuing checks.”
    “I don’t think I have any on me right now,” he said, smiling apologetically, but he looked in his wallet just to be sure. “Nope.”
    Eva shrugged. “That’s all right. I don’t think this meal was extravagant enough to raise eyebrows. Now, if we had gone to the Sea Grill as originally planned….” She let the thought dangle as she calculated tip. Then she signed the receipt with a flourish, folded it into a small square and stuck it into her wallet. “Shall we go?”
    He stood up. “Thank you very much, Ms. Butler, for a lovely lunch. I look forward to returning the favor.”
    “My pleasure,” she said sincerely. She couldn’t remember the last time she had passed such a