Winner Takes All Read Online Free PDF

pleasant few hours in male company. “And if you really want to return the favor, you could double-check Mrs. Hemingway’s calendar the next time you drop by and make sure my meeting on October sixteenth is still there.”
    He laughed and followed her out of the restaurant. “I’m going to hop in a cab. Can I drop you somewhere?”
    The air was warm and Eva had been looking forward to the solitary walk back to the office—she needed time to clear her head—but she took him up on his offer. She would never see him again after this; spending another few minutes in his company couldn’t do any harm. Or so she hoped.

CHAPTER TWO
     
    After her business meeting, Eva returned to the office to square the lavish promises she’d made to Reed with Wyndham’s. She was reasonably confident that she could convince Elliot of the necessity and efficacy of ten percent, but first she had to get him on the phone—and that was the tricky part. Ethan, Elliot’s son and head of the North American division, was extremely possessive and would resent her presumption. All matters that pertained to New York business were supposed to go through him, and Eva knew he would immediately shoot down the idea of bending his signature policy on commissions.
    She needed an excuse to go over her boss’s head, and opening his calendar on the server, she easily found it: In an hour, Ethan would be flying to Barcelona for an antiques show. All she had to do was wait until he was wheels up and call his father. Although it would be after ten in the London office, Eva was optimistic the elder Wyndham would still be there. He was notorious for working well into the night, despite his age of seventy-two.
    While she waited, Eva debated the usefulness of consulting Ben first. Since he was her immediate supervisor, she felt some obligation to keep him in the loop. But he was also Ethan’s subordinate and he might cautiously advise her to wait until the morning to call Spain. The Hammond collection meant too much to her to run the risk.
    When Ethan’s plane was finally in the air, she called his administrative assistant as a matter of form and expressed surprise and disappointment when she learned he was unreachable. Then she dialed Elliot’s extension and was relieved when his assistant picked up on the first ring. Eva quickly identified herself, confident that the Wyndham patriarch would recognize her name, as there was no way she could have gotten her recent promotion without his signoff. As she waited for him to come onto the line, she felt her heartbeat kick up. She was nervous. Making this call was a huge break from protocol, and it was very possible this whole thing could blow up in her face. Still, she held steady to her plan: Wyndham’s needed an edge to beat out its two main competitors and the discounted seller’s commission was that edge.
    When Mr. Wyndham came on the line, Eva identified herself and waited for him to recognize her name. He did not. Rather than bring up her promotion, she reminded him that they’d worked together on the Farthing matter. William Farthing was an old school chum of Elliot’s who had gotten himself into a bit of a pickle, thanks to an unregulated love of horseracing. He’d had to liquidate his assets rather quickly, and Elliot, hoping to make the experience a little less painful for his friend, had overseen the matter personally. They’d held the auction in New York so that their other old school chums would be less likely to read about it.
    “Ah, yes, of course, Eva,” he said, a thread of recollection in his tone. “How are you, my dear?”
    Eva assured him she was well and, determined not to waste his time, jumped right to the matter at hand. “So you see, reducing the commission would give us a great advantage. I know it is no longer standard practice to make this sort of concession, but the Hammond collection is impeccable and well worth the sacrifice.”
    “The Hammond collection, eh?”
    “Yes,