Winner Takes All Read Online Free PDF Page B

sir.”
    He was silent for a moment. “What does Ethan say?”
    “Ethan’s on his way to Barcelona,” she explained calmly. “I just missed him. I don’t have time to wait, sir. I promised the Hammonds I’d get back to them at once. The reduced commission has definitely whetted their interest. I think if we agree to this, we have a very good chance of getting the sale.”
    Her argument made sense to Elliot. “In that case, you have my approval to go ahead with the ten percent. But it’s just this one time, of course. It wouldn’t do to make a practice of cutting our commission. In fact, the fixed-commission schedule is one of Ethan’s best ideas, especially since Davidge’s and Brooks’s followed suit. It made us look like an industry leader. I liked that.”
    “Yes, sir,” she answered. Elliot Wyndham was obviously happy with the work his son was doing. Although she herself had nothing to complain about it, she knew many of her colleagues liked to grumble about their new boss. Her cube neighbor David was one of the loudest, always telling stories to Ethan’s discredit, but his information was suspect, as he had an almost pathological need to gossip. If he wasn’t dishing about something, he’d simply explode from internal pressure. “Thank you. I’ll let you go now. I know you’re very busy.”
    “It’s been lovely talking to you, Eva, and I look forward to seeing the Hammond collection,” he said before hanging up.
    Eva put down the phone, feeling satisfied with that day’s work. Things hadn’t gone according to plan—she still couldn’t believe that there was no record of her appointment—but she’d made good progress. Meeting Reed like that had been a stroke of luck.
    She took out her Hammond file and read the notes she had taken during lunch. Then she turned to her computer and began working on her final presentation.
    ***
    Four hours later, Eva was still staring at her computer screen. Everyone else had left the office ages ago, and she was alone with her thoughts, which was good because the isolation helped her focus. But it was also bad because the thing it helped her focus on was Reed. Reed in his sexy pinstripe suit with his gorgeous blue eyes. Reed out of his sexy pinstripe suit peeling her crisp white shirt off her.
    It was absurd, she knew, for her to have this reaction to a man she’d just met and had only had lunch with. Not even lunch, she reminded herself: a business meeting over food to discuss the dispersal of his employer’s art collection. The experience had no first-date connotations at all.
    So get over it, she ordered herself silently.
    But that was easier said than done, which she knew because she’d been trying to get over it for several hours to no avail. Putting together the proposal was taking twice as long as it should because her mind kept wandering. At the slightest provocation, it returned to that moment in the cab when Reed had said good-bye. His manner had been as warm and friendly as ever as he shook her hand, but he made no attempt to arrange further contact.
    “And why would he?” she muttered to herself. “Business meetings don’t end with your jotting down your telephone number on a cocktail napkin.”
    Eva shook her head and reread the letter she was working on. The rest of the package was ready to go: the mockup of the catalog, a demographic breakdown of the cities on the proposed tour, pie charts illustrating the financials, a time line. All she needed to finish was the stupid letter of introduction. She couldn’t figure out why it was taking so long.
    Suddenly, her phone rang, causing her to jump, and she stared at it malevolently, wondering who could be calling her office line at such an hour.
    “Hello?” she asked cautiously.
    “There you are.”
    Eva sat up in her chair, surprised by the accusation she heard her friend’s voice. “Here I am.”
    “I’ve been calling your phone for ages,” said Ruth.
    “You have?” Eva said as she dug