Working It Read Online Free PDF Page B

inflow of cash. Quick. That means investors,” she continued. “Investors like companies with buzz around them, you know that. You start to get your name—in a positive light—in the trade mags and other papers, and you’ll be better able to…”
    â€œWe’ve been to investors,” Drew said, his voice tired, trying to end the conversation. He didn’t know why he was letting her pull him into this. “We’re running out of time. This isn’t just me trying to shut you up, this is a fact—we don’t have the time you’re talking about to make a successful go of it.”
    She frowned. He noticed that she hadn’t released his wrist.
    â€œSo what happened?” She finally pulled away from him and, for a second, he felt bereft. He hid the confusing emotion by putting his hands against his temples, rubbing against the now-ever-present brewing headache.
    â€œI don’t see the point in telling you.” He didn’t mean for that to come out so curt, but it was too late to take it back.
    He noticed that she didn’t look cowed. Nor did it look as though she was leaving.
    â€œI don’t know, all right?” He took a deep breath. Maybe if he just said it quick, she’d leave. “Our numbers are bad, but not that bad. Of course, as you mentioned, it doesn’t help that the previous president embezzled almost a million dollars and fled the country.”
    â€œIt doesn’t help that you’re young, either,” she mused.
    â€œThirty-four isn’t exactly right out of school.”
    â€œYou didn’t get an M.B.A. until you were older, either,” she added, frowning. “That’s not a bad thing.”
    â€œI sure as hell don’t think so,” he said, trying hard not to bristle at her casual assessment. Then he scowled. “And how the hell do you know when I got my M.B.A.?”
    â€œYou’re my client, Drew.” She paused, shooting a friendly, almost sexy smirk at him. “You don’t mind me calling you Drew, do you? Because for the next few weeks, we’re going to be working very closely together. Calling you Mr. Robson is going to be a pain in the ass.”
    He couldn’t help it. He smiled back. “Sure. Call me Drew. But as far as being your client…”
    â€œWhen I work with a client, I make sure I knoweverything relevant about the business and the people I’ll be working with,” she said. Her voice was now all business, not even a hint of flirtatiousness. “I’ve done a lot more research on you since our first meeting. As I’ve already said, it was an error in judgment on my part. It won’t happen again.”
    He couldn’t help it. He looked her over, from her curls to the scuffed tips of her boots. “I have to ask. What about the getup?”
    She laughed, a warm, rolling sound that hit him like a fist in the gut. “I figured this was the only attire I could wear that would convince you I wasn’t trying to use my body to get your business.”
    His own body involuntarily tensed at the lazy, sexy drawl of her words. The woman would have to be wearing a potato sack to make her body unappealing. But it was obvious that she’d worn this as a direct response to his skirt-as-short-as-a-headband comment.
    â€œSo, you came in work clothes, did some homework, and you’re trying to convince me that what you do is valuable,” he said, trying to regain some of his previous anger. It would be easier to kick her out in that mind-set. The problem was, his heart wasn’t really in it this time. He’d been happy to the first time she’d come around. She was sexy as hell then, too, but she’d looked like a banker, or worse, a salesperson. Then she was trying to either con him or to blackmail him. Now she looked like somebody he could talk to…and she was trying really hard to listen to him. She was saying she could