A Bargain with the Boss by Barbara Dunlop Read Free Book Online

woman.”
    â€œThen, take Lucas with you.”
    â€œLucas has to keep our current freight moving across the ocean.”
    â€œYou’re right.” Amber pursed her red lips, folding her hands primly in front of her. “It’s all hopeless. We should just give up and go home.”
    He didn’t have a comeback for her obvious sarcasm. He knew what she was doing, and he didn’t appreciate it.
    â€œAre you this insubordinate with Dixon?” How had she kept from being fired?
    Tuck dialed Jackson.
    â€œI don’t need to be insubordinate with Dixon. He knows what he’s doing.”
    â€œWell, I...” But there was no retort for that. Tuck didn’t know what he was doing. And that was the problem.
    Jackson answered his phone. “Hi, Tuck.”
    â€œYou need to pull out the stops,” said Tuck. “Do whatever it takes.”
    â€œBut—” Amber began.
    Tuck silenced her with a glare. “I just lost my marketing director and my finance director.”
    â€œDid you fire them?” asked Jackson.
    â€œThey quit. Rumor has it they got an offer from a rival, and with Dixon out of the picture—”
    â€œPeople are getting nervous.” Jackson filled in the thought.
    â€œIt seems I’m not seen as a strong leader.”
    â€œYou’ve barely gotten started.”
    Tuck knew that was no excuse. Maybe he should have barreled past his father’s objections years ago. They might have been able to stop him from having any power at Tucker Transportation. But they couldn’t have stopped him from learning. This was his fault, and he had to fix it.
    â€œFind him,” he said to Jackson.
    â€œI’m in New Orleans.”
    â€œDo you think he’s there?”
    â€œI don’t know that he’s not. There’s no evidence that he left.”
    â€œIs there evidence he arrived?”
    â€œMaybe. It could be nothing. Can I get back to you?”
    â€œDon’t take too long.” Tuck’s gaze met Amber’s.
    She gave a slight shake of her head.
    He knew she wanted him to leave Dixon alone and do it all himself. But there was too much at stake. He didn’t dare try.
    * * *
    Tuck looked fantastic in a tuxedo. But then Amber had known that all along. She’d been seeing pictures of him in the tabloids for years, mostly at posh events or out on the town with some gorgeous woman. His ability to work a party had never been in question.
    The Tucker Transportation reception was ending, and the last few guests trickled out of the ballroom. Amber made her way to the main doors, grateful to have the evening at an end. Her feet were killing her, though that was her own fault. She’d knowingly worn two-hour shoes to a five-hour party.
    But she hadn’t been able to resist. This was by far the fanciest party she’d ever attended. And she’d never even taken the silver lace peep-toe pumps out of the box. They had a crimson stiletto heel and she’d done her toenails to match. Her feet looked fabulous, setting off her rather simple black dress.
    The dress had cap sleeves and a slim silhouette. Its one jazzy feature was the scattering of silver sequins at the midthigh hemline. She’d worn it at least a dozen times, but it was tried and true, appropriate to the occasion.
    Tuck appeared beside her, lightly touching her waist. “You promised me a dance.”
    â€œYour dance card seemed full,” she answered him.
    â€œWomen kept asking, and I didn’t want to be rude.”
    Amber kept walking toward the elevator. “You forget the point of hosting such a lavish reception was for you to make business contacts, not to collect phone numbers.”
    â€œYou sound jealous.”
    She wasn’t jealous. She refused to be jealous. She was merely feeling critical of his wasted opportunities.
    â€œThat was a business observation, not a personal one.”
    â€œNo?” he