Billionaire Bad Boy by C.J. Archer Read Free Book Online Page A

made all your money?"
she asked, settling into the conversation. She was surprised at how much he'd
opened up already—who knows what she could get him to tell her.
    Zack was just as surprised at how much he'd said to
Annie. He wasn't the sort to tell people about his childhood, especially not to
someone he barely knew. Maybe it was because she was still a relative stranger.
He didn't expect to see her again after the end of the week when Dug-E flew in
and hired her to be his agent. Yeah, that must be why—it was safer to
tell a stranger than a friend.
    Besides, if she knew where he came from, maybe she'd
be less likely to want to get involved with him. Good girls don't date bad
boys. They might use them to make the good boys jealous or to temporarily
escape their image, but beyond that, women like Annie had nothing to do with
guys like him. Just as well. It would make it easier to resist her if she
didn't want him. As it was, resisting her was going to take all the
self-control he had.
    "Okay," he said in answer to her question. "I've
got Bob to thank for that. When I moved here, I was following in my father's
footsteps."
    "Working two jobs?"
    "Stealing. Cars to be precise. One day, I was
attempting to break into a nice convertible. Bob's. But you know what an old
softie he is. Instead of turning me in, he organized a job for me. Retail. A
men's wear shop. I was seventeen and it was just what I needed. Of course, Bob
threatened to turn me in if I didn't stick it out."
    "You got rich working at a men's wear shop?"
    "No, I got rich when I learned what Bob did for a
living. My new boss, a friend of his, told me. You see," he leaned towards
her, "my father had written some songs before he met my mother. It had
been his dream to have them recorded, but life got in the way. I had my older
sister send me Dad's old demo tapes, and I got Bob to listen to them. He liked
them and represented the family, getting a deal with Sonic Records. A very
lucrative deal. The songs became popular and all six of us took our share. I
used mine to buy the shop where I worked and turned it into a department store.
The rest, as they say, is history."
    "Wow. Interesting. What were the songs?"
    "Ever heard of Love is a Velvet Sky ? Or Walking
on Hot Coals ?"
    "By The Dream Weavers ?"
    He nodded. "They recorded Dad's songs."
    "I never knew. My father never discussed
business."
    "He wasn't involved. Bob brokered the deal."
    "That sounds right. Dad handled the publicity and
temperamental artists. Since the songwriter was deceased, his talents weren't
really needed, I guess."
    Zack detected a note of...what? Disappointment? Annoyance?
Maybe she wasn't proud of her father. If so, they had more in common that he
first thought.
    "You're not like him," he said.
    She stiffened. "No."
    "Tell me about him."
    "He loved life to the fullest. End of
story."
    "I told you about me, so now it's my turn to ask
a question."
    Her mouth twisted into a wry grin. "Shoot."
    He placed one elbow on the bar and leaned his cheek on
his palm. "Why did you decide to become an entertainment agent?"
    "What sort of question is that?"
    He shrugged. "It just isn't...you."
    "Not me? What's that supposed to mean?"
    He dodged the sparks fired by her intense blue gaze
and decided to let her dwell on her own question a moment longer. He finished
his beer and toyed with the empty glass before he answered. "You're not a
typical LA agent."
    "That's because I'm not," she sniffed. "I'm
not a typical anything."
    "No kidding."
    "So why are you asking me such a silly question? You
wasted a perfectly good opportunity to ask me something personal."
    "Did I?" He shrugged again. He'd got her
shackles up, that was for sure, but she wasn't going to admit it. He decided to
leave it alone. It was obvious that Bob was right when he said she probably
became an agent because of her father. Some part of him just wished she'd admit
it. He didn't know why.
    "Let's change the subject," he said quickly,
not wanting