Double-Cross My Heart by Carol Rose Read Free Book Online Page B

work everyday.
    “I’ll call the Ronald McDonald people back,” Rose said as she left the room.
    Just then the phone on Alex’s desk rang.
    Closest to the desk, Bryan answered, “Zilkowski. Yes, he’s right here. Line three? Okay.”
    Cocking an eyebrow, Alex reached for the receiver his friend held out to him.
    “Its Martin from Millennium Tech,” Bryan said, punching a button on the phone.
    Alex walked across the room to take the phone, he tucked it against his ear and said, “Alex Holt speaking.”
    “Mr. Holt?” James Miller’s voice sounded uneasy and staticky as if distorted by bad cell service.
    “James. You met with your board last evening?”
    “Yes, we met.” Miller cleared his throat and said with a shade of aggression, “the offer’s not high enough. We’ve got assets valued at over a half a billion dollars.”
    “That’s an interesting number,” Alex commented coolly. “How did you happen to arrive at that figure?”
    “From our accounting firm, of course.” Miller sounded annoyed.
    “Of course.” Reaching for the suit coat that hung waiting on a chair back, Alex allowed a pause. “Aren’t they under investigation?”
    Dropping his feet to the floor, Bryan vacated the desk chair as Alex came around to sit down.
    “Now listen, Holt,” James Miller said, his voice rising.
    “I am listening,” Alex responded, opening his briefcase, “for the next three minutes.”
    “Don’t be an ass,” Miller said irritably. “This is a multi-million dollar deal. There are bugs that need to be worked out.”
    “Very understandable,” Alex conceded smoothly. “But I deal with bottom lines. Either you take what I offered or I go ahead with my alternative plans. The monetary amount we’ve offered stays the same. Any ‘bugs’ can be worked out with my lawyers once that issue is settled.”
    “You can’t expect a corporation of this size to just rollover and play dead when you ask us to,” Miller sputtered. “We aren’t some penny-ante business. We survived the internet bust and we’re on our way back!”
    “Good line,” Alex said pleasantly. “But you might want to punch it up when you try, for the tenth time, to get a bank to loan you the ten million you need just to keep your services on-line for the next twelve-months.”
    “You have to offer us something more!” the man on the other end of the line said desperately.
    “Goodbye, Miller,” Alex said, hanging the phone up gently.
    Getting to his feet, he shoved a file back into the case and held it out to Bryan. “Let me know when they notify us they’re taking the deal.”
    Bryan laughed. “There was a time when you were a little less sure of this kind of deal.”
    “Was there?” Alex said, glancing over his shoulder with a smile .

 
    CHAPTER THREE
    “Wait a second. I know your position on the Millennium Tech acquisition,” Bryan said. “But what about the cosmetics deal? Do you think it’s a go? Eden will eventually agree? She’s putty in your hands?”
    At the question, Eden’s image filled Alex’s mind. Her lips were soft and pliant; her body rounded in all the right places. Alex acknowledged to himself the hunger he felt for her. As to the Michele deal, he honestly didn’t see that she had many other options. No good ones, anyway.
    He felt confident of a successful outcome to the deal. He could only hope to an equally successful results to the new promising relationship between them.
    Alex had come to expect a fair amount of luck in his life and he saw no reason to anticipate this situation being any different, despite his uneasiness. Eden would be good with the final outcome. He’d make sure of it.
    “She’s a smart woman,” he said, answering Bryan’s question. “As to how she’ll respond to our buy-out bid, technically, the jury’s still out.”
    “Technically,” Bryan repeated with a wry smile. “You’re having dinner with her tonight to get her answer?”
    “We are meeting for dinner,” Alex