Dream Girl by Kelly Jamieson Read Free Book Online Page A

what she'd done. The gnawing pain in her stomach intensified.
    "Can you copy all their hard drives on Sunday when we go?” her father asked her. She turned her attention to business.
    "No,” she said. “They said they have eight computers. It takes a couple of hours to copy a hard drive. I could only get a few done."
    "Well, we'll prioritize based on what we know about each employee,” Dave said. “But this may be more work than you bargained on."
    "That's okay.” She smiled. “I need the money."
    He grinned. “Okay. See you all Sunday morning."
    Ashlyn went down the elevator and out the front door of the building. Tall office buildings blocked the low, late afternoon sun. Rush hour traffic clogged the street, horns blared, and office workers rushed by on their way to Friday evening happy hour.
    As the door swung shut behind her, a man moved away from the shadows where he'd been leaning against the building and took hold of her arm. She jumped and turned to use a self-defense move, but found herself staring at Zach.
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    Chapter Five
    "Oh, God,” Ashlyn gasped, “You scared me."
    "Really,” Zach said with apparent unconcern.
    She swallowed. She had no idea how to handle this. She'd have to wing it. One thing she did know was the less said, the better. Not only did she have her own ass to cover, but she had to protect the privacy of her client, Jessica Montgomery.
    "What's the deal with you?” Zach asked very softly, still holding her upper arm. His face was tense, like he was striving for self-control. She'd thought he was such a nice guy, but right now he looked a little scary. His dark eyes glittered, and his hand was hard on her arm.
    "What do you mean?” She licked her lips.
    "Why do you keep leading me on, and then disappearing?"
    "I have never led you on!"
    "Oh, yes, you have,” he bit out. “You flirted with me. You let me kiss you. You kissed me back! And it was fucking hot."
    "Oh.” Her tummy fluttered down low, remembering just how hot that kiss had been.
    "Are you playing some kind of game? Or are you just a pathological flirt? I can't figure it out. Help me out here, babe."
    She had no clue what to say. “I'm sorry,” she squeaked out. “I really didn't mean to do that."
    "The first time I figured you just got scared and realized you shouldn't be taking a strange guy home. The second time, though, you pissed me off.” His voice was harsh, his square jaw tight, and his lips pressed tightly together.
    "I'm sorry,” she said again, with genuine regret. “There were reasons, but I can't talk about them right now. Could you please let go of my arm?"
    He stared at her. “Okay,” he said finally, releasing her. “Just tell me this: Were you or were you not attracted to me? ‘Cause I thought we had something going on. Was I wrong?"
    Now she was silent for a long moment. Then she blurted out, “are you married?"
    His brows snapped together over his nose. “Huh? Of course not. Would I have hit on you if I was married?"
    She definitely didn't want to answer that question. Okay, he wasn't married. He was good-looking, successful—and so angry he unnerved her. She hadn't been able to stop thinking about him since she'd met him, despite believing he was someone's cheating husband.
    "Are you married?” he asked suddenly.
    "No!” She drew in a long, deep breath. Then, “no, you weren't wrong,” she said slowly. “I was attracted to you.” Even as the words came out, she had a feeling she shouldn't be doing this—but it was too late.
    His face softened, and she felt a similar response deep inside her. “Okay, so I'm not nuts,” he said. “So now what do we do?"
    "I don't know,” she whispered. “It's complicated."
    He tipped his head to one side.
    "You're a client,” she explained. And it was true. It just wasn't the whole truth.
    "I thought you were just being consulted on this case."
    "Yes."
    "Okay, so it would be fine if we went out."
    She gazed at him, her