Harvard Hottie by Annabelle Costa Read Free Book Online Page A

if he did? 
    We’ve been seated for less than a minute when a waiter dashes over to our table. “May I offer you a drink?”
    “I’ll have a glass of pinot noir,” Luke says.
    I know having a glass of wine at lunch isn’t a big deal, but I feel like it’s somehow important to have complete control of my senses now. Plus, I’m a lightweight and even one glass of wine is liable to alter my judgment.
    “I’ll have a ginger ale,” I say.
    Luke stares at me. I desperately wish I could take back my order, but the waiter has already dashed off to bring our drinks.
    “Ginger ale?” he repeats. “Are you five ?”
    “I like ginger ale,” I say defensively. I pick up my menu and study it intently, avoiding his gaze.
    “You know,” he says, grinning, “they don’t have any Happy Meals on there, if that’s what you’re looking for.”
    Ho ho, very funny.
    The prices in this restaurant are horrifying. I don’t think I’ve ever seen food this expensive before. I end up ordering a salad, even though Luke assures me that the company is paying for the meal and that I should order something big and expensive and that “comes with a toy.” He orders a steak, which costs slightly less than my rent.
    “Okay,” Luke says after the waiter takes our orders to the kitchen, “now down to business.”
    Finally. He really does want to talk business with me. I’m relieved.
    And also slightly disappointed?
    Luke starts spouting out numbers at me and I realize he’s memorized the revenues of each division of our company. This guy knows his stuff. “I really hate to fire anyone,” he says, “but every company has excess. You guys have a lot of excess.”
    “Why does everything have to be about profit?” I ask angrily. For a moment, I feel like we’re back in expos class, fighting over a story by Flannery O’Connor.
    “I didn’t buy the company to take a loss, Ellie,” he says. And suddenly, I realize that he’s right. He’s not a humanitarian, he’s a businessman. Why would he buy a company just to lose money?
    When I’m quiet, he raises his eyebrows at me. “Nothing else to say?”
    I shrug. “Well, you’re right. I guess.”
    “Holy shit,” he says. “I can’t believe my ears. Twelve Fingers just admitted I’m right. I thought that was against your religion. Maybe you really have changed since college.”
    I laugh. “Come on, I wasn’t that bad.”
    “Bad?” He smiles. “I loved arguing with you, Ellie. I used to lie in bed awake the night before, trying to think of what I could say to rile you up.”
    I stare at him. “You did not!”
    “Of course I did,” he insists. “You were so cute arguing with me. That was the best part of my week.”
    I can’t believe what I’m hearing. What I thought were heated angry debates was apparently just foreplay to Luke. It figures, I guess.
    “So aren’t you going to tell me why your division is the best one?” he says. “And everyone else is shit? That’s what your buddy Lewis did.”
    “He didn’t!” I gasp.
    “Don’t worry,” Luke says. “He at least said nice things about you. He thinks you’re pretty awesome. In fact, I’d say he’s got quite the crush on you.”
    Oh God, that better not be true. “I don’t think so.”
    “Oh, I would say he definitely does,” Luke says and winks at me. “So, um, does he have a chance? Are you seeing someone?”
    I watch Luke as he picks up his wine glass with his right hand, sliding the neck of his glass between his third and fourth digits, and takes a sip. I keep looking at his hands, with those deep grooves, as much as I try not to. Despite the way they look on the back, his palms seem more normal and they seem to function fairly well, as far as I can tell. But still, they seem like the kind of hands you’d see on some… I don’t know, disabled person. Which I guess is what he is. I shift in my seat. “Yes, I have a boyfriend.”
    Surprise registers on Luke’s face. “Oh?” he says. “Is