HH02 - A Reclusive Heart by R.L. Mathewson Read Free Book Online

herself after her failed
    makeover, but that time was over.
    He turned around to get his first glimpse of the made over little hermit and frowned. Where the hell had she gone now? He
    swore under his breath as he scanned the small organized living room and didn't find her.
    "Miss. Harris?" he called out. He stepped past the couch and a half dozen shopping bags and quickly scanned the
    adjoining kitchen. Nope. No little recluse there.
    He wasn't too surprised when she didn't answer. No doubt she thought he'd eventually get bored and go away. Not a
    chance in hell of that happening, he thought as he looked at his watch. They needed to go over a few things, pack, get to a photo
    shoot, pray for a miracle, go to Cole's game and then catch a flight to Boston. This was his chance to make his mark and he
    wasn't about to fuck it up.
    "I'm not going anywhere, Miss. Harris. The sooner you get out here the sooner we can get to work," he announced as he
    put his hands on his hips in an effort to keep himself from tearing the little apartment to shreds to find her.
    Shaking his head in disgust, he walked back to the door and grabbed the laptop. He was pretty sure Rick never had to go
    through this much bullshit for Dana. The reason for that was pretty simple, Dana had been motivated to get out there and ignore
    her doubts and fears.
    She'd been trapped in a loveless marriage with a worthless piece of shit that cared more for his computer and girlfriend
    than he had for his family. Writing had been Dana's only means of escape and she'd worked her ass off day and night to perfect
    her craft and it had paid off not only for her, but for Rerum Publishing and definitely for Rick.
    Nick wanted what Rick had. He wanted to be a leader in the industry and most importantly he wanted to leave his mark on
    the world and Miss. Harris was the key. If he couldn't get her to cooperate and get in line with his plans he would be good and
    fucked. There was no doubt in his mind that she'd be switched to another editor if he couldn't pull this off quickly. His bosses
    were practically drooling at the idea of having another author of Dana Pierce's caliber and they wouldn't tolerate mistakes.
    With that in mind he knew that he had to entice the little recluse into doing what he wanted. He sat down and removed the
    new laptop from the bag. As it powered up he looked around the small room. Beyond the basics like furniture, a small
    television and a computer there really wasn't anything special about this room.
    The only wall decoration was a framed diploma. Other than that there were no pictures of friends or family. No knick
    knacks or keepsakes to be found. Now that he really took the time to look around the only area of the room that looked lived in
    was the computer area. While the rest of the room was spotless and bare, her desk was not. It was piled high with papers,
    probably manuscripts, books, candy bar wrappers, a jar of hard candies and a very old mouse pad.
    Realization hit and he knew how he was going to get what he wanted. This little recluse was truly that, a recluse. She was
    a young woman with no life or experience outside of her books or computer.
    That's why she'd sold her successful internet company and taken a job when she didn't need one. This little recluse wanted
    to experience life, to make changes and take chances. All he had to do was offer her those opportunities and he'd own her ass.
    He placed the computer on her bare coffee table and opened up the document he'd been working on only an hour ago.
    "Miss. Harris," he said, trying to sound casual, "I'd like to apologize for upsetting you. I realize that this is all a bit sudden
    and overwhelming for you. I believe Rick made a mistake in assigning me to you." He ignored the snort of agreement that came
    from somewhere in the vicinity of the tan door, probably the bathroom, and continued.
    "I think this is all too much for you, too soon. I'm going to call Rick and have you switched to