His Indecent Proposition by Aphrodite Hunt Read Free Book Online Page A

right?
    Her heart sinks.
    Actually, if they wanted to be picky about
it, that fifty million can mean the whole world between a promotion
and another few more years of waiting in the wings. It just so
happened that Dan Barry, the previous VP, dropped dead of a heart
attack. Susan was genuinely sorry about it, even though Dan was a
lecher who liked to grope all the women and cheat on his wife.
    She looks at herself in the mirror again.
She’s attractive enough with her coppery curls and wide brown eyes,
but she has always wished she could be prettier and taller. But
being pretty is not going to cut it with Mr. Channing Crawford, the
CEO of Crawford, Peterson and Fulham Inc. As far as she knows, Mr.
Crawford hasn’t even looked at any woman in the company.
Rumors might have abounded that he was gay had it not been for his
extreme alpha male masculinity and the way he seems to suck all the
air out of a room.
    Nope. This is all going to be based on
merit. Maybe she needs the extra fifty million dollars after
all.
    You can do it, girl .
    She plucks her purse off the sink and makes
herself walk out of the restroom. Her legs are slightly wobbly as
she strides to the elevators. The CEO’s office is on the top floor.
Even after five years in the company, her encounters with Channing
Crawford have been thankfully brief and limited to boardrooms and
town hall meetings.
    She doesn’t wish for broader contact. The
man is frankly intimidating.
    The light on top of one of the elevators
comes on, and the doors slide open. Susan makes to step in, and
freezes when she sees Leonard Drake inside.
    Leonard smiles craftily. He is a tall black
man with a full head of straight black hair. He is always
impeccably dressed and he doesn’t walk – he glides like a
shark.
    “Going up?” he says.
    She wonders if it’s a metaphor. She debates
whether or not to postpone this appointment with Channing Crawford
to another time. But you don’t postpone appointments with Channing
Crawford. You don’t get a second chance.
    She steels herself and lifts her chin
up.
    “As a matter of fact, yes,” she says.
    She walks into the elevator with an air of
confidence that she does not feel. Gotta keep those hands from
trembling . She presses the button to the top floor, aware that
Leonard is sizing her every move.
    “Oh,” he says in a silky voice, “going to
the CEO’s office?”
    “What’s it to you?”
    “I’ve just been there.”
    Oh? Susan pricks up her ears. She will not
give Leonard the satisfaction of turning her head to address him,
however.
    Leonard goes on, “Let’s just say the VP job
is pretty much wrapped up.”
    “Nothing is ever wrapped up until it’s
over,” she says acidly.
    Internally, she’s going damn damn
damn in dismay. What uproariously stellar interview did Leonard
give Channing Crawford? What new projects did he promise to deliver
if he were to get that VP post? Leonard is an upstanding member of
his church community, and he has a lot of contacts channeling in
from that way.
    As for her, she hasn’t gone to church since
grade school.
    Damn .
    She wonders if it’s too late to court a
parish.
    The elevator reaches the twentieth floor and
Leonard gets off.
    “Good luck,” he says, grinning. “You’re
gonna need it. Lots of it.”
    She glares balefully at him as he turns tail
and walks off. The elevator doors hiss shut again, and it’s up, up,
up to top.
    If only.
    Her nerves are jangling when the doors slide
open to reveal a wide passageway. At the end of it is the CEO’s
office. It takes up almost the entire floor.
    Susan steps out. She is wearing red heels,
and they sink into the blue and cream carpet. Her blouse is red
silk and her skirt is a pencil-silhouetted tartan. She looks every
inch the powerhouse professional, or so she hopes.
    Her steps are strident until she gets closer
and closer to the office, and then she falters.
    Why oh why am I so nervous?
    Relax, you’ve got the goods. So what if
Leonard gets