Playing It Close by Kat Latham Read Free Book Online Page A

today?”
    “Going up into the cloud forest.”
    “Ah, it’s brilliant. You’ll love it.”
    She didn’t reveal she’d been there the other day.
    “That was one of the things that sold me on having a contract with Casa del Sol in the first place. Let me know what you think. In fact, I want to know all about how they’re treating you. Obviously they knew who I was when I went there, so they kissed my arse for a week.”
    “You want me to spy for you?”
    “No, not at all!” He paused. “Okay, maybe a little. Think of it more like a secret shopper situation. Aaand...can you keep an eye out for a special guest?”
    Tess braced herself. “Special guest?”
    “Apparently Liam Callaghan booked a holiday through us. He should be at the hotel now, but he’s traveling incognito so you might not recognize him.”
    Right. Like a man with Liam’s charisma and build could blend in among mortals. “What do you want me to do with him if I see him?”
    “For God’s sake, nothing. Leave the man alone and let him have a peaceful holiday. But if you happen to notice him having a good time, let me know. I might approach his agent later about doing some low-level promo for us—you know, give us a quote or something.”
    Tess’s hand tightened around the phone. Poor man probably couldn’t go anywhere without people wanting a piece of him. She would’ve felt guilty about inserting herself into his holiday, except he’d been the one to seek her out for dinner yesterday, and he’d invited her on his excursion today. She understood Charlie had a business to run, and what he asked of her was hardly unethical. Still, passing on information about Liam didn’t sit right with her. “Is that why you called, Charlie?”
    His silence stretched over the line until a headache burrowed behind her eyes. “It’s not, is it?”
    “’Fraid not. Aunt Jean’s trying to get hold of you. She’s sent you a few emails and you haven’t responded.”
    “I’m on holiday.”
    “I know that, Tessy. But you really need to talk to her.”
    “Did she tell you why? Does she just need me to check in, or...?”
    “I think it’s an or situation. I’m really sorry.”
    She groaned and collapsed back into the fluffy pillows. “All right. I’ll check my email. Thanks for the heads-up.”
    “No worries. I know this’ll sound daft, but try to relax. Enjoy yourself while you’re there.”
    His statement didn’t need to be finished. Enjoy yourself while you’re there because you’ll come back to the same shit storm you left behind.
    She hung up and booted up her computer. Glancing at the bedside clock, she willed the browser to open quickly. She was supposed to meet Liam in the lobby in two minutes and despised being late. Her email finally opened to reveal she’d received over a hundred new messages since she’d arrived. She probably should’ve checked her email at least once, but she’d wanted to completely escape. Most of them were from journalists who’d somehow found out her personal email address, but around a dozen were from her aunt Jean, who’d been acting as her legal counsel since her blog had sparked the biggest-ever inquiry into working practices in London’s financial services industry. Tess had spent weeks giving testimony in front of a law lord, Lord Justice Tarrington, and his team of experts about the things she’d experienced while working for one of the country’s largest investment banks.
    Jean’s last few emails had been marked Urgent . Tess’s breath caught in her throat when she saw Jean’s latest email, sent thirty minutes ago. The subject line had clearly been written to get her attention, and fucking hell, did it ever.
    Come home now. You’ve been counter-accused of sexual harassment.

Chapter Four
    Patience was a virtue Liam was well familiar with. The young pups on his team often thanked him for it when they fucked up during their debut match and he merely patted them on the back and said, “Stay