Project Produce by Kari Lee Harmon Read Free Book Online

one on to you, is all.” He flashed his straight white teeth.
    Great. Another flasher . “What did you do, get me a job? Why? You barely know me.” My resolve softened, but I was afraid to let my guard down. Afraid to trust he would do something nice for me without an ulterior motive. I’d come to learn if something seemed too good to be true, then it probably was.
    He stared at me for a long moment, then said, “Hell, I don’t know why. Call it a moment of guilt. You sounded like you needed this job. I happened to know of a better one in a nicer hotel, that’s all.”
    “Well, I appreciate the offer, but I told you I can take care of myself.” I’d let Bob call the shots in our relationship, and look where it had ended. With him arrested, and me mortified beyond belief. Mortified, depressed, and completely alone.
    Note to self: Rock bottom is not a pretty place to be .
    Dylan ignored me. “Your shift will be in the afternoon right after your class, so your evenings will be free to study, and you can sleep at night. Don’t be stubborn, Mac. There’s no shame in accepting help.”
    “Shame has nothing to do with it. And how do you know when my class is?”
    “I went to college. Just assumed it was during the day.” He flashed his pearly whites again, looking like a fuzzy star in a toothpaste commercial.
    He was right. I couldn’t afford to turn down a perfect opportunity out of stubborn pride, and I really couldn’t take keeping Dracula’s hours anymore. I swallowed. “I’ll take it, thank you. Any way you can get my friend, Gloria, a job? She has to pay rent, too.”
“I’ll see what I can do.” He handed me a piece of paper with the job details. “You start tomorrow.”
I squinted at the job listing. “Okay. But I will pay back the favor. I don’t want to be indebted to anyone, Detective.”
“Dinner sounds like a good payback to me.” He glanced at me.
My lips parted, but I couldn’t think of a word to say. “That’s not what I had in mind,” I hedged.
    He shrugged. “You said you had to eat. Besides, you’re the one who said you owed me. This is how I choose to collect. Do you have a problem with that, Callie?”
    My name sounded so sexy on those sculptured lips, my heart pinged like I’d hit the jackpot in a pinball game. Oh, yeah. I had a problem, all right. The last thing I needed was to fall under his spell and wind up in another scandal, even if said scandal was positively gorgeous. Although, I did have a project to finish and some questions that needed answering, so I had a reason to say yes. Or so I kept telling myself.
“Dinner will be fine. Then we’re even, and I have a few questions you can answer for me, agreed?”
“Whatever you say.” He smiled wide, but I got the impression answering my questions was the last thing on his mind.
“So, when will this, um, payment take place?” I asked, not sure what to call it.
“This date will take place as soon as I check my schedule,” he replied. “I’ll call you to work out the details.”
“Okay. Well, Detective, thanks for the ride home.” I fumbled around for the door handle.
“Something wrong?”
“New contacts. Didn’t have the time or patience to try to put them in, and my glasses broke. Can’t see worth diddly, Dukeypoo.”
    He shook his head, wearing an odd smile. “Here, let me.” Then he reached across my lap to open the door at the same time I leaned forward, and we bumped heads.
    “Ow.” I lifted my mitten to my forehead.
    “You okay?” He touched my arm.
    The thick layer of my coat did nothing to prevent his touch from radiating up my arm and streaking down my spine to pool in the pit of my stomach. Triple flip into a double layout, and the U.S. wins the gold. “I... I...” I lifted my eyes to his, only to see their blurry reflection in those annoying heat shields he wore.
    “Mac?”
    “Yeah?”
    “Oh, hell.” He pulled off his shades, and his five-alarm gaze sizzled as it bore into mine. Then his