Protecting Lulu (Global Protection Agency) by J. M. Jeffries Read Free Book Online

company
are doing an excellent job.”
    “Only
two days? Feels longer.”
    Lulu
stuck out her bottom lip. This verbal sparring they shared really got her motor
running. She hadn’t worked this hard for anyone’s attention in a very long
time. “Why that almost hurts my feelings.”
    “Stop
it.” He glared at her.
    “Stop
what?” She gave him an innocent flutter of her eyelashes.
    “Doing
that thing you do.”
    She
was getting to him and liked that he felt flustered. “What thing?”
    “Pretending
that your feelings are hurt and you’re going to cry.”
    “I’m
really going to have to work on my manipulation skills with you. You’re quite a
challenge, aren’t you Noah?”
    “I
don’t want you to think I’m easy...Lucinda.”
    There
was nothing easy about him. He was all hard planes and angles. And he’d called
her Lucinda. “At least Lucinda is better than Ms. Bennington. I was starting to
feel like your old maiden aunt.”
    He
grinned at her. “I couldn’t think of you like that.”
    Was
that just a gleam of attraction in his eyes? For her? “Then we have made progress.”
    His
face went still and quiet, the amusement gone, as he held up a handful of files
and turned them back to the business at hand. “We have some work to do.”
    She
was affecting him. Good. “What are those?”
    “First
we’re going to talk about the people you’ve fired in the last three years.”
    The
time had come to play in the dirt, and not in a fun way. She sighed as she went
to the emerald regency sofa and sat. “Nancy Sands and Gina West.”
    He
glanced through the files. “I can’t believe you’ve only fired two people in the
last three years.”
    Lulu
hated firing people. She firmly believed she could find a place for anybody
that would make them happy. “Nancy had a substance abuse problem and Gina wasn’t
a good fit, although she tried.” What could she say? Sometimes even she was wrong.
    “Are
you still in contact with them?”
    Lulu
nodded. “I paid for Nancy’s re-hab and she was re-hired and just got her one
year chip. Gina’s in law school in California. I hear from her occasionally. She’s
doing quite well.” She was very proud of the both of them and happy to help them
find their way in life.
    “So
we can mark them off the list.”
    She
could have told him that. “I should imagine so.”
    “Tell
me about your business? How are you doing?”
    She
was a bit surprised that he cared. “Even in this the economy we’re doing well. I’ve
tapped into a very powerful niche market. Big Girl Production’s brand has
expanded with a fashion and cosmetic line. Next year we’ll launch my perfume
Lush. Besides the talk show and magazine, I have several TV shows and movies in
production. I’m not afraid to try something new, but I do keep my eye on the
bottom line.”
    “Anyone
denied a promotion or laid off?”’
    “I
haven’t had to do either.” The last two years she’d gone without a salary just to
make sure she didn’t have to lay-off any of her people. She didn’t need a
salary anyway. She could live off her trust fund for a couple hundred years.
    “We’ve
been vetting your employees and we have a few red flags.”
    Somehow
she’d hoped this meeting would end with Gina and Nancy, but that wasn’t going
to happen. “Really?”
    He
pointed to the files on her teak coffee table. “Oh yeah.”
    For
the most part she knew people had secrets. Secrets they never talked about, or
even thought about, but secrets nonetheless. Not only was she their boss, but their
cheerleader, and occasional therapist. God knew she hated people prying into
her private life, judging her, holding her to a different standard.
    “All
right.” She patted the spot next to her.
    Normally
she didn’t like to push people’s buttons, but Noah Callahan just fell for it
every time. A part of her enjoyed making him uncomfortable. She suspected on
some level a part of him enjoyed their little battles.
    He
sat in the chair