Romantic Acquisition by Elizabeth Lennox Read Free Book Online

love new things but I have a huge respect for the old as well.  It shows us where we were and, if you look closely and pay attention to the details, where we are going,” she said.
     
    Carlo agreed with her opinion and appreciated her perceptiveness.  But he didn’t say anything, preferring to simply watch her face as she talked about the store. 
     
    They walked slowly around the various departments as Kate talked about how each of them were connected to the other, the flow of the layout and why one department was located in a specific area versus another .  Carlo wanted to know exactly how the stock was brought onto the floors, how it was purchased, how long it took to train the various people and what kinds of personalities the store looked for in employees. 
     
    The store was open and full of shoppers by the time the tour was over in the early afternoon .  Kate was fascinated by his curiosity.  I t didn’t seem like he cared only because of the due diligence he was currently reviewing.  He asked about things there was no reason for someone as high up as he probably was within ATI to know. 
     
    She liked that about him.  She thought it was interesting that he wanted to know about everything and nothing was beneath him.  It was completely different from David who never even scratched the surface on the details of running the chain of department stores.   Kate wondered if David had even been in the store rooms lately.  She knew he’d worked in some of the departments but that had been only briefly when he’d been a teenager. 
     
    She remembered doing her homework one afternoon when she was in middle school.  David was just about to graduate from high school and go off to college.  Phillip had demanded that David learn the business by working on the floor in the men’s department.  That afternoon, she’d seen David fly into a rage at Phillip.  He’d stormed up from the store that day and exploded into his father’s office, stating emphatically that he would not work another day on the retail floor. 
     
    With those words, David had left the building and hadn’t returned for two years.  By that time, Phillip had decided to bring David into the store at the executive level which David felt was a much more appropriate position for him. 
     
    Kate continued to answer Carlo’s questions as they made their way back to the conference room.  That was the last time Carlo and Kate were actually alone together for the next three weeks.  She worked in the conference room and the days settled into a routine.  She would help the ATI team for the morning, then by the afternoon, she was able to concentrate on her own work although she remained in the conference room to answer any questions. 
     
    Although they were never alone, Carlo started asking her questions during the day as well.  That was almost more painful though.  When he approached her, her whole body reacted.  Her nerves started tingling and her blood seemed to hum along her bloodstream.  She knew her feelings were becoming involved and tried to stop it from going any further .  But the man was just too incredibly handsome and intelligent for her not to fall for . 
     
    She wondered about her attraction towards him.  He was serious and quiet, unlike any other man she’d ever dated.  Most of the men she’d been in terested in previously had been much shorter, less muscular definitely and much more lively.  Kate was usually interested in people she met at bars or dance clubs she and her friends frequented in the evenings and on weekends.  She realized that most of her boyfriends ended up as her friends instead of lovers. 
     
    She thought back to the one time she’d spent the night with a boyfriend.  It had been disastrous!  She’d cried through the whole experience and been ashamed the following morning.  She’d walked home from the guy’s apartment since he wouldn’t even wake up enough to drive her home.  Kate had been