Ruining Mr. Perfect (The McCauley Brothers) by Marie Harte Read Free Book Online

I don’t tolerate bullshit. Not from the men or women in this place, not from my boss, and not from you.”
    “I swear. I’m not bullshitting you.”
    “Fine. I’ll go talk to the women downstairs. But know you’re going to be occasionally teased simply because you’re related to the boss.” She shook her head. “It would have helped you a ton if Bill hadn’t introduced you as his favorite nephew. But if you want that stigma to go away, work on it. Stop calling him Uncle Bill and start calling him Mr. Peterman or boss. Talk to him about it, would you? Don’t worry about the harassment. I’ll deal with them.” She paused. Dana had a thing for younger men. “Before I talk to them, tell me something. You didn’t have sex with any of them, did you? Because that might make this more complicated.”
    “ Hell no . I mean, no.” He tried to hide his disgust, and she couldn’t stifle her grin.
    “Good. Be smart, and don’t screw around at the office. This place is too small for that.”
    “I know.”
    She glanced down at her calendar and, seeing no impending calls she’d forgotten, decided to deal with this nonsense straight away. When she looked up, she saw him focused on her blouse. “Josh?”
    He blinked. “Sorry. I was zoning. It’s been a tough day. Nothing like what you’ve done, I’m sure. But for a newbie, it’s a lot to take in.”
    She nodded. “Jeff helping you?” The guy was an idiot as a human being, but a decent accountant.
    “Yeah. He’s great.” He cleared his throat. “Told me to steer clear of you. That you eat men for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.”
    She grinned. “Yeah, I do. Listen to Jeff. Now get out of here and get back to work. I’ll handle the hens clucking around you.”
    He chuckled and stood. “Thanks, Vanessa. I owe you.”
    “Do your job, and we’ll call it even.”
    He nodded and left, closing the door softly behind him.
    She rubbed her temples, not needing to deal with this on top of everything else today. “Gotta love the first quarter crunch.” Corporate taxes gave her such a headache. Her phone rang, and she picked it up. “Vanessa Campbell.”
    “Hey, Vanessa. It’s Bill. I had Irene check your appointments. She booked you and John for the fifth, which is next Friday. That’s the soonest he can fit you in. In the meantime, he’s sending a courier with some business vitals we need to familiarize ourselves with, in addition to the e-file I’m forwarding to you. I’m putting you on as account manager.” He paused. “Are you okay with that?”
    “It’s a huge client. Yes, I’m fine.” More than fine. If she took good care of them, she’d make partner for sure, no question.
    “Good.” He let out a breath. “I was worried for a minute. John seemed pretty taken with you.”
    “It was one date and all he did was talk about himself. I hadn’t thought I’d ever see him again, honestly. But I’m good at my job. Don’t worry that I’ll muck it up by sleeping with the client. Trust me. That’s never going to happen.”
    He laughed long and hard. “And that’s why we love you, Vanessa. You call ’em like you see ’em.”
    “I do indeed, Bill.” Then saying to hell with it, she gently laid into him for mollycoddling his nephew. He realized his error immediately and promised to do better. After she hung up, she rose and cracked her knuckles. “Your turn, Dana.”
    ***
    She spent the next few days working until she grew bleary-eyed, trying to take care of their current clients while familiarizing herself with the Bellemy account. She’d done her stint as a staff and senior accountant, had bypassed manager straight to senior manager. Though she’d been honest with Cam about thinking Bill might promote her to partner when McNulty retired, the thought still boggled the mind, because it normally took a lot longer than seven years to get to partner. Like maybe ten to fifteen.
    She glanced around and saw no one but herself and the cleaning crew in