Sinfully Sexy by Linda Francis Lee Read Free Book Online Page A

It's
like inviting a fox into the henhouse."

"Chloe, please," Julia implored. She laughed uncomfortably. "I'm sure
that you're wrong about Prescott Media."

"Wrong? Haven't you read the articles? Trey Tanner works for a hard,
cold butcher of a man who is as notorious for snatching up stations for
a fraction of their worth as he is for being reclusive. Can you imagine
how awful and hated Sterling Prescott must be that he can't even show
his face?!"

Ben seemed to choke on his amusement.

Trey got defensive. "The last I heard, it was legal to make a profit in
the United States."

"Great, justify lowball offers and hostile takeovers with the American
flag. Though why am I not surprised that you'd defend your boss. What's
the saying? An underling doesn't
fall far from the tree. "

The man's jaw worked.

Chloe turned to Julia. "Kick him out now while you still can. I bet you
money he is here with a lowball offer in that fancy briefcase of his.
He'll leave you with nothing. And forget the fact that the rest of us
won't have a job." The reality made her heart go still. But she
couldn't think about that now. "Can you deny that is what you're here
to do?" she demanded of the man.

He looked murderous, his hands flattened on the fine wood tabletop,
throwing frustrated glares at Ben each time he chuckled gleefully.

"I assure you that you are mistaken about Prescott Media," Trey Tanner
stated. "But take Prescott out
of the equation for the moment."

He leaned forward, every inch of him rippling with that commanding
power as he launched into a discussion about media trends, local versus
national programming, ad rates, and the decline in advertising revenue
in all media. Yada, yada. Chloe barely heard over the anger,
frustration, and yes, fear that she felt.

She, Chloe Sinclair, who was notorious for her copious note taking and
list making, only stared at her
pad of paper. But she couldn't help the situation if she didn't
concentrate.

For the next fifteen minutes, she forgot last night. She became
absorbed in the information he spilled
out with the ease of an expert.

Mr. Expert. Yeah, right , she
thought ungraciously, not to mention unfairly.

Everyone stopped and stared at her.

She cringed. "Did I say that out loud?"

Julia looked at her with an astounded glare. "Yes, Chloe. You did."

"Sorry."

"Yes, she's terribly sorry," Julia gushed uncharacteristically.

"No need to apologize." He turned to Chloe. "Ms. Sinclair, isn't it?"

"Yes."

"If you have something to share," he said, a warrior's calm settling
through him, "I'd like to hear it. I'm always open to alternate
interpretations of what is going on in the media today."

He sat back and studied her with a bone deep detachment. He really
didn't recognize her.

"Well, it's just that you are talking about KTEX as if we are in
terrible shape."

He didn't respond.

"But we aren't."

He still didn't say anything, which made her feel the need to defend
her stance even though he hadn't contradicted her. She had seen other
people fall into this trap, start talking and talking as if they
couldn't stop themselves.

"KTEX has turned a corner after the success of Getting Real with Kate . And with a
few more well-thought-out programs, we can turn around completely. I
resent you speaking of the station as if it's already in the grave."

"Fair enough."

He reached down into his briefcase, pulled out a file, opened it, then
extended a set of papers.

Chloe glanced over them and sniffed again. He had spelled out clearly
what she already knew but hadn't wanted to face. The reality of
television was that they were dependent on advertising revenue. Not
only were ad dollars down across the board for all venues, but
television had been hit especially hard. For an independent station
like KTEX, it was even more disheartening.

But Chloe wasn't about to concede defeat. Instead she felt the need to
push hard to discredit him. "This might be true, but we have already
begun our turnaround. We increased our