Snowflake Kisses by Marianne Evans Read Free Book Online Page A

hold of her wrists and quelled the gesture.
    “I wanted to surprise you.” Relentless, she delivered a plaintive look he ignored. She clenched her hands at her sides. “I meant what I said in my note. I’m determined to do what I can to”—she cleared her throat and looked around briefly, seemingly to assure privacy—“to repair the damage I caused. I take responsibility, Jax. Let that be enough. I know I wronged you, but I know how you feel about me. I want to go back to—”
    “Tamara, as far as I’m concerned, what you want is irrelevant. The issue of our relationship, pardon me, the issue of what used to be our relationship, has been resolved. Definitively and conclusively. If you’ve traveled all the way here in an effort to re-state your case, then I’m sorry to say you’ve wasted your time.”
    Strength of conviction and purpose flooded his veins. The emotions that rode through him now were precisely what he needed—and craved. Perhaps this moment of resolution would help him turn the corner on self-doubt for good. The woman held absolutely no appeal to him now. At this moment, the only emotion he experienced in her company was anger and an overwhelming urge to be done with her permanently.
    For the first time, her lips tightened into a disapproving line. Her eyes flashed. “We’ll see about that.”
    Jackson shrugged off the implied threat.
    “I wanted to see you, of course, but my visit has a business purpose as well, Jackson.”
    She used his full name. That fact touched him with uncertainty, but he refused to flinch. A foreshadowing of evil hit his system like an injection. “What are you talking about?”
    “My company was approached by Kensi-Corp, the staffing conglomerate based in New York.” Her lips quirked. “I believe you’re familiar with them. You’re bidding for their business correct?”
    Jackson refused to respond. He stared into her eyes, tension building like an electrical storm through his body. A lunch appointment with Peter this afternoon, to review upcoming bids and projects for North American operations, would indeed include a lengthy discussion of winning Kensi-Corp’s business.
    “I know their president.” Tamara sat in the chair across from his desk, looking at him with a decidedly satisfied set to her features and a posture of confidence. “John Kensington knows Colby Intellilink created our IT network. He asked me for a recommendation.”
    In that instant, Jackson experienced the sensation of a prime, high-profile project, along with a couple million dollars’ worth of revenue, sliding through his fingertips like so much sand.
    Tamara’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly, her lips quirking. “As I said in the note, darling, I’ve kept tabs.”
    “And you’ve just made it abundantly clear I need to figure out what to do about that development. If you think this is going to win me back into your life, you grossly underestimate matters.”
    “Relationship or not, the ball’s in your court, as they say.” She lifted smoothly. “Think things over. We can be wonderful, if you just let it happen. Cheers.”
    His frosty body language kept further physical encroachment at bay—thank goodness for small mercies—but Jackson watched her retreating back and his stomach rolled into a set of nasty left-to-right pitches.
    What was he supposed to do next?
     
     
     
     

6
     
    “And she expected that kind of devious machination to win you over to her side? Is the woman certifiable? What an epic fail. Is she insane or is that a newly acquired trait?”
    Peter’s thundering decree filled the space of his office, causing Jackson to brace in the chair he occupied across from Peter’s desk.
    “I’m not the least concerned by her mental stability, or lack thereof.” Jackson scowled, fought an urge to snarl. “I’m far more bothered by what her threat means to our company, its reputation and potential business. I feel like something’s damaged here. Something I failed