Straddling the Line by Sarah M. Anderson Read Free Book Online Page A

nostrings-attached sex.
    But if he had some tools to give her, well, that would be a different story. A perfectly aboveboard reason to make contact, to see if that heat was still there, if strings were still unattached. To see if she’d been level with him about coming for the music.
    The problem with that plan was that Dad would never let the company donate tools. Hell, some of those machines down there were as old as Ben was.
    Just when things didn’t seem like they could get any bleaker, Ben’s office door swung open.
    “Ben! My man!” Bobby barged into Ben’s office.
    Startled, Ben took the brochure he’d been looking at and shoved it under some paper. Great. His younger brother was back. Ben wasn’t sure if that was a bad thing or a really bad thing.
    Bobby plopped down in the guest chair and loosened his tie. He was the only one who wore ties around here. Anything to be irritating. “How was my nine-thirty? I heard she was something sweet. ”
    Ben ignored him. Rex and Bobby were pretty friendly, so no doubt Bobby had heard about the kiss. The question was, would Bobby put the nine-thirty and the kiss together?
    “The silent treatment, huh?” Bobby whistled in appreciation. “She must have been something. What did she want?”
    Me, Ben thought. She wanted me. “Donations. And thanks a hell of a lot for dumping her on me. It was quarter-end, you know. I barely got the reports done in time.”
    Bobby had the nerve to tsk him, as if Ben were some old fuddy-duddy to be pitied. “Come to New York with me next time.”
    “What the hell for?”
    “For starters, you need to get out more. When was the last time you got laid?”
    The pounding between Ben’s eyes took on a dedicated rhythm. “None of your damn business.”
    “Ouch—not even that groupie? Rex said she was a piece of work.” Bobby chuckled and slapped his hand on the desk. “Hard up, my man. Hard up.”
    “Shove it and get out. Unlike some people, I have work to do.”
    “Ben, that hurts.” Bobby made a sad face at him, somehow managing to look exactly like their mother when she was disappointed in him. “Come with me in a few weeks and I’ll show you what I’ve been working on.”
    “We can’t afford it.” Whatever “it” was, Ben was not footing the bill this time. Despite his best attempts, Bobby had not managed to do lasting harm to the company. Not yet, anyway. Ben couldn’t help but feel that the whole business was just one Bobby-based incident away from financial ruin, and it fell to Ben to contain the youngest Bolton.
    “Boy, the camera is going to love you, big brother.” Bobby held up his hands like he was framing Ben for a shot. “Brooding, handsome, rich—”
    Camera? Hell. Ben picked up the most recent bank statement—the one with all the charges from swanky New York hotels and martini bars—and flung it at Bobby. “Not that rich, thanks to you.”
    “That’s all going to change, I swear. This deal—”
    “No. No more deals.”
    “Yes.” Bobby shot back at lightning speed. “I already talked to Dad about it.”
    The pain clobbered Ben in the forehead, the kind of instantaneous headache he imagined rhinoceroses got when they hit a brick wall going full tilt. Bobby’s ultimate trump card—he’d already talked to Dad.
    Ben felt like he was a kid again, back when he’d wanted to go to some science center on a family trip. Billy had been too old to care one way or another; Bobby had wanted to go to the zoo. Bobby had always wanted to go to the zoo, but Ben had wanted to see something besides pitiful animals.
    He and Bobby had gotten into a big fight over it before Mom had broken them up. Ben had gotten a whipping while Mom had cuddled her “poor baby” and kissed the satisfying goose egg Ben had managed to get in on a parting shot. And after everyone had calmed down, Dad had glared at Ben and firmly announced that they were all going to the damn zoo.
    Ben looked around his office. Was this any different