Texas Curves by Christa Wick Read Free Book Online Page A

Virginia Kelly, not now!
    Right. I blushed, felt the blood heating and coloring my skin from my scalp all the way down to my toes. Every last drop of that blood retreated when Harrison McKinley reached into his pocket and withdrew a small object that he placed on my desk.
    A novelty-sized cow bell.
    My eyes threatened to spring leaks, but I met his glare with one of my own.
    "You may remember John Dietrich. My son fired him a few weeks back."
    I didn't answer, just stared straight through him.
    "Well, he had quite a story to tell me about a certain woman my son appears to be bedding." Reaching out a bony finger, he caressed the cow bell. "And that woman's friends had their own stories to tell, confirming my suspicions."
    "What suspicions?" I shouldn't have taken the bait. Maybe I could have salvaged something with Hawk, if there was anything left to save. But I took Harrison's lure and held it close to my chest so I could hear every nuanced syllable the vile man spoke.
    "Hawk wants to be CEO. Wants to change the very nature of the company…"
    I nodded. Hawk didn't act like he wanted just my body. He wanted my brain and heart and had used me as a sounding board these last few weeks for many of his ideas. He didn't want to run a company that took and sold, but never gave. He planned cheaper and cleaner energy, with less gobbling up of smaller companies and more collaboration so that the project owners were on the ground and in the communities their decisions affected. That was not the McKinley way as far as Harrison was concerned.
    The old man's eyes narrowed as he studied the impact his words were having on me.
    "He knows he's not getting the company until he's married. I keep control over his dead mother's shares until then. So his solution…" He stopped and made a broad gesture at me, his lip curling into a sneer before he continued. "Is to find the most unsuitable woman this godforsaken state has to offer. A hick, a redneck, a breeding sow."
    He stopped and gave the bell a little ring for malicious emphasis. "He's trying to beat me at a game where I set all the rules, but I can see straight through his little gambit. You're nothing like the women he's maintained relationships with. No doubt you've shown him a good time in bed, what girl in your situation wouldn't?"
    "You just stop right there, you vile, disgusting--"
    The outer door opened before I could finish telling Harrison McKinley just what kind of despicable creature he was. Hawk stood at the threshold, his expression drawing tight as he recognized the man sitting across my desk.
    My gaze dropped to the small bell, my fingers twitching with the need to hide it.
    Hawk swallowed and I could see the guilt written across his handsome features as he glanced from his father to me. I looked at Harrison. He had a much older version of the same face, the nose a little broader, the eyes a little smaller and closer, but similar enough that I had to wonder how much the two men were alike deeper down.
    "Father." Hawk stepped the rest of the way inside. Seeing my face, he must have guessed at what had passed during my time alone with Harrison. "Sweet tea, whatever he's said, it's all lies. That's all he's good for anymore."
    A smirk lit the old man's face. Leaning closer to my desk, he lifted a knowing brow. "To convince me, he has to convince you. Don't feel bad about being taken in. Hawk is very good at this game, young lady."
    Young lady!
    He hadn't been treating me like a young lady before his son walked in. I swiped at my cheek, ashamed of myself for letting a decaying bastard like Harrison McKinley get to me. I didn't give a possum's ass what the old man thought about me.
    Lifting my chin, I stared straight into Hawk's eyes. "He said you won't be CEO of McKinley Oil until you're married."
    A faint nod from Hawk, one I don't think he intended to make. I continued on. "And that I'm nothing like the women you've…you've had relationships with in the past."
    A little shake,