The Perfect Dish by Kristen Painter Read Free Book Online Page B

happened, right? You got hacked?” She could hear Phillip, her agent, taking a hard drag off a cigarette. He only smoked when he was stressed.
    “No, I didn’t get hacked. Look can I call you back? I have Jillian on the other line and—”
    “We have a problem, Meredith.”
    “I’m aware.” She couldn’t recall a time she’d been interrupted more. “I’m working on a plan. With Jillian.”
    “Good. I’ll expect a call when you know what it is.” He hung up.
    She switched back to Jillian. “That was Phillip. He and I are going to work on a plan. I’ll call you back when we figure it out.”
    An exasperated sigh answered her. “Fine, but it better be good, it better be big and it better be public. I’ll staunch the bleeding as best I can until you get back to me. If your editor calls, don’t answer. And don’t respond to any emails. Or discuss this with anybody else.”
    “Will do. Anything else?” Like move to Siberia?
    “Just lay low.”
    Meredith hung up, made a beeline for her blog dashboard and hit the delete key. Her intercom buzzed. Now what?
    “Yes?”
    “Good afternoon, Dr. Black. I have a delivery for you. Should I bring it up?”
    “Is it ticking?”
    “What?”
    “Never mind, Lou. Yes, bring it up. Thank you.” Probably just the trousers she’d ordered from Talbot’s arriving a little early. Or maybe the ink cartridges for her printer.
    She opened the door on the first knock. The huge bouquet of yellow roses greeted her like a personal sunrise.
    “Lou?” She tipped her head to see around the blooms. “Are you behind there somewhere?”
    The doorman peeked around the edge of the bush. “Back here, Dr. Black. Where should I set them?”
    “On the coffee table, I guess.” She went ahead of him and cleared the magazines. He set them down gently.
    “You wouldn’t think flowers could weigh so much but that’s a lotta flowers. You could cover a float with those.” He went back to the door, pausing before he shut it behind him. “Oh, yeah, there’s no card. They didn’t come with one. Guess you have a secret admirer.”
    She shook her head at the flowers. “One can only hope.”
    “Have a good day.” Lou laughed as he shut the door.
    It took her a minute to count them all. Sixty beautiful butter-colored roses. She had a good idea which Texas native had sent them but she didn’t know quite what to do about it. Did this mean he’d read her blog? No, why would he? Was he saying he was sorry? Trying to smooth things over?
    Her phone rang, and she jumped. She checked the display. Her editor.
    A dull ache pulsated in her left temple. She turned the ringer off, sank down onto the ivory chenille couch and stared at the massive yellow cloud hovering above her coffee table. No card. So he had nothing to say? Or was he waiting for a response? He couldn’t honestly think she wouldn’t know who’d sent them, could he?
    She told him not to call. Did he think this didn’t count?
    Her fingers strayed to her lips before she knew what she was doing. She yanked her hand down but the memory of his kiss already replayed in her head. And what a kiss it had been.
    She had to keep the bouquet. Flowers weren’t returnable like some tacky sweater or hideous piece of jewelry. Well, maybe they were but the hassle didn’t seem worth it.
    They were beautiful. It had been a long time since a man had sent her roses. But if she let Kelly chase her, he would take that as validation. Maybe she should ignore them. She shook her head. Sixty roses demanded some sort of response.
    She slumped down and tipped her head against the cushions to stare at the ceiling. Why did men have to complicate things? Especially today of all days. She needed a solution, not a confrontation with the man responsible for her problem in the first place. He probably thought the flowers fixed everything. If only it were that easy.
    She sat up. Maybe it was. A few scenarios played through her mind. It could work.
    She took a quick