The Player by Rhonda Nelson Read Free Book Online Page B

be a little more specific?”
    “A little more than a year and half.”
    So definitely long enough to know whether they wanted to take things to the next level. Clearly Derrick did, otherwise he wouldn’t have issued an ultimatum. And it had to have been an ultimatum, otherwise he wouldn’t have added a time frame into the mix. So what were the consequences of saying no? Jamie wondered. A break-up? Most likely. Derrick seemed like the type.
    “Is Audrey aware of the fact that you don’t approve of Derrick?” Jamie knew the answer to that question before it was even fully out of his mouth. The Colonel was always willing to share his opinion—whether a person wanted to hear it or not.
    The Colonel laughed. “What do you think?”
    “Right,” Jamie said, feeling like an idiot. “And yet she’s still seeing him. Why’s she bucking you on this? What’s so special about Derrick?”
    “I don’t think there’s anything special about Derrick.”
    “You don’t, but she obviously does. Surely she’s given you an explanation as to why she’s still with him.”
    The Colonel hesitated. “She has,” he conceded. “But I’m not sure I should share her personal business with you.”
    A bark of laughter erupted from Jamie’s throat. Oh, now this was rich. “You’ve got to be kidding me. You’ve sent me up here to practically seduce her away from this other guy and yet your conscience is giving you a problem with this? ” He chuckled darkly. “You need to check your moral compass.”
    “ Practically is the key word there, Flanagan,” Garrett growled. “But—” he sighed “—I suppose you’re right. The more information you have, the better armed you’ll be to deal with the situation.”
    Exactly, Jamie thought. Besides, he was genuinely curious. What on earth would make a great girl like Audrey interested in someone as self-absorbed and shallow as Derrick?
    “My granddaughter is a very caring person, Flanagan—unusually empathetic—and as such, has always had a habit of attracting people, most often men, who require a lot of her. So much of her, in fact, that she found herself emotionally bankrupt. And sick. Derrick’s appeal is that he’s not like that. He’s arrogant, but not damaged. At least, that’s what I got out of what she’s shared with me,” the Colonel said, his voice ringing with a hell-if-I-know sort of resignation. He blew out a breath. “Anyway, I don’t blame her for wantingsomeone who doesn’t suck the life out of her, but I think she’s swung too far in the other direction. She needs to find a happy medium. If she marries Derrick, that’ll never happen.”
    It took Jamie a few seconds to absorb and digest what Garrett had just shared. “So, in other words, Derrick’s easy.”
    “That too,” Garrett replied. “You have your orders, Flanagan. I’ll call for updates.” He disconnected.
    Jamie turned the phone off, leaned back into the recliner and let out a breath. Ten seconds later he turned the phone back on and dialed Ranger Security.
    “You aren’t going to believe this shit,” he said in way of greeting when Payne answered his direct line. Jamie briefed his friend on recent events and waited while Payne took it all in.
    “Let me get this straight. The boyfriend is the personal threat and he’s sent you in there to ‘pseudo-seduce’ her away from him?”
    “In a nutshell, yes.”
    To Jamie’s extreme annoyance, Payne laughed. Not just a small series of chuckles, but a gutrolling guffaw that set Jamie’s nerves on edge. “That’s c-cracked, man. I feel for you.”
    “Yeah, it really sounds like it,” Jamie griped.
    “Look at it this way. It’s not dangerous, right?”
    If he kept his pecker in his pants, no, Jamie thought. But if he snapped and ended up giving her a real seduction, then mortal danger was almost certain. Garrett would most definitely kill him.
    “Not in the traditional sense, no.”
    Payne paused, evidently reading the ambiguity in