The Reluctant Cinderella by Christine Rimmer Read Free Book Online Page A

street were colonials. But Carly’s huge house, with its tall pillars and wide front veranda, looked like something out of Gone with the Wind. The neighbors referred to it either as Tara or, more commonly, the McMansion. “He’s not coming back. Carly needs to accept that her marriage is finished, and get going on the rest of her life. She’s a beautiful woman, inside and outside. And it’s a shame that she’s throwing her life away waiting for a man who’s gone for good. You’re not doing her any favors by turning Greg down for her sake.”
    â€œBut…you know how people talk. She’d be mortified. And even worse than all the gossip, she’d think I went behind her back and went after him when she was so sweet and got me the interview in the first place.”
    â€œSo don’t go behind her back. If he asks you out and you decide to go for it, the classy way to handle the situation would be to speak frankly to Carly about it.”
    Megan’s stomach felt as if a big, hard fist was squeezing it. “To tell her that I’m dating Greg….”
    â€œThat’s right,” said Angela.
    Megan cringed and Angela saw it. She spoke more gently. “It wouldn’t be such a terrible thing for you, either, you know? If for once in your life you went after what you wanted instead of always going along with what everyone else wants.”
    â€œI go after what I want.”
    â€œIn your work, yes. But on Danbury Way…?” Angela answered her own question with a shake of her golden head. “Look. Just think about it, okay?”
    â€œI can’t, Ange. I won’t. I’m not getting anything going with Greg Banning, so there’s no reason for me to ever talk to Carly about it.”

Chapter Four
    F rom the moment Greg walked into the bright, high-ceilinged offices of Design Solutions in the heart of downtown Poughkeepsie, he knew all his firm resolutions meant zip. There was no way he could keep things strictly business with Megan Schumacher.
    That day she wore purple. Stunning, bright, gorgeous purple with a hint of white lace under her short, form-fitting jacket. He took one look at her flushed, adorable face, saw the little dimple in the curve of her cheek and realized it was hopeless.
    He was sorry about Carly, sorry he didn’t love her anymore. Sorry that in the neighborhood there would no doubt be talk about him and Megan. Sorry thatCarly would probably end up suffering more than she’d already suffered.
    Yeah. He was sorry.
    But Megan was…
    Words failed him.
    He only knew that he had to take his best shot at getting closer to her. When the deal was made and he could get rid of his father and the other Banning’s executives, he was taking her to lunch—and after lunch, he was doing everything in his power to convince her to stay at his side until dinner. And after dinner, to get her to see that they should go home to his place and she should stay the night. In the morning, there should be breakfast. And lunch tomorrow. And an intimate dinner tomorrow night.
    Was that crazy?
    He hoped so. Greg Banning had been waiting all his life to go crazy over the right woman. And now that he’d finally found her, he wasn’t letting the chance for a little glorious, happy, wild, wonderful insanity slip through his fingers. Not without one hell of a fight.
    He introduced her and her team to his father and to the three dark-suited Banning’s vice presidents. She spent a few minutes detailing the qualifications of each of her people, explaining the jobs they all did and how each would contribute to the update of the Banning’s brand.
    They dropped the shades and dimmed the lights for the Flash presentation, which was every bit as convincing as he’d expected it would be. Once theshow was over, the secretary brought in refreshments. Two hours of brainstorming and Q&A followed.
    Those were informative, important