Their Proposition by Charisma Knight Read Free Book Online

lobby.
     
    Pete pounded his fist against the ledge before leaving. She couldn’t help but feel his pain. Biting her lip, she looked over at Nick who, as always, maintained his cool. She studied his eyes and picked up on the sadness lingering in the green depths.
     
    Getting up, she decided to take a stroll into other parts of the office and grab her morning coffee. She sucked in her breath when she discovered other available conference rooms. Why the hell did they have to pick the one closer to her? Were they trying to make her life miserable?
     
    Other office personnel greeted her, and she knew immediately she’d have to put a mask on, so her feelings wouldn’t reflect on her face. Damned men! They did it to you every time, made you swoon and open you heart up, then, bam! They pulled a fast one on you and stuck you in the heart with a dagger. At least, that’s what it felt like to her.
     
    The entire day seemed to drag and she discovered how hard it was to be in the same room with them. A few times, Nick came out and asked her to print out a few spreadsheets for the meeting, and she did, without looking him in the eye. It was too hard to look them in the eye.
     
    Once the day was over, she turned off her computer and hauled ass to the car. She sent up a silent prayer, thankful that they were still caught up in meetings. She knew, though that sooner or later they’d corner her, and she wasn’t looking forward to it.
     
    Once again, her phone rang a few times, and she picked up.
     
    “What now!” she exclaimed.
     
    “We’re coming over tonight, and you’d better let us in,” Pete blurted out over the phone.
     
    “Oh, like hell I will, you bastard,” she sneered into the phone.
    “Just leave me alone, okay?”
     
    “I still have your key—don’t make me use it, Melanie,” he shot back. “I know damned well you never changed the locks.”
     
    She cringed. He knew her all too well. When she’d called the relationship off, it hadn’t dawned on her to change the locks. Why?
    Because she’d trusted them with her life. Too bad they were too irresponsible to hold the key to her heart.
     
    “If you come here, I’ll call the police on you both,” she threatened. She wanted to smack herself silly for being so stupid.
    “Hello!” Pete had hung up, and she knew she would have a hard time making them go away. She prayed Nick would try talking some sense into his buddy, but her gut told her she was wrong.
     
    Ten minutes after she spoke to Pete, she heard a vehicle pull up out front. She didn’t have to peek out the blinds to tell who it was. She already knew. A hard knock came at the door, and she froze in her tracks. Maybe if she was quiet, they’d go away. She crept away from the door and out into the kitchen.
     
    Another knock came, along with Pete’s voice. “Melanie, open the door, now,” he demanded. She continued to ignore the knocks, but they increased. “Melanie, please! We really need to talk with you.” Please? Had she heard right? Pete had said “please”. The man was so demanding, it wasn’t funny. Something must be up for him to use that word.
     
    Without hesitating, she walked to the door and opened it. Her heart fluttered when she discovered both men with strange looks on their faces. She unlocked the screen door, and they let themselves in.
     
    “What do you want?” she asked in a dry voice.
     
    Nick strolled over to her. “You,” he said.
     
    “You’re confusing us,” Pete said, taking her hand in his, and escorted her over to the couch. “Sit down, woman, please,” he asked. He’d said please again. Her chest tightened, and fire ignited within her loins. Whatever they were about to lay on her was pretty heavy, she knew.
     
    “Look, about those checks,” Nick started, as he nervously scratched his head. “We only wrote them so you wouldn’t leave us.”
     
    “How could you think I wanted to be treated like some call girl?” she asked