Bargaining with the Boss (Honeybrook Love, Inc. 2)

Because it would hurt her.

Even with all the women he'd dated, he'd been careful to seek out the ones who wouldn't have been affected by their relationship. They all had understood, like he did, that their relationship was maintained solely for the purpose of having fun and meeting needs.

A woman like Debbie Bowhart wouldn't understand that.

She wasn't power hungry or starving for attention. She was just a sweet woman who wanted someone to spend time with.

Unfortunately, that was not--and never had been--Brooks' MO.

Great.

Now he had one woman he couldn't get rid of and one woman he couldn't get a hold of. If only there was a way to switch them out, he'd have been golden. He picture the two women strapped to chairs, a mad scientists switching out their brains. Or he could make some kind of deal with the devil and…

Wait. A deal.

Why hadn’t he thought of that before?

He glanced toward his door again, imagining what Natalie might be seething about in her cubicle. This would be a new angle for him. He could try to bribe her. No, not bribe, that was pathetic.

He'd have to bargain. But what could he bargain for? Or with?

He wasn’t sure, but first and foremost he'd have to find a way to get her alone and in a mood to haggle. Or, at least not in a mood to kill.

From there, he'd find a way to seduce her. Once that was over, his nagging curiosity would be out of his system and he could handle his issue with Debbie.

Then everything would be back to normal.

He hoped.

* * *

Beauty and the Beast

In an exclusive interview with Elana Torreg this week, supermodel Gianna Toreinni revealed that she has split from billionaire boyfriend Franco Del Rossi. Says Toreinni, "he's not the guy you see in the suits and yachts. He's a monster." Toreinni went on to detail her troubled home life with the infamous playboy, stating that the issues with his family ran deep and were, at times, "alarming."

A monster? Franco?

What the hell was this woman talking about?

And why hadn't Franco called about this?

Natalie had thought the story would end with their split and, inevitably, Franco heading out with some flight attendant he'd met on his way to one place or another, but this... She hadn't expected the low blow. Especially not from someone famous in his or her own right like Gianna.

Natalie sat her coffee down along with the newspaper, and then scavenged through her purse for her sparkly white smartphone. She tapped on the screen, not bothering to consider the time difference. Besides, who could even tell where Franco might be from one minute to the other.

When he answered, his voice was groggy. "Hello?"

"Finally. I've been trying to reach you for days. Are you some kind of idiot?" She spluttered.

"Hey there, you." This time, his grogginess had become a groan

"Don't 'hey there' me. What is going on?"

There was a pause over the phone, and then he asked in his thick Italian accent, "With Gianna?"

"No, with the Greek government. Of course with Gianna. She's raking you over the coals. Have you seen the paper today?"

"In America? No. But if it's anything like the one here—"