Warning bells sounded in his ears. "Who?" Spence repeated.

"Just go to the meeting, and--"

"Tell me who the fuck they want me working with."

"Brooke Hamlin," Gregory's voice was barely a whisper. But the name cut as sharp as a sword, and at least as deadly. "They want you to work with Brooke."

Chapter Two

Brooke Hamlin watched as Jenna Montgomery tucked a stray lock of long, red hair behind her ear. It was just past ten at night, and customers filled The Fix on Sixth, a lively, successful bar located in downtown Austin.

Or, at least, Brooke had always assumed the bar was successful. She'd come with friends a number of times over the last few years and always found the drinks to be amazing, the food scrumptious, and the music hopping.

Then one of those friends, Amanda, had told her that the place was in trouble, and that Brooke should meet with Jenna Montgomery, a partner at The Fix, to discuss a remodel.

Now here she was, forcing herself not to wipe her sweaty palms on the gray silk blend of her designer skirt. Instead, she propped her elbows on the small two-top, conjured her most winning smile, and reminded herself to breathe.

"I'm not sure how much Amanda told you," Jenna said, "but we're basically doing a facelift on The Fix. We're stepping up an already awesome menu, and we're getting the word out to draw in new customers."

Brooke nodded, realizing that Jenna was only telling her part of the story. The way Amanda had explained it, The Fix was trying to do more than draw in new customers. In truth, the bar was pushing up against a serious financial crisis. Management was doing everything it could to keep the bar thriving, and that included sponsoring a Man of the Month calendar contest.

The bar would hold live contests every couple of weeks, and by autumn, they'd have their twelve hot men to put on a calendar to sell to the public. If it worked as intended, the contest would draw in crowds and up the bar's revenue.

But if they couldn't turn the place around and get it fully in the black by the end of the year, then the bar would close its doors, and Austin would lose a beloved venue. A place with great drinks, live music, and lots of local color.

More than that, the owners would lose their dream.

That was a fear that Brooke understood only too well. And the more she and Jenna discussed the details, the more Brooke thought that she and The Fix could help each other--and that Jenna wouldn't run screaming when Brooke described the wheels she'd already set in motion. Wheels that involved The Fix being the centerpiece of a real-estate based reality television show. A show that Brooke had already pitched despite the teensy-weensy detail of not yet having permission from anyone at The Fix itself.

Still, Brooke was prepared to prostrate herself on the ground and beg if that's what it took to convince Jenna. With luck, that wouldn't be necessary. Once it was all laid out for her, surely Jenna would see how perfect the show would be. Both for The Fix and for Brooke.

The show had pretty much dropped into Brooke's lap. And as far as she was concerned, it was a magical amulet that held the power to completely change her life. Or, more accurately, to justify her choices. To finally prove to her attorney father and surgeon mother that she knew her own mind and could run her own life.

She'd dropped out of medical school after her first year because she'd finally had enough. She was sick and tired of giving in to other people's demands, and she'd made up her mind to finally take control of her own life, thank you very much.

And Brooke's dream had always been to fix property, not people. Growing up, she'd gravitated more toward her grandfather and uncle's property development business than to either of her parents' careers. A reality that they'd written off as if she were a child playing with toys.

When she'd excelled in the sciences at college, they'd turned a deaf ear to her protests. Her father had announced that she would pursue medicine, that he was footing the bill, and that all other options were off the table. Theirs was a high-profile Austin family, after all. Appearances must be kept up.

It hadn't been pretty when she'd thrown it all back in their faces. Her father's words, not hers. But she couldn't care less about Austin society. And she definitely couldn't be a doctor when the interest wasn't there. It wouldn't be fair to her. And it certainly wouldn't be fair to whatever patient happened to wander into her office.

Now, four years after walking away from Southwestern Medical School, she'd finally turned a profit at The Business Plan, her relatively new commercial renovation company that specialized in small businesses that were open to the public. Bars, restaurants, B&Bs, and the like. It was a hell of a lot of work, but she was in the black, if barely, and her current focus was on getting more clients.

The Fix, of course, was a big part of that plan, and Brooke resisted the urge to cross her fingers as she explained it all to Jenna.

"Normally, I'm a little pricey," Brooke admitted after Jenna explained the bar's limited budget. "But I have a proposal for you. If you agree, it could work out great for both of us."

Jenna's brows rose, and she leaned back, her green eyes focused intently on Brooke. "Amanda mentioned you were looking for a high profile project."

"I was," Brooke said. "I am. And to tell you the truth, The Fix is exactly what I'm looking for."

It was more than that, Brooke thought. It was serendipity. For months, Brooke had been working her ass off, trying to be front and center in the community so that she was in the line of sight of people who might hire her.

Then she'd learned that The Design and Destination Channel was accepting proposals for an Austin-based real estate show that they wanted to get on the air quickly in order to fill a schedule gap. It needed to have a minimum of six episodes, and the deadline to submit was coming up fast.

Once the proposal was in, she'd been prepared to wait for weeks, but she'd heard back after twenty-four hours. And after an extensive phone interview, she'd received an invitation to meet two of the network's executives in a suite at The Driskill Hotel, a historic venue on Sixth Street, just a few blocks down from The Fix.

It had been a head-spinning, dream-making, life-changing kind of meeting. Because if she could land an actual television show, then she'd finally, truly be on the map. She'd garner local press, interviews, the works.

Tags: J. Kenner Man of the Month Romance
Source: readsnovelonline.net