Read Ask Anyone for Free Online Page A

paragon?”
    â€œBecause we’re friends,” Maggie said simply. “He treats me like a kid sister. Heck, he used to baby-sit my brother and me.”
    â€œAnd you’ve never had a crush on him? Not even a little one?”
    â€œNo way,” Maggie claimed emphatically. “He’s really nice, if you know what I mean. I want a man with more of an edge. A guy who’s a little dangerous.” Her expression turned dreamy.
    â€œTrust me, dangerous is highly overrated,” Jenna told her. “Nice is a better alternative.”
    Maggie’s gaze narrowed and her expression turnedthoughtful. “So, what do you think of Bobby? I heard about the commotion at his house yesterday. I would have given anything to be there to see his face.”
    â€œActually, he looked a little ticked,” Jenna confided as Maggie stitched and stapled her skirt back together, while Jenna herself worked on the buttons on her jacket. The designer suit looked as if it had been pieced together by drunken elves.
    Maggie’s expression brightened at Jenna’s description of Bobby’s reaction. “To tell you the truth, that’s a good thing,” she declared. “We’ve all been saying for a long time now that somebody needs to come along and shake up that man’s life. He’s in a rut, emotionally speaking, that is. Not that he listens to me. He just rolls his eyes and walks away as if a kid my age couldn’t possibly have anything intelligent to say about love.”
    Jenna didn’t give two figs what kind of rut the man was in. She wanted to sell him on this proposal and get out of town with a signed contract in hand. She had to get back to Baltimore before Darcy defied her and dyed her hair purple. Even if Darcy used something temporary, like a powdered-grape-drink mix, it would be enough to send her grandfather’s blood pressure soaring.
    â€œMaggie, can I ask you something?”
    â€œSure.”
    â€œWhy has your boss been refusing to take my calls? Is it because I’m a woman?”
    Maggie looked genuinely astonished by the question. “Why would you think that?”
    â€œIt’s just the way some men in business are,” Jenna said, thinking of her father.
    â€œNot Bobby,” Maggie assured her. “It’s just what I’ve told you on the phone. He’s not talking to anybody about the boardwalk yet. Bobby likes to mull things over before he acts. He doesn’t rush into anything. Some of that’s Southern. Some of it’s just Bobby being Bobby. Don’t take it personally. He’s refused to talk to any of the men who’ve called, too.”
    Jenna accepted the explanation at face value. “You’ve been a godsend,” she told the young woman as she straightened her skirt, shrugged into her jacket and tried to adjust it. They weren’t perfect, but they would do. “Thank you. I couldn’t have gotten myself put back together without you.”
    For the first time, as she started to button up the jacket, she risked a look in the mirror. Her cheeks were still flushed. Her hair, which had started the day in a nice, neat French twist, was hanging down around her shoulders in a tangle of untamed curls.
    Of course, that image reflected back at her wasn’t nearly as disconcerting as the image of Bobby Spencer’s stunned expression right next to it.
    Â 
    A half-dressed Jenna Kennedy was standing in his private bathroom. Bobby reluctantly dragged his gaze from full breasts barely covered with scraps of lace to her startled face.
    â€œSeen enough?” she snapped.
    He blinked. “Sorry,” he said, then shut the door. “Maggie, get out here!”
    His secretary emerged from the bathroom. “What the hell is going on?” he demanded.
    â€œLong story, boss. Jenna will be out in a minute. She can explain. I’ve got work to do.”
    He shook his head. “Oh, no, you