Read His Rules: Ludlow Nights - Book1 (A Ludlow Nights Romance) for Free Online Page A

when she received the answer.
    "He kissed me."
    Linda's jaw dropped.
    Silence.
    "Fuck me. Has he been hospitalized? Castrated?"
     
    Anastacia pressed her fingertips into tired eyelids.
    "I kissed him back."
    Silence.
    "Wow. I'm like... stunned."
    Anastacia blew out a breath, looked Linda dead in the eye.
    "You're not the only one. I don't know what came over me."
    "Sounds like Olivier Conti came all over you."
    That remark earned Linda a very hard stare.
    "You're disgusting. It was a kiss, not sex."
    "Aha! It's been a while for you. That's why you're so mad and pissy. Unrequited lust. You should've used your Rabbit, got it out of your system."
    "You know, there are plenty of really good PA's out there. PA's who don't curse. PA's who treat their boss with respect. All looking for a job."
    "I know there are, but there isn't one who knows you and loves you the way I do."
    It was nothing less than the truth.
    Now Anastacia snatched an Oreo off the plate and nibbled the edge.
    "I didn't use my Rabbit. I also didn't sleep a wink. But nothing's gonna happen between us."
    Linda waggled her brows.
    "Sounds to me like something already has."
    "I never mix business with rumpy pumpy."
    Linda grinned. "Rumpy pumpy? Now those are words we don't hear every day."
    "Shut up. After Jake..."
    Linda made a face, remembering the nuclear fall-out of Anastacia's last long-term relationship. If six months could be considered as long-term.
    "Babe, it wasn't your fault."
    Unhappy vivid blue eyes met hers.
    "Wasn't it?"
    Linda leaned forward.
    "You know it wasn't."
    Logically, Anastacia knew Linda was right.
    But logic didn't help guilt.
    A guilt that burned bright and deep.
    "I broke his heart."
    Linda nodded in agreement.
    "Yeah, well, shit happens. In life we don't get to choose the person we fall in love with. Love isn't a personal choice."
    "I don't think I'm capable of falling in love."
    Linda rolled her eyes to heaven.
    "Bullshit. If you were a heartless bitch, you wouldn't be sitting there eaten up by guilt for something you had no control over."
    "This thing with Oliver... it's different."
    Linda's eyes went huge.
    "It's already a thing? Must have been some kiss." Linda studied Anastacia's pale face, the anxious deep blue eyes. "Did you explain the rules?"
    "Yep."
    "And?"
    "He said he plays by his own rules."
    Linda thought for a while.
    Then sent Anastacia a big toothy grin.
    "You know, I've never met the man, but I like him. I like him a lot."
    "Fat lot of help you are." Anastacia sulked for all of ten seconds, then lifted her chin. "Right, let's get this show on the road. First up, London. Have we managed to get Ed to direct?"
    Linda grabbed her notepad, flicked back a couple of pages.
    "Yep, but only for London. He can't commit to Paris and Rome. His wife is due to deliver their first baby in four weeks."
    "First babies are notoriously late. Shouldn't be a problem."
    "Soeth speaketh the childless."
    Anastacia ignored the snark. "Let's just pray that she hangs on."
    Linda stared at her over her glasses.
    "We need a back-up, just in case."
    "How about Tracy?" Anastacia suggested. "She'd be good with Olivier. Doesn't put up with any nonsense."
    "I'll give her a ring."
    Now Anastacia wrinkled her nose as she thought about female models who would gel with Olivier. Might as well bring out the big guns. It would be interesting to see how he behaved around a gorgeous blonde.
    "How about Mimi for the London shoot? She's tall, around five eleven. And she's a sweetheart, too."
    Linda thought for a moment, nodded her head, jotted down a note.
    "I'll see if she's available."
    "And I'm thinking about Tamara for Paris. She's got that chic French vibe going on."
    Linda nodded again, jotted down another note.
    "What about Rome?" she asked Anastacia.
    What about Rome?
    Anastacia kicked back in her chair, crossed her legs, jiggled her foot.
    Then she grinned in a way that had Linda shoot her a look over her glasses.
    "Lena. We'll use Lena."
    Linda's brows