Page 2 of Easy Come

I turned the volume down on the music. I always worked best when I had tunes blaring. Especially when I was crunching budget numbers and preparing charts for investors. "Normally, the knock comes before you enter."

"Since when?" Chase stretched his neck up to get a look past my desk. "Why, are you getting a blow job or something?"

"Probably the only thing that would make these charts less boring." I leaned back in the chair. It was the kind of luxury, scientifically designed desk chair that made it feel as if you were sitting on a fucking cloud while getting an ass massage. They were expensive but we'd purchased one for every employee at Plaything. "Now that you stopped my train of thought, what do you need?"

"Big favor. Somehow, I doubled booked my afternoon."

"Two lunch dates?"

"Funny. And two lunch dates wouldn't be a problem. It would be a threesome." Chase plunked down on the chair in front of my desk. "I'm meeting with the investors from Australia at one, and a reporter fromContemporary Lifemagazine is coming for an interview to check out the nuts and bolts of Plaything.”

"Wait.Contemporary Life. Weren't you dating the owner of that magazine? Shit, what was her name?"

Chase rested his arm along the curved edge of the chair. It seemed he'd added another tattoo to his arm. It was still pink and swollen, but from my vantage point, it seemed to be some kind of a skull.

"Meredith Vee. Yes Vee, capital V. And let me tell you it fits her. I ghosted her after two months."

"Ghosted? So, you took the coward's way out. Smooth."

"Hey, I rarely ever ghost. I always let down gently, with flowers and a nice note, but it was different with her. MeredithVeeis a ball twisting psycho."

I snorted a laugh.

Chase sat forward. "Really, I'm not kidding. If you look in her freezer, she's got Ziploc bags filled with balls, each one labeled with the victim's name and the date she yanked the nuts out from under the tree. I got out with my sac in place . . . barely."

"Why is she sending a reporter?" It was my turn to sit forward. "Fuck, Chase, what the hell? You said her magazine was big on printing scandalous shit about people. Is she looking for some kind of revenge?"

Chase shrugged. "Could be. But, what are they going to find?" He waved his arm around. "A well-oiled, finely tuned company that's closing in on its first billion and where the employees are deliriously happy?" He hopped up. "I've got to get ready for my meeting. So you'll do the interview?"

I pointed up at him. "Yes, but I want your Aspen house for a week and no fucking blackout dates."

"Fine, a week in Aspen." Chase headed for the door.

"What time is he coming?" I asked.

"Who?"

I shook my head. "It's a good thing you are pretty, because you are damn thick in the head. The reporter? What time is he coming?"

"Oh, that him. It's a she. Her name is Georgie Dempsey, and she's already here." He shot me his pearly white grin.

"Asshole. Just remember if there's three feet of fresh powder, I'm heading to Aspen."

Chapter Three

Georgie

It was hard notto smile as you sat in the lobby and guest area at Plaything. One side of the room was set up like a mini amphitheater, complete with vertical seats, but instead of hard metal they were made of plush purple velvet. There were four large flat screen televisions, one on each wall of the room, playing everything from cable news to sports to black and white vintage movies. The seating area was lined with offices of every shape and size. And it seemed everyone had decorated their personal workspace with their own sunique style. The center of the room was a forest of modern round chairs, each a different crayon color and each one sitting beneath a glass pendant light of a complimentary color.

I'd sat myself in a teal chair beneath an orange pendant light. The chair was in the shape of a half sphere. It was cozy and cushiony enough to curl up in for a nap. Each chair came with its own assortment of literature to browse through while you waited.

I reached into the clear plastic rack hanging on the arm of the chair and pulled out the magazines. There were two erotic, centerfold type magazines and oneOutdoorsman. I shoved them back into the rack.

Very few people walked through the waiting area, but I had to admit, it seemed like an extremely pleasant place to work. I was going to have to do some digging if I wanted to deliver on the scandal ridden article that Meredith was expecting. Of course, with the company name ofPlaything, it seemed as if there had to be some less than savory, newsworthy nuggets.

One of those nuggets walked by while I waited for Mr. England. A tall, statuesque woman with raven black hair and bright red lips strolled by wearing a bright blue corset and a black leather mini skirt. Her big breasts were all but spilling over the flimsy lace lining the corset bra. I wondered if women were required to wear sexy lingerie in the workplace. I pulled out my notepad and jotted down the wordscorsetanddress code.

I pushed my notepad back into my bag and glanced up as a tall, startlingly handsome man walked into the waiting area. His green eyes looked like emeralds under the mop of black hair on his head. He was sharply dressed and definitely a head turner, although not necessarily my type.

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