Page 7 of Dirty News
“Okay, so I’ll make a video introducing myself to this town.” Duke drummed his thick fingers. Two of them were bent abit.
I brushed them with my fingertips. “They look like you brokethem.”
His blue eyes followed my fingers as I moved them off his hand. “Yeah, I did. I’ve broken more than just thosefingers.”
That gave me an idea—maybe I’d interview him. But did I want to make my enemy look any better in the boss’s eyes than he alreadydid?
Probablynot.
I hadn’t ever been in a real competition before. I was more of a team player—a let’s all do this together kind of girl. But now it seemed I was going head-to-head with a man who had made a living out of competing. And not with girls either. No, he’d competed with strong men. Men who were brutal. Men who could break a girl like me inhalf.
Did I have it in me to fight as hard as I knew Duke Cofieldwould?
Chapter Four
Duke
Brady escorted Lila and me to the third floor. There, we found a skeleton camera crew. “These people here will film you guys after you’ve come up with what you want to say to the people of New York. I know it’s just a rehearsal, and you can punch up what you actually want to say when you have to do it for real, but make this count.” He pointed to a table with a few chairs around it. “Over there is where you can write down what you want to say. The scene should only last about a minute. Not too long, not too short. Anyquestions?”
I shook my head, and Lila did too. Seemed we both knew what we were doing. Not that I actually knew what I was doing, but I could fake it. The air of confidence one wore could be the only thing needed to throw the competition off. They thought you knew what the hell you were doing, so they developed an inferiority complex right off the bat. Or so I hoped,anyway.
The fact was, I knew Lila would be the perfect face to anchor the morning program. She was as fresh as a spring morning. Her dewy skin, tanned to creamy perfection, was the perfect backdrop for her sparkling sky-blue eyes. Thick, dark lashes, that actually looked natural and not fake at all, framed those gorgeous eyes. A thin nose sat in the middle of her lovely face, turning up slightly at the end. So cute, dainty, and begging to be kissed. High cheekbones, dusted with pale pink, gave her a look of sophistication, even though she was obviously young—early twenties, I guessed. The pink of her cheeks matched her lip color. And those pink-stained lips were pouty with just the right amount ofplump.
And then there was her hair. Silky, blonde, and lilac-scented, her hair hung in a solid sheet down to the small of her back. She’d pulled it back into one long ponytail, clasped with a hummingbird-shaped silver barrette. I’d have called her adorable, but she had a savvy look about her too that didn’t quite suit such an innocentdescription.
She had on this little vintage dress that hit her just below her knees. Her calves were tight and tanned. A real California girl, I could tell. Not a sun worshiper, like some were, but more of a dabbler. Her tan was light, leaving her skin with a creamytone.
A strand of pearls hung near her collarbone, making me think about how she’d taste if I kissed her there. And that was when I noticed her looking at me. “Can I help you,Duke?”
“Huh?” I’d been caught. But I wasn’t a newbie at this. “As a matter of fact, you can help me, Lila. Where’d you get those pearls? I’d like to get my grandma some just likethat.”
That oughta take her down a peg ortwo!
One perfectly shaped brow arched as she started to walk over to the table Brady had pointed out to us. “These were handed down to me from my grandmother. I don’t have any idea where she got them from.” She stopped at a desk that had some paper and pens on it. Picking up a pad and a pen, she handed them to me. “Here yougo.”
“Thanks.” Her fingers grazed mine as I took the things from her. Another jolt of electricity shot through me. It had happened to me before when she’d touched my slightly crookedfingers.
I’d been around the block a time or two—or way more than that, to be honest. Never in my life had a woman immediately affected me that way. Sure, sparks had flown with some of the women I’d dabbled with, but only after having some super-hot sex. Never had I felt this with someone I didn’t evenknow.
I was grateful that the suit I wore hid the bulge in my slacks. From the moment this girl had stepped off the elevator, her dark blue heels clicking softly on the brown and tan marble floor of the reception area, my cock had taken notice of her. Stiffening only a bit at first, until she’d touched my fingers and brought it to full attention—now it seemed happy to stay that way. With the renewed spark she’d sent through me, my poor cock was straining to get out and get toher.
But Lila wasn’t just any girl. No, she was my competition. The salary from the sportscaster job was okay. It would keep my bank accounts nice and steady by paying my bills, but it wouldn’t build my accounts up any. I needed the anchor job to achievethat.
I needed that job. That one would keep me busy. The little sportscaster job was only going to take up a few hours of my day; I needed more to do than justthat.
Lila pulled out a chair and took a seat at the table. I went around to the other side of it and sat down. I didn’t want her looking over at what I was going to write—that, and the scent of her was very distracting. “What perfume is it that you have on,Lila?”
She shook her head, sending wafts of the lilac sent my way. I had to try hard not to take a huge sniff—every part of me wanted to. “I’m not wearing any. It’s just shampoo, soap, and water you’resmelling.”
Fuck me, she’s tooperfect!
“Oh.” I drummed my fingers on the table, trying not to think about how fucking desirable she was. “So, we’re supposed to introduce ourselvesthen.”
“Yes.” She bit the end of her pen as she stared at the blank paper on the table in front ofher.
Forcing my eyes down to my own blank paper, I tried to shut her out completely. I’d never get anything written if I kept looking at her. That damn pen between her teeth was just toomuch!
Then it hit me that she knew exactly what she was doing. She was trying to distract me onpurpose.
