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The Playboy's Protegee
Michele Dunaway
Cats And Dogs, Oil And Water… Harry And MeganTricked! This time Harry Sanders's matchmaking grandfather had gone too far. Assigning Harry to be a mentor in the family company was bad enough–but the old coot had paired Harry with his nemesis, the one woman guaranteed to blow the cagey playboy's cool. Megan MacGregor's know-itall attitude made him see red even as the hint of white lace beneath her boring blazer drove him wild. Megan was smug, starchy…and sexy enough to steal a man's soul.Harry had to play up his bad-boy bachelor image. Because nothing seemed to annoy Megan more. And if they ever stopped arguing and started kissing, Harry just might propose a merger of the most dangerous, permanent kind…
“You want me to refuse to be your mentor. Not going to happen.”
Megan’s mouth dropped open. “What!”
Harry arched an eyebrow. “Did I stutter? It’s not going to happen. You shouldn’t have messed with me when you first came to work here.”
She gestured wildly. “Are you insane? We can’t stand each other! You’ve done nothing but pick apart my performance since I got here. Let me have a different mentor.”
Megan drew a deep breath as if trying to calm herself. Her suit jacket gaped open. She was wearing white lace. Harry’s throat went dry, and his words simply disappeared.
“No.”
The Playboy’s Protégée
Michele Dunaway
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
For Uncle Bizz (’cos it already is)
AUTHOR’S NOTE
In the story, Megan’s mother suffers from multiple sclerosis (MS). My cousin Stacey lives daily with MS, and she was an invaluable source of information. Any errors in the story are mine. For more information about this disease, contact The National Multiple Sclerosis Society, 733 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017. www.nmss.org.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
In first grade Michele Dunaway knew she wanted to be a teacher when she grew up, and by second grade she wanted to be an author. By third grade she was determined to be both. Born and raised in a west county suburb of St. Louis, Michele recently moved to five acres in the rolling hills of Labadie. She’s traveled extensively, with the cities and places she visits often becoming settings for her stories.
Michele currently teaches high school English, raises her two young daughters and describes herself as a woman who does too much but doesn’t want to stop.
Michele loves to hear from readers. You can visit her Web site at www.micheledunaway.com (http://www.micheledunaway.com) or write to her at P.O. Box 45, Labadie, MO 63055.
Books by Michele Dunaway
HARLEQUIN AMERICAN ROMANCE
848—A LITTLE OFFICE ROMANCE
900—TAMING THE TABLOID HEIRESS
921—THE SIMPLY SCANDALOUS PRINCESS
931—CATCHING THE CORPORATE PLAYBOY
963—SWEEPING THE BRIDE AWAY
988—THE PLAYBOY’S PROTÉGÉE
Jacobsen Stars Program: Corporate Strategy for Future Marital Team as Created by Grandpa Joe
The Key Players:
Megan MacGregor: Ambitious businesswoman, excellent mind, easy on the eyes. Perfect for Harry.
Harry Sanders: My ornery grandson who needs a swift kick (but most of all, a good wife).
Strategy:
Make them work together as a team, thereby encouraging opportunities for covert mingling, which will lead to marriage and happiness.
Obstacle to Strategy:
Megan and Harry hate each other.
Way around Obstacle:
Lock them in a hotel suite together, with all the usual amenities, i.e., champagne, strawberries, chocolate and terry-cloth bathrobes.
Motto:
Grandpa Joe will pave the way for Harry and Megan’s happy day!
Contents
Prologue (#u09c333bc-6f31-5e36-9123-19a321aef3bb)
Chapter One (#ue3a7b230-8955-5e80-a53e-c0f5ee2bd320)
Chapter Two (#uf390f2ca-7a79-5133-9db7-802e4c287590)
Chapter Three (#uca39cb2b-f436-56f7-ba97-ba02e4ae4449)
Chapter Four (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Five (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)
Prologue
Jacobsen Enterprises Internal Memo
From: Joe Jacobsen, CEO
To: Harry Sanders
CC: Andrew Sanders, president
Re: Jacobsen Stars Program
Harry,
I just wanted to give you a heads up on the newest Jacobsen Enterprises program to recruit and retain upper-level management.
With your sister now in New York for the past year, it is imperative for the overall growth and stability of the firm that we keep any management talent we develop. My proposal will be instituted in two weeks, and a copy is attached. I would like you to personally consider being a mentor. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me.
J.J.
Jacobsen Enterprises Internal Memo
From: Joe Jacobsen, CEO
To: Andrew Sanders, president
Re: Harry/Jacobsen Stars
As you can see from my previous memo, I have informed your son about the Jacobsen Stars program and have indicated that I would like him to be a mentor.
My personal choice for him to mentor is Megan MacGregor. I will drop in on him Monday morning to tell him. She’s in Mergers and Acquisitions.
J.J.
Jacobsen Enterprises Internal Memo
From: Andrew Sanders, president
To: Joe Jacobsen, CEO
Re: Harry/Jacobsen Stars
You old coot. The only merger you really want is for your grandson to get married. But setting up Harry with Megan MacGregor? She’ll eat him alive. Don’t you ever stop matchmaking?
A.S.
Jacobsen Enterprises Internal Memo
From: Joe Jacobsen, CEO
To: Andrew Sanders, president
Re: Harry/Jacobsen Stars
No.
J.J.
Chapter One
Even though it was a Monday, it had all the makings of a wonderful day. As the only person in the executive elevator, Harry Sanders whistled the entire journey to his office on the twenty-second floor of the Jacobsen Enterprises world headquarters.
“You’re chipper this morning,” Peggy, his secretary for the past five years, commented as he strode over the plush carpet. Ten minutes before 9:00 a.m., she had already sorted his memos and mail.
“Absolutely,” Harry said taking the stack of papers without stopping to look through them as he usually did.
He registered Peggy’s words as he entered his office, “There’s one from your grandfather.”
There had better be. Harry smiled as he entered his corner office, and he took a minute to look out the window. Even though it was a beautiful May day, his office faced west and south, giving him a boring view of Highway 40 as it wound toward Jefferson Avenue.
The eastern-facing offices of the Jacobsen Building looked down Market Street, the view encompassing Memorial Plaza, Union Station, the Mississippi riverfront, the Old Courthouse and the Gateway Arch.
No, his office view was not quite the best, or even on the top floor, that was the twenty-fifth floor, but all that was about to change.
And it was about time.
He pushed a strand of blond hair off his face. He’d been waiting for the past two years, and with Darci happily out of the way, it was finally Harry’s time to shine.
He took a minute to think about that. Don’t get him wrong, he loved his academically brilliant sister with the Harvard MBA. However, three years his junior, Darci had held a higher title and position in Jacobsen Enterprises before her resignation and subsequent move to New York City to be with Cameron O’Brien, her now-husband of one year.
Darci’s fast rise through the company still rankled Harry, that and the fact that after she’d resigned, he hadn’t been promoted into her spot. But given his grandfather’s eccentricities and obvious favoritism toward his granddaughters, no one had been too surprised to see Darci’s job left unfilled. The vice president of development position she’d held had just sort of faded away.
“Good, you’re here early.” Speaking of the devil. The voice that startled Harry from his reverie belonged to none other than Joe Jacobsen, and Harry turned to see his grandfather standing in the office doorway.
“I’m always on time,” Harry replied. It was the truth. One thing Harry managed was timeliness.
Standing there looking like a thin version of Santa Claus, Grandpa Joe didn’t even blink at Harry’s answer. Even though the blue-eyed gene was recessive, every Jacobsen grandchild, including Harry, had the same blue eyes with a rim of dark blue that their grandfather had.
“Didn’t say you were late. I know your schedule,” Grandpa Joe said in the tone that meant no excuses, boy. “Did you read my memo yet?”
“No,” Harry said.
