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Seduced by the CEO
Barbara Dunlop
“There’s always a catch.” Kalissa smiled.
Riley agreed with that. “Catch is—” he settled a hand on her bare hip “—I’m falling for you.”
Her smile widened. “That’s not a catch.”
It was for him, and that was the hard truth. He was quickly coming to care for this woman, but he was destined to upset and disappoint her. There was no way around it.
But not now, he told himself, not today. They could be together for a little longer yet, before the real world crowded in.
* * *
Seduced by the CEO
is part of the Chicago Sons series: Men who work hard, love harder and live with their fathers’ legacies …
Seduced by the CEO
Barbara Dunlop
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
BARBARA DUNLOP writes romantic stories while curled up in a log cabin in Canada’s far north, where bears outnumber people and it snows six months of the year. Fortunately she has a brawny husband and two teenage children to haul firewood and clear the driveway while she sips cocoa and muses about her upcoming chapters. Barbara loves to hear from readers. You can contact her through her website, barbaradunlop.com (http://barbaradunlop.com).
For my husband
Contents
Cover (#u2c460f38-e2bf-5038-9c92-f59c7f2f640f)
Introduction (#u31a2afa1-1be2-575e-848c-59359b41cb8e)
Title Page (#u03316673-280d-5189-a210-97c543bc8f14)
About the Author (#u1e32545d-c61b-5a7f-aad7-5f6bd5b43ad5)
Dedication (#u24cc6314-2f3b-5430-bf22-7bbecd758346)
One (#uc8ad0e3f-8b8b-56f2-8c7f-e3dd273afa3a)
Two (#ue439314b-7d3b-59ec-9d1e-f6b062d4ec81)
Three (#uc702c20d-4bdc-53a2-b527-63e063e7a898)
Four (#u25068074-f039-590e-b522-195cbe9bc80e)
Five (#litres_trial_promo)
Six (#litres_trial_promo)
Seven (#litres_trial_promo)
Eight (#litres_trial_promo)
Nine (#litres_trial_promo)
Ten (#litres_trial_promo)
Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)
Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)
Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)
One (#ulink_bc635be8-a83f-56a0-b91a-812fdc406e82)
Kalissa Smith stripped off a pair of dirt-streaked garden gloves and paced backward from the Newbergs’ house, smiling with both pride and satisfaction. It had taken a full month, but the new lawn gleamed emerald under the August sun. Beyond its scalloped edges, fresh, black dirt was mounded in flower beds positioned against the brick walls of the two-story colonial. Evergreens and dwarf maples were clustered in one corner of the spacious yard, providing shade and privacy.
“The ornamental peppers definitely work,” said Megan, crossing from their company pickup truck in the driveway.
“It’s a bit of a twist,” said Kalissa.
Megan drew a deep breath. “I think they’ll be happy with the twist.”
“They’d better be happy.”
The Newbergs were not the easiest clients in the world, but at least the job was finally complete.
“Did we make any money on this one?” Megan asked.
“I sure hope we did. We were underwater on the turf, but we saved on labor.”
“Only because we did most of it ourselves.”
“Good thing we charge ourselves such reasonable prices.”
Megan smiled at the joke. “It does look fantastic.”
Kalissa couldn’t help flexing her sore shoulders. Her calves were tight and her abs ached from so many days of physical work. On the bright side, she had absolutely no need to visit a gym, and she was developing a very nice tan.
“I’m going to take some pictures for the web site,” she said.
Mosaic Landscaping had been in business for just under a year, starting when Kalissa and Megan had both earned college diplomas in landscape design.
“There were three more inquires on our voice mail this afternoon,” said Megan.
“Can we at least grab dinner before we start a new project?”
Megan chuckled. “On top of everything else, you want food?”
“Call me high-maintenance.”
“I could go for a burger.”
“Benny’s, here we come.”
Benny’s Burgers was a funky little restaurant tucked in an alleyway near their landscape shop on the west side of Chicago. They’d rented the aging storefront and warehouse space because of its generous size and reasonable rent. Esthetics had little to do with the decision—though they had painted and brightened the upstairs apartment, moving two single beds and some used furniture into the space.
Kalissa retrieved the camera from the front of their serviceable, blue pickup truck, making her way around the yard to take shots from various angles.
At the same time, Megan gathered up the last of the hand tools, stowing them in the pickup box. Then she perched herself on the tailgate, scrolling through pages on her tablet.
“Any new inquiries from the web site?” Kalissa called as she lined up for a picture of the flagstone walkway edged with pink and white peonies. The front porch and double doors filled in the background, and the sun was hitting the flowers at just the right angle.
“There are still a lot of people looking for maintenance.”
Megan and Kalissa had talked about adding a yard maintenance service to their business. It wasn’t where they wanted to focus, but if they could hire a decent crew, they might be able to make a little extra money. Their business was gradually increasing its customer base, but the margins were thin.
Kalissa clicked the final shots.
“What do you think about doing that?” she asked as she made her way back to the truck.
“Is there something you’ve neglected to tell me?” Megan was staring at the tablet screen.
Kalissa stopped in front of her. “About what?”
Megan turned the tablet so it was facing Kalissa.
Kalissa reached out to steady it.
She squinted against the bright sunshine, and a photo of a bride and groom came into focus. The man was handsome in his tux, and the woman’s dress was gorgeous, highlighted by a huge, multi-colored bouquet of roses, tulips and lavender.
“See it?” asked Megan.
“The Ferdinand Pichard roses?” They were stunning. Kalissa had never seen them in such a deep magenta.
“The bride.”
“What about the—” Then Kalissa saw it. She snapped her hand back in astonishment.
“It’s you.”
“It’s not me.” Kalissa peered at the woman’s startlingly familiar face. It obviously couldn’t be her.
“Photoshopped?” she asked.
“That’s what I thought,” said Megan. “But there are a bunch more.” She moved so they could both see the screen while she scrolled through other pictures.
“What on earth?” Kalissa took control of the tablet. “Is this a joke?” She looked at Megan. “Did you do this?”
Megan stood up for a better view. “I only found it two minutes ago.”
Kalissa stopped on a picture of the bride and groom cutting the wedding cake.
“Nice,” said Megan. “Seven tiers.”
“I obviously have money in this alternate life.” Kalissa took in each of the bride’s poses and expressions. “Too bad I can’t float us a loan.”
She struggled to figure out where her head shots could have originated, guessing this was some kind of on-line game.
“My birthday’s coming up,” she ventured, trying to imagine who, other than Megan, would spend this much time on a joke gift.
“Nice groom,” said Megan.
Kalissa took another look at the man. “He is pretty hot.”
“It says here he’s Shane Colborn.”
“Why do I know that name?”
“Colborn Aerospace,” said Megan, identifying a prominent Chicago company.
“So, it was obviously somebody from Chicago who did this.”
“I mean, this is the real guy. He owns Colborn Aerospace.”
“Uh, oh.” Now Kalissa was worried. “He’s not going to think this is funny. Can anybody see this page?”
“I got it from a Nighttime News link.”
Kalissa’s confusion grew. “The national site?”
Megan nodded.
“Why? How? We have to get them to take it down.”
“I think it’s legit.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“I think you have a doppelganger.”
“That’s not a real thing.” Kalissa studied the bride’s face. “And there’s no way someone could possibly look this similar.”
