Tate gave his head an uncertain shake and winced. “It would never work, Zora. They’re like oil and water.”
“Or oil and gasoline,” she countered, more convinced than ever that she was right. After all, that’s what everyone had thought about them, too. Tate had been the bane of her existence, a thorn in her side, had crashed her first Chicks-In-Charge conference, intent on gathering unflattering book fodder for his next release…and she’d ended up marrying him. What had been the odds of that? That they’d ever suit? And yet she loved him more with each passing day. Zora let go a sigh. “I think you’re wrong, and if I win this hand, then you have to help me set them up.”
He groaned. “That’s what you meant by ‘let’s make it interesting’?”
She nodded. “Yep.”
Tate glanced idly at his cards and something about that careless regard made her inexplicably nervous. “And what do I get if I win?”
Since there was no way she could possibly lose this hand, Zora hadn’t considered what she’d offer in return. But she’d indulge him. She smiled, lowered her voice, and let her gaze purposefully drop to his mouth. “What do you want?”
Tate was silent for the better part of a minute, then a slow calculating grin that made the fine hairs on her arms stand on end spread across his too handsome face. “I want you to hire Ross, let him come to work at Chicks-In-Charge.”
“What?”
Tate nodded, clearly pleased with his choice. And no wonder. As founder of Chicks-In-Charge—a national organization designed expressly for the purpose of empowering women—Zora was adamantly opposed to hiring men for any of her ventures. Sexist? Yes. But she’d been burned very badly by a former boyfriend/boss—which was how Chicks-In-Charge had gotten its start in the first place—and so far the concept had worked very well for her. She provided a completely testosterone-free workplace and all of her employees loved it.
Zora frowned thoughtfully. Particularly Frankie, who’d been scorched pretty badly by her father. “You know I can’t do that,” Zora finally said, mildly irritated. Hell, she’d compromised her principles enough by getting married. Hire a man? No way. “Besides, he has a job. He wouldn’t take it.”
“Oh, I can guarantee that he would take it.” An evil sort of glee clung to his smile. “If he wants the Maxwell account he’ll take it.” Tate’s advertising firm held the prestigious honor of catering to many of the larger men’s market accounts, and the Maxwell account was an especially juicy plum.
Zora gasped. “Tate, that’s horrible.” And, yet so diabolical she found it sexy. “Hadn’t you planned on giving him that account anyway?”
Smiling, he nodded. “Yeah…but he doesn’t know that. Besides, it would be worth it to see you add a man to your payroll.” He shifted in his seat, looked heavenward and heaved a dramatic sigh. “God, would it ever be worth it.”
“You know I can’t do that,” Zora replied tightly. “Pick something else. Anything else.”
“Nope. That’s what I want,” he insisted, to Zora’s supreme irritation. He thoughtfully considered her once more and one side of his mouth kicked up in a faintly smug smile. “Guess you’re not as confident as I thought you were. That, or you just don’t want this bad enough.”
Though she knew better than to react, the somewhat mocking taunt overrode her initial hesitation. “Oh, I’m confident, and I most definitely want this.” Frankie needed someone. Desperately. And Zora simply knew—knew—that Ross was the man for her. Besides, there was simply no way Tate could beat her hand. The odds were too great against it. Still, if hell froze over and she did lose this hand, then it would be better to have set a few conditions and parameters. “Temporary employment?”
“Define ‘temporary.’”
“An hour.”
Tate laughed. “Not long enough. Try a month.”
“In your dreams. A week tops,” Zora countered.
He nodded succinctly. “Done. What have you got?”
Now, for the moment of truth. Zora grinned and carefully spread her hand down on the table. “I’ve got a straight flush, baby. Read ’em and weep.” She threw her head back and a giddy burst of triumphant laughter bubbled up her throat.
Tate hummed under his breath and his head bobbed a single nod of agreement. “That is a good hand,” he conceded lightly. “But mine’s better—”
Zora’s gleeful chortling came to an abrupt halt and the smile slid from her face. “What?”
“—because I’ve got a royal flush.” Tate laid his cards down on the table.
Stunned, Zora shook her head. Dread curdled in her stomach. “No,” she said faintly. “But you can’t—I—It’s not possible.”
He smiled. “Oh, but it is.” He cheerfully slid the pot from the middle of the table. “So, what do I want first?” Tate pondered aloud with the exaggerated air of a child who’d just been told Christmas had come early this year. “Do I want a massage? A blow job? A secret fantasy?” His eyes twinkled with evil humor. “Or do I want you to call Ross right now and offer him a job at the magazine?” He pretended to think about it for a couple of seconds, then nodded dramatically. “Yeah. That’s what I want. I want you to call Ross. Right now.” Then to Zora’s immense irritation, he howled with laughter.
“If you’re going to have to blackmail him into taking the position shouldn’t I wait until we can both talk to him?”
Still laughing, Tate shook his head. “No.”
A frustrated growl vibrated the back of Zora’s throat. “Dammit, Tate, I don’t even know what I’m going to hire him to do, for pity’s sake.”
God, what was she going to hire him to do? Zora wondered with mounting alarm. There were no current openings, she was fully staffed at CHiC, her web-based e-zine, which had just made its debut into a glossy format. Furthermore, since it looked like she would definitely have to add Ross to the payroll—albeit only for a week—she should definitely make the most of it by putting Ross and Frankie in close proximity. Which would be next to impossible because Frankie—CHiC’s resident sexpert, the Carnal Contessa—would be on tour promoting the new glossy format the magazine had recently adopted.
Zora paused as a flush of inspiration suddenly lessened the panic crowding her brain. Wait a minute. This could actually work to her advantage. What if… A slow smile worked its way across her lips. Oh, God. That was perfect. Tate had not specified in what capacity she had to hire Ross, just simply that she must.
Tate’s laughter trailed off and ended with a deep satisfied sigh. He glanced at her, then frowned. “Why are you smiling?” he asked warily. “I won. I’m the one who’s smiling. Not you. You’re not supposed to smile. You’re supposed to worry and fret and eat humble pie. This is supposed to be a character lesson, a crash course in the benefit of humility.”
Zora grinned. “Whatever.”
“Whatever? What do you mean whatever?” His eyes narrowed. “Just what exactly have you got up your sleeve?”
“You’ll see,” Zora replied mysteriously. “Right now, however, I believe I have a few plans to make.”
1
FRANKIE SALVATERRA inhaled sharply. “You’ve hired the Antichrist?”
Zora’s lips curled into a droll smile. “A wee bit dramatic, don’t you think? God, it’s stifling in here.” She threw open the French doors behind