A Heart For Business draft 2 Read Online Free
Author: Alexis Blake
being harassed by a man she never should have gotten involved with in the first place. She had a feeling New York was the perfect place.
When Carter had finished eating Vanessa took the plate back from his tray, “Well, you managed to get two meals out of me today, but that will be all. I’m leaving now. It will be up to someone else to take care of the rest.”
“That someone will have to be me.” Carter said quietly. “I was always a jerk, but ever since the accident I’ve become a first class asshole. I can’t say I blame the agencies for refusing to take me as a client. I’m just lucky you were willing to give me second chance today. Thank you for everything. I mean it. You’re a good person.”
“You’re welcome.” Vanessa smiled. He wasn’t as bad a guy as he pretended to be. Trevor certainly wouldn’t apologize for being a bossy jerk. She could tell that Carter Davis wasn’t inherently mean spirited; he was just in a lot of pain right now. She sat by his bedside and asked “So, what happened to you anyway?”
“Well, it’s a long story I’d rather not get into.” Carter said. He liked her and didn’t want to bore her with his sad tale, but then he realized if he refused to talk she would leave and he really wanted her to stay.
With a boyish grin he said, “Suffice to say, I was a workaholic jerk who was paying more attention to the company’s bottom line than I was to the road and wound up in the hospital for a few weeks with a bunch of broken ribs, and now I’m stuck here at home every day. I’m struggling like hell to get the doctors to release me back to work before they hire someone to replace me, but at this rate it’s not looking good. Everyone tells me I’m lucky I wasn’t killed in the crash, but without my career it feels like I died anyway. It’s why I’ve been such a jerk to everyone. I’m sorry.”
“Believe it or not, I get it.” Vanessa said with compassion in her warm eyes. She reached out and set her hand on top of his in a gesture of support. He liked the way it felt, and let his fingers intertwine with hers; brown and white mingling together perfectly.
“I know what it’s like to have nothing else in your life beside your career. I’ve worked my ass off my entire life to get to where I am today and I’m really proud of what I’ve accomplished, but it’s all I have. Whenever I try to have a boyfriend they don’t understand my devotion to my career and get jealous of the time I spend at work. The last one I had said he got lonely when I was always at work and used it as excuse to cheat on me. Now, I’m vacation for the first time in my life, and I don’t have anyone to spend it with. Without my work, I’m just lost.”
Carter sat up in bed, his blue eyes sparkling with interest. “How long are you off work?”
“I’ve got a month and I want to take full advantage of it; but I don’t have the first clue how to relax. I was up this morning at 6:00a.m. unable to sleep another wink.”
“Forget sleeping! You’re in New York! The Big Apple!” Carter cried out. The excitement in his face made him looking even more handsome than before. “You need to get out there and see everything this city has to offer! Don’t sit around being a couch potato like me. Here, I’m going to take you on a guided tour and show you all the best places in town!”
“Hold on! You’re on bed rest, remember?” Vanessa held out her hands in a halting gesture.
“Don’t worry, I’ll stay in bed. We can do the entire tour by camera phone. I’ll guide you where to go and you can send me a picture of yourself at each location, so it’s like I’m there.”
Vanessa arched her eyebrow at him with mock skepticism. “You want me to give you my cell number after the way you’ve treated me?”
“Please?” Carter begged. “It will be the closest I’ve come to getting out of this apartment in weeks! It will be fun, I promise. It will be my
When Carter had finished eating Vanessa took the plate back from his tray, “Well, you managed to get two meals out of me today, but that will be all. I’m leaving now. It will be up to someone else to take care of the rest.”
“That someone will have to be me.” Carter said quietly. “I was always a jerk, but ever since the accident I’ve become a first class asshole. I can’t say I blame the agencies for refusing to take me as a client. I’m just lucky you were willing to give me second chance today. Thank you for everything. I mean it. You’re a good person.”
“You’re welcome.” Vanessa smiled. He wasn’t as bad a guy as he pretended to be. Trevor certainly wouldn’t apologize for being a bossy jerk. She could tell that Carter Davis wasn’t inherently mean spirited; he was just in a lot of pain right now. She sat by his bedside and asked “So, what happened to you anyway?”
“Well, it’s a long story I’d rather not get into.” Carter said. He liked her and didn’t want to bore her with his sad tale, but then he realized if he refused to talk she would leave and he really wanted her to stay.
With a boyish grin he said, “Suffice to say, I was a workaholic jerk who was paying more attention to the company’s bottom line than I was to the road and wound up in the hospital for a few weeks with a bunch of broken ribs, and now I’m stuck here at home every day. I’m struggling like hell to get the doctors to release me back to work before they hire someone to replace me, but at this rate it’s not looking good. Everyone tells me I’m lucky I wasn’t killed in the crash, but without my career it feels like I died anyway. It’s why I’ve been such a jerk to everyone. I’m sorry.”
“Believe it or not, I get it.” Vanessa said with compassion in her warm eyes. She reached out and set her hand on top of his in a gesture of support. He liked the way it felt, and let his fingers intertwine with hers; brown and white mingling together perfectly.
“I know what it’s like to have nothing else in your life beside your career. I’ve worked my ass off my entire life to get to where I am today and I’m really proud of what I’ve accomplished, but it’s all I have. Whenever I try to have a boyfriend they don’t understand my devotion to my career and get jealous of the time I spend at work. The last one I had said he got lonely when I was always at work and used it as excuse to cheat on me. Now, I’m vacation for the first time in my life, and I don’t have anyone to spend it with. Without my work, I’m just lost.”
Carter sat up in bed, his blue eyes sparkling with interest. “How long are you off work?”
“I’ve got a month and I want to take full advantage of it; but I don’t have the first clue how to relax. I was up this morning at 6:00a.m. unable to sleep another wink.”
“Forget sleeping! You’re in New York! The Big Apple!” Carter cried out. The excitement in his face made him looking even more handsome than before. “You need to get out there and see everything this city has to offer! Don’t sit around being a couch potato like me. Here, I’m going to take you on a guided tour and show you all the best places in town!”
“Hold on! You’re on bed rest, remember?” Vanessa held out her hands in a halting gesture.
“Don’t worry, I’ll stay in bed. We can do the entire tour by camera phone. I’ll guide you where to go and you can send me a picture of yourself at each location, so it’s like I’m there.”
Vanessa arched her eyebrow at him with mock skepticism. “You want me to give you my cell number after the way you’ve treated me?”
“Please?” Carter begged. “It will be the closest I’ve come to getting out of this apartment in weeks! It will be fun, I promise. It will be my
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