High Stakes. Barbara Dunlop

High Stakes - Barbara Dunlop


Скачать книгу
difference,” he said as he walked back toward her, brandishing the brush for emphasis. “Not to mention several thousand dollars.”

      “Thanks for not mentioning that.”

      “No problem.” He swirled the brush in the melting butter.

      “Why do you care so much?” she asked.

      “Why do you care so much?” he countered.

      “I’m the decorator. It’s my job to worry about the details.”

      “I’m the hotel owner. It’s my job to worry about the bottom line.”

      “I won’t go over budget.”

      “You won’t come in under budget, either.”

      “That’s why they call it a budget. I’m going to build you the best restaurant I can within the financial limit you set.”

      “Nobody’s going to notice the damn wainscoting.”

      “Maybe not specifically—”

      “See?” He basted the lobster tails with his left hand, stirring the chocolate with his right. “Why waste the money on something nobody will notice?”

      She dragged her gaze away from his mesmerizing hands. “Not specifically the wainscoting, but they’ll notice the overall effect. Like the top of the wine rack. Will some customer walk in and say ‘Look, honey, the pattern of the marble on the wine rack flows into the overall scheme of the atrium’? Of course not. But, subconsciously, they’ll notice. There’s a fine line between four and five stars.”

      She folded her arms across her chest. “Stick with me, baby, and I’ll push you over the top.”

      Derek stopped stirring and basting, and he stared at her for a moment. The sensual heat in his deep blue eyes was unmistakable. “Left yourself wide-open once again,” he whispered low and husky.

      She drew back, confused.

      A slow smile crossed his face. “Much as I’d like to go ‘over the top’ with you, baby, I don’t think it’s a good idea, given our current adversarial professional relationship.”

      Her face heated. “I only meant…”

      He chuckled. “I know. But, damn, you give a guy openings that are just too good to pass up.”

      He turned his attention back to cooking. “Tell you what, in the spirit of cooperation, I’ll give on the stain if you give on the wainscoting.”

      Candice blinked. She didn’t plan to give on anything. “But, the wainscoting is—”

      “A difference of thousands of dollars.” He raised one eyebrow. “For a quarter of an inch. Can we get a negotiation going here or not?”

      Candice was silent for a moment. It wasn’t her first choice, but she supposed they could make the wainscoting work. “If you get the wainscoting, I get to choose all of the stain and paint colors,” she said.

      Derek stared at her. “You want me to give you all the stain and paint colors for a mere quarter of an inch?”

      “It’s thousands of dollars,” she countered.

      He grinned. “Done.” He lifted the spoon out of the chocolate, blowing on the liquid to cool it.

      “What do you think?” Cupping his hand several inches below the spoon, he moved it toward her mouth.

      She leaned hesitantly forward and licked the tip of the spoon. The rich, dark, sensual chocolate flavor bloomed in her mouth. She closed her eyes and moaned in appreciation.

      “Go to the head of the class,” she said.

      “Why, thank you, teacher.” Somehow he made the words sound like a caress.

      Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

      Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

      Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

      Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.

/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAgEBLAEsAAD/4R51RXhpZgAATU0AKgAAAAgABwESAAMAAAABAAEAAAEaAAUA AAABAAAAYgEbAAUAAAABAAAAagEoAAMAAAABAAIAAAExAAIAAAAcAAAAcgEyAAIAAAAUAAAAjodp AAQAAAABAAAApAAAANAALcbAAAAnEAAtxsAAACcQQWRvYmUgUGhvdG9zaG9wIENTMiBXaW5kb3dz ADIwMTQ6MTA6MjEgMTA6Mjg6NDkAAAAAA6ABAAMAAAABAAEAAKACAAQAAAABAAAG4KADAAQAAAAB AAAKAAAAAAAAAAAGAQMAAwAAAAEABgAAARoABQAAAAEAAAEeARsABQAAAAEAAAEmASgAAwAAAAEA AgAAAgEABAAAAAEAAAEuAgIABAAAAAEAAB0/AAAAAAAAAEgAAAABAAAASAAAAAH/2P/gABBKRklG AAECAABIAEgAAP/tAAxBZG9iZV9DTQAB/+4ADkFkb2JlAGSAAAAAAf/bAIQADAgICAkIDAkJDBEL CgsRFQ8MDA8VGBMTFRMTGBEMDAwMDAwRDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAENCwsN Dg0QDg4QFA4ODhQUDg4ODhQRDAwMDAwREQwMDAwMDBEMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwM DAwM/8AAEQgAoABuAwEiAAIRAQMRAf/dAAQAB//EAT8AAAEFAQEBAQEBAAAAAAAAAAMAAQIEBQYH CAkKCwEAAQUBAQEBAQEAAAAAAAAAAQACAwQFBgcICQoLEAABBAEDAgQCBQcGCAUDDDMBAAIRAwQh EjEFQVFhEyJxgTIGFJGhsUIjJBVSwWIzNHKC0UMHJZJT8OHxY3M1FqKygyZEk1RkRcKjdDYX0lXi ZfKzhMPTdePzRieUpIW0lcTU5PSltcXV5fVWZnaGlqa2xtbm9jdHV2d3h5ent8fX5/cRAAICAQIE BAMEBQYHBwYFNQEAAhEDITESBEFRYXEiEwUygZEUobFCI8FS0fAzJGLhcoKSQ1MVY3M08SUGFqKy gwcmNcLSRJNUoxdkRVU2dGXi8rOEw9N14/NGlKSFtJXE1OT0pbXF1eX1VmZ2hpamtsbW5vYnN0dX Z3eHl6e3x//aAAwDAQACEQMRAD8A5ppA5R31XUWmq1hreILmO0Ikb26H+S5Dw720ZFN76xc2p7XG t3DgDO3RbWd1HDszQ+upuXWysMF1jQxzjvbducybq2+kz9WZt9np/wCYqlCib1vZ7iWfKM0MccRn jlCUpZL+SUeHhj/L/wBR5Hn807HTMB2qoOeTwVu53UcAUfZzhN3EQbNw3D2GkOaX1u22O9l9v/dj 9J+j9RWsDAu6tU7IxeiWOoucaBZSytwa4k2erWXtp2vraPQ3/wBE9P8A7tfpE+P4tLm80ozNx4Y9 zKP/AHzy4nvJPhKNXba3sfmAQuiy+n49FFgyrel4GQDs2utF1wG0tsDsbptOZsdv2W1P/naff/O/ 4LPsw8ZlHrY+bRlceysXMOvt9n2vHx9/9hKR8EctOMz6Z0R+76v+dFqG6NYkcaCFfptecf0i7fU7 XaddpH5zf3VTa2YbtJc4wGDUkn81q07emHpmW6jLk3VOa1zazLBY5rbPRff/ADfqV79lu1301HIC vJvidS4ZEEkcQj+l6eoRvrP2Wx45dDG/P6f/AEVnnGYOWwutxunY5w83P6k+qqnGr2UsNosH2m32 Y4tZgHIu2V/zj6/5z/rXqLK6g/B6ftruDvVsYLK3ZFL2Vljp2WforLbq/U2+31KN6IEqvv0a8ucw XISuXCasDjhtxcMZR/d/ScbBZ6NzwdG+Kayl91r7GNLmkmD5I1H2vPvaGUk73BjKqWEguPubWI3b 37fcttuDfih9NtJrvr0dQ/2u3Ebgz+233NTZT4SNN9NGLLmh7YhA0I3Kj83+K49WKDTLmEDvogmv UMDdDye66Kna5vp24rqmOa4+rukAj6Ptj89ZZLftA/dmJQ4pXqtwGEseWQJ9IJOn9V//0OaqaJAJ WjT1XptLBXd0yjKe0BvqC2+k6CN1optNTn/1GVrHvrvOrHhzDy1uhUq6i0tHiqlVq9tOXH+rqUQP 0oyljl9uKT0nRc1uTluZRg4PT8alrsrLzBUci+qmr3Wvqtz35P6R383X+rv/AEibqzupdcx8nqvV M1+HhWMffi4ALn1tqrlmObqg+qmpt9zfstVzt9+Vl/zGN9nrsfVL0Tg/U+/Ja0F3Uc6rHcHCQaqG uydv9vIrd6il1jPp6g6rKxTc91dNbMTCsZsxcR7Gembme9zcuxvufi7a/wDjv0dXoWrjAjZOh17O bkxXllPFC6kcQySvMeKAjKfz8frnOXDxS/zTl2fU3JZi/wA6Ks6rFfnZONa302sraaj6Xqfm200X NvynXelWz1qqKvV2ZHp38D6vDEfmC/Jrfi4GNVlWXFhDWvyWg003U5DfV2sa77Q+v0fXtYz0WV15 FqP1fq7uo9Q6hd9n

Скачать книгу