Susan Mallery - High-Powered, Hot-Blooded

A book in the Man of the Month series, 2009

Dear Reader,

There are so many things I love about this time of year. The crisp days and nights, the holiday decorations, the tempting special foods. Mostly I love curling up in front of a fire with a mug of hot chocolate and a delicious romance novel. As the craziness descends, I try to schedule a few at-home evenings to indulge myself.

For my hero Duncan Patrick, the holidays arent the least bit special. He doesnt believe in tradition or family or even being nice to anyone. He doesnt see the point. For him, life is all about the bottom line. Hes been so successful, hes completely lost what really matters.

Ill admit I love heroes like that. Guys who are totally clueless and dont see whats headed right for them. Its not the love of a good woman that changes their lives-its loving a good woman. Its going to take someone special to get Duncans attention and Annie McCoy is exactly who he needs.

Now, Annie isnt looking for a powerful, determined, stubborn guy to warm her nights, but thats exactly who shes going to get. I think shell thank me later.

I hope you love reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. However you celebrate at this time of year, may your days be joyous and happy and may you spend them with those you love.

Susan Mallery

CEO knocks out the competition.

CEO Duncan Patrick has once again knocked out the competition. The shipping billionaire ends the year with two more acquisitions, including a small European trucking company and a very profitable railroad line in South America. With Patrick Industries dominating the world transportation market, one would think the wealthy billionaire could afford to be gracious, but apparently thats not the case. For the second year in a row, Duncan has been named meanest CEO in the country. Not surprisingly, the reclusive billionaire declined to be interviewed for this article.

This is unconscionable, Lawrence Patrick said, slamming the business newspaper onto the boardroom table.

Duncan leaned back in his chair and stifled a yawn. Did you want me to do the interview?

Thats not the point and you know it.

What is the point? Duncan asked, turning his attention from his uncle to the other men on the board. Is there too much money coming in? Are the investors unhappy with all the proceeds?

The point is the press loves to hate you, Lawrence snapped. You bought a mobile home park, then evicted the residents, most of whom were elderly and poor.

The mobile home park was right next to one of the largest shipping facilities we own. I needed the land for expansion. The board approved the purchase.

We didnt approve seeing old ladies on television, crying because they had nowhere to go.

Duncan rolled his eyes. Oh, please. Part of the deal was providing the residents with a new mobile home park. Their lots are bigger and the area is residential, rather than industrial. They have bus service right outside the main gate. We paid all the costs. No one lost anything. It was the media trying to create a story.

One of the other board members glared at him. Are you denying you bankrupt your competition?

Not at all. If I want to buy a company but the person who owns it wont sell to me, I find another way. He straightened. A legal way, gentlemen. Youve all invested in my company and youve seen extraordinary profits. I dont give a damn what the press thinks about me or my company.

Therein lies the problem, his uncle told him. We do. Patrick Industries has a terrible reputation, as do you.

Both are undeserved.

Regardless. This isnt your company, Duncan. You brought us in when you needed money to buy out your partner. Part of the deal is you answer to us.

Duncan didnt like the sound of that. He was the one who had taken Patrick Industries from a struggling small business to a world-class empire. Not them-him.

If youre threatening me, he began.

Not threatening, another board member said. Duncan, we understand that theres a difference between ruthless and mean. But the public doesnt. Were asking you to play nice for the next few months.

Get off this list, his uncle said, waving the paper at him. Its practically Christmas. Give money to orphans, find a cause. Rescue a puppy. Date a nice girl, for once. Hell, we dont even care if you really change. Perception is everything. You know that.

Duncan shook his head. So you dont care if Im the biggest bastard in the world, as long as no one knows about it?

Exactly.

Easy enough, he said, rising to his feet. He could play nice for a few months, while raising enough money to buy out his board. Then he wouldnt have to care what anyone thought of him. Which was how he preferred things.

Annie McCoy could accept the flat tire. The car was old and the tires should have been replaced last spring. She could also understand that little Cody had eaten dirt on the playground, then thrown up on her favorite skirt. She wouldnt complain about the notice shed gotten from the electric company pointing out, ever so politely, that she was overdue-again-and that they would be raising her rates. It was that all of it had happened on the same day. Couldnt the universe give her a sixteenth of a break?

She stood in front of her sagging front porch and flipped through the rest of the mail. No other bills, unless that official-looking letter from UCLA was actually a tuition bill. The good news was that her cousin Julie was in her first year at the prestigious college. The bad news was paying for it. Even living at home, the costs were enormous and Annie was doing her best to help.

A problem for another time, she told herself as she walked to the front door and opened it.

Once inside, she put her purse on the small table by the door and dropped the mail into the macaroni-and-gold-spray-paint-covered in-box her kindergarten class had made for her last year. Then she went into the kitchen to check out the dry-erase bulletin board hanging from the wall.

It was Wednesday. Julie had a night class. Jenny, Julies twin, was working her usual evening job at a restaurant in Westwood. Kami, the exchange student from Guam, had gone to the mall with friends. Annie had the house to herselfat least for the next couple of hours. Talk about heaven.

She walked to the refrigerator and got out the box of white wine. After pouring a glass, she kicked off her shoes and walked barefoot to the backyard.

The grass was cool under her feet. All around the fence, lush plants grew and flowered. It was L.A. Growing anything was pretty easy, as long as you didnt mind paying the water bill. Annie did mind, but she loved the plants more. They reminded her of her mom, who had always been an avid gardener.

Shed barely settled on the old, creaky wooden swing by the bougainvillea when she heard the doorbell ring. She thought about ignoring whoever was there, but couldnt bring herself to do it. She went back inside, opened the door and stared at the man standing on her porch.

He was tall and powerfully built. The well-tailored suit didnt disguise the muscles in his arms and chest. He looked like he could have picked up money on the side working as a bouncer. He had dark hair and the coldest gray eyes shed ever seen. And he looked seriously annoyed.

Who are you? he demanded by way of greeting. The girlfriend? Is Tim here?

Annie started to hold up her hands in a shape of a T. Talk about needing a time-out. Fortunately she remembered she was holding a wineglass and managed to keep from spilling.