Carly Phillips - Hot Property

She needed to do the same.

A MY COULDN’T BELIEVE HERluck. Yank had arranged for an entire day’s worth of activities for her family. Curly, one of his and her uncle Spencer’s poker buddies, was taking some relatives into town to see the sights and they asked Amy’s mother and aunt to join them. Amy showered, dressed and headed for work, determined to forget the events of last evening.

She cringed, her stomach cramping at the memory. She wondered what her father would think of last night’s episode. Pushing those thoughts aside, she collected her notepad and pen and headed for the conference room for the weekly meeting. The room filled up quickly, everyone present and accounted for.

As usual, Yank called the Hot Zone meeting to order. Amy, having already learned the drill, remained standing, hands and coffee off the table until he slammed down the gavel. Then she seated herself and prepared for the list of new assignments.

Yank’s first words weren’t about business per se. “We’re gonna have a firm party at one of the upstate country clubs,” he announced without preamble. “It’ll be before the start of baseball season and after the NFL draft, so nobody can make excuses. Micki’s got media lined up and we’re gonna make a splash just because we can,” he said proudly. “Everyone needs to be there.”

“This is going to be an annual event,” Annabelle said. “We have corporate sponsors who want to meet our clients. It’s a win-win for everyone. Date to follow soon.”

“Amy and Spencer, be sure your family’s back home before then. Otherwise we might have a bomb scare,” Yank said, laughing.

Amy cringed.

Until her uncle added, “Similar to the fire drill you arranged New Year’s Eve?”

Then Amy laughed.

“He’s blamin’ a blind man for trippin’ over his dog! Can you believe that?” Yank asked, rising from his chair.

“I’m blaming you for being a klutz. Being blind’s got nothing to do with it,” Spencer said.

“Here they go again,” Micki whispered to Amy, leaning close. She grabbed the gavel from her unsuspecting uncle’s hands and rapped it on the rubber mat. “Move it along,” she ordered.

The men sat down, obeying her without question. Another half hour passed with routine business until Frannie burst into the room without knocking. “I’m sorry to interrupt,” she said, huffing and out of breath. “But I have news that can’t wait.”

Amy’s stomach churned. She had a distinct feeling of déjà vu, taking her back to her first meeting in this room.

“Let’s hear it,” Yank said.

“Well, I need to see Amy privately,” Frannie said, suddenly realizing all eyes were on her.

Now Amy’s stomach churned again, but for good reason. Frannie wasn’t the type to get so worked up. This must really be something. Amy rose from her seat, but Micki placed a hand on her shoulder. “We’re family here. Nobody is in this room except Uncle Yank, Spencer, myself, my sisters and Amy. We want to help.”

Amy sat down again.

Frannie nodded. She leaned forward until she was between Amy and Micki. “There’s something on the Internet Amy needs to see. Nobody else should see it,” Frannie said.

That was the moment Amy realized her uncle’s secretary had a laptop beneath her arm. She placed it on the table, opened it and Amy immediately recognized the banner for Buckley’s blog on the top of the screen.

Everyone in the room was silent, obviously recognizing something huge was going on. Amy had never been so sick in her life.

“Ready?” Frannie asked.

“As I’ll ever be,” Amy muttered.

She scrolled down slowly until the headline caught Amy’s eye. Roper Bares All. Panic rose in her throat as she tried to concentrate on the words. The effort to understand what she was seeing was futile until she saw her own name posted along with Roper’s.

A prominent link promised to lead to “an eyeful.”

She clicked.

She looked.

And she immediately wished she hadn’t.

Her hands began to sweat because somehow, there were photographs of Amy and Roper- naked on the Internet.

Having sex.

She ordered herself to breathe. In. Out. In. Out.

Think.

She peeled open her eyelids and looked again. Thanks to the unbelievable angle of the bodies on screen, Amy tipped her head to the side to get a better glimpse.

“When did you get a tattoo?” her uncle Spencer asked from behind them.

“I didn’t!” she said tightly, jumping up from her seat, nearly knocking everyone behind her over in her effort to escape the sudden stifling feeling surrounding her.

“Take it easy,” Micki said, grabbing her wrist. “They’re obviously doctored, so breathe. We’ll figure something out.”

Everyone around her spoke, but she couldn’t hear anything beyond the ringing in her ears. It didn’t matter that the body on the screen wasn’t really hers. It was her face. And nobody who viewed this photograph would know or care that it wasn’t really Amy and Roper doing the deed.

She knew her business. Perception was everything. Thanks to her relationship with Roper, she’d been violated in the most extreme and demeaning way and there was nothing she could do about it.

Tears filled her eyes, along with impotent frustration. She’d felt like this once before. Memories of her mother being photographed as Lady Godiva came back to her vividly. Guilt by association had damned her in the eyes of her employers and made her a laughingstock in the community. She’d let herself down, but worse, she felt her father’s disappointment keenly. Amy had coped by withdrawing deeper into her mother’s world, doing her best to help them control their behavior. Without others to judge her, she’d been able to live with the insanity.

But here in New York, she couldn’t hide the same way. She hadn’t signed up for the privilege of being in the public eye. Nor did she want it.

The price was too high.

She jerked away from Micki, her uncle and everyone else calling her name and headed to find the one person she could vent on. The person who’d caused this mess, intentionally or not.

To her surprise, Amy didn’t have to go far to find Roper. He was waiting in her office.

R OPER HAD RECEIVEDenough phone calls and e-mails about the Internet photos to know he’d better reach Amy before she had a chance to build up emotional walls against him.

She burst into the room quickly and stopped short, obviously shocked to see him. She was dressed for work, in a blazer and slacks. Professional and cute at the same time.

As usual, his heart beat faster at the sight of her. He’d accepted his feelings for her.

She hadn’t.

He welcomed them.

She was still running.

“Hi.” She straightened her shoulders and turned away for a second, obviously wiping tears from her eyes. He guessed she’d heard about the photos.

Anger gripped him, as it had when he’d seen the pictures the first time. This wasn’t the usual paparazzi photo. Someone was going to pay.

Clearing her throat, she met his gaze. “You saved me a trip. I was just coming to find you,” she said calmly. Too calmly.

Everything inside him chilled. “Well, I’m glad I saved you a trip. What’s up?” he asked, trying to gauge her mood.

She walked past him, retreating behind the safety of her desk. “Let’s put it out on the table, okay? I’m sure you’ve seen the pictures.” She clasped her hands in front of her, but not before he noticed that they were shaking and her cheeks were flushed pink in embarrassment.

He wanted to wrap her in his arms and protect her from everything that had and could hurt her, but he knew better than to think it was possible. She needed to face this challenge. They needed to face it together if they ever wanted to have a future.