HEATHER MACALLISTER - Tall, Dark & Reckless

Piper nudged Dancie’s foot, alerting her that she shouldn’t let Travis control so much of the meeting.

Dancie took the hint. “To fill the gap until Travis and Mark’s numbers are up, I have a proposal to build on Piper’s dating column popularity.” She reached for the green folder. “There’s an added advantage because it opens up a new revenue stream so my division won’t be wholly dependent on ad money.”

Dancie slid the green folder toward her father. “Expanding on what I said in the quarterly report, we’ll have an interactive website with a software program called The Piper Plan to go along with the book—”

“Fluff,” BT pronounced. “You got lucky with some female fluff.” Without looking at the folder, he tossed it back at Dancie.

Fluff? BT had dismissed hundreds of hours of research as fluff? Without even looking at it? Suddenly, Mark wasn’t the only one doing a slow burn. Yeah. Nothing like having your work insulted to get the juices flowing. “Mr. Pollard, my work—”

“The matchmaking business?” He raised an eyebrow. “The one that can’t find my Dancie a man?”

Piper was not going to let him get to her. “It’s not a dating service. I counsel clients about compatibility, particularly when management teams have to decide between equally qualified job candidates. I analyze personalities. Certain types always get along and certain types always clash. And not just romantically. My theory applies to work relationships, roommates, sports teams, careers—”

“You write a dating column for us,” BT interrupted.

She wished he wouldn’t keep doing that. “I—Yes.” Piper exhaled. He just wouldn’t let that go. “But my theory is based on extensive research.”

“Your research is based on fluff.”

Travis snickered, but Travis would. And Mark’s reaction? Piper wasn’t about to look at him because appearing to care what he thought would show weakness and she was already in a battle to be taken seriously here.

“But it’s profitable fluff,” Dancie said, not helping.

“Thanks a lot,” Piper muttered.

“And we can make it more profitable.”

“Profitable until all the air goes out of it,” Travis said. “Then you’ve got nothing. That’s why I build on the standards—your beer, your football, your barbecue—so when my fluff collapses, I’ve still got a safety net.”

“Did you just call Mark fluff?” Piper asked. Probably unwisely. “Since you had to depend on your beer, your football and your barbecue this year.”

She felt Mark’s gaze laser in on her and she glanced at him. How could those blue eyes look hot and cold at the same time? She suppressed a shiver.

“Of course not.” Chuckling, Travis looked at Mark, and then quickly away. “But he gives the meat, if you will, to the OMG news division and gives us … the, uh …”

“Fluff?” Piper supplied, living dangerously. She heard Dancie’s breath hiss between her teeth.

A beat went by. “I give the Guys of Texas readers a look behind the scenes.” Mark kept his gaze fastened on her. “A lot of groundwork goes into my news stories.” His voice grew stronger. “News stories that change people’s lives. News stories that change the world.”

Implying that her work did not.

“That’s a great tagline,” Travis said in a fake hearty voice. “Isn’t that a great tagline?” He turned to his father. “We’ll have Mark at the Super Bowl with us—”

“You said he would already be overseas,” Dancie added.

“Video conferencing, Dancie.” Travis gave an impatient wave. “With hi-def, it’s almost the same as being there in person.”

“I’m glad you feel that way,” BT told him. “Because you’re going to be watching the next Super Bowl on that giant big-screen TV you’ve got downstairs.”

TRAVIS WENT STILL. “What do you mean?”

This is going to get ugly , Mark thought. Travis did love his Super Bowl parties.

BT leaned forward. “I mean that the salary for Mark’s new partner is coming out of your Super Bowl budget.”

Partner? Mark didn’t like where this was going.

“What new partner?” Travis turned to Mark. “You didn’t say anything about—”

“Thanks,” Mark said to BT. “But I don’t need a partner. I’ll be fine.”

“Good to hear. But you’re still going to be working with a partner.”

Never. “I work alone.”

BT shook his head. “Not anymore. You take too many risks, Mark.”

So he’d heard. “That’s how I get stories nobody else does. They hesitate. Hang back. Or they have to wait for authorization. I go for it.”

“Sometimes you shouldn’t.”

“Sometimes I don’t. You never hear about those times.”

“I sure did last year.” BT drew a long breath.

Here it comes . The man was entitled to a lecture, Mark supposed. BT hadn’t said a whole lot at the time Mark had been rescued. Then again, he’d been injured and, as Travis had pointed out, getting a lot of media attention. But that was last year and BT clearly wanted to assert his authority before sending Mark back into the field.

So be it. Mark would take the verbal spanking, apologize, and then they could get back to business, although he’d prefer not to have this conversation in front of Travis’s sister’s and Piper’s assessing gaze.

Mark sensed that she wasn’t impressed by him. That bothered him some and being bothered annoyed him. Usually, Mark didn’t care what strangers thought of him. Maybe it’s because you hope she won’t stay a stranger .

Where did that come from? She wasn’t his usual type and Mark would bet he wasn’t hers, either. He couldn’t imagine a reason for them to see each other again after today. He wasn’t going to seek her out. What would be the point, when he’d be half a world away in a couple of months?

“On your last assignment, you ignored State Department warnings,” BT said, starting his lecture, and Mark refocused his attention. “You ignored my direct order to break off contact with Mendoza.”

Because I do not take orders from someone who has no idea of the situation. Not too fond of orders, period . “You weren’t there. If you’d seen what I—”

“It doesn’t matter what you saw,” BT interrupted. “You were taken hostage and as far as the government was concerned, you’d ignored their warning, so it was tough luck.”

This was old ground and they didn’t need to cover it again. “Meeting with Mendoza was a risk I was willing to take,” Mark said.

BT jabbed a finger to his chest. “But I wasn’t!”

“Dad,” Travis interrupted. “He gets it. Let’s move on.”

BT silenced his son with a look. “Mark, your decision cost me hours of my life dealing with petty bureaucrats and not so petty bureaucrats. You’re only here now because Travis raised money from the Guys of Texas readers to hire mercenaries to go into those mountains and get you.”

Yeah, and the No Guy Left Behind project got a huge amount of news coverage in the process. It was a brilliant strategy that resulted in soaring ad revenue. Not only that, it had succeeded, for which Mark was grateful. “And I appreciate that.”

“We’re good, Dad,” Travis said.

“But I’m not good,” BT retorted. “I’m not good at all. Mark’s reckless—the kind of reckless I can’t afford.” Pointing at Mark, he continued, “If you had a wife or a girlfriend, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. They wouldn’t let you get away with the crazy risks you take.” He gave a short laugh and nodded toward Piper. “Maybe you should talk to this one about finding you a girlfriend.”

Mark flicked a glance her way.

“Not a matchmaker,” Piper said.