His Million Dollar Risk
a Take a Risk novella
Determined to make his latest preservation project on Route 66 a success, Connor Gibson will take any good press he can get. Even if it means spending a week with a reporter. And even if it’s one from a publication he has good reason to hate. Connor certainly isn’t expecting a spontaneous and undeniably attractive blonde who makes him seriously hot for the press...
Charlize Beckett is in deeeep trouble. This is her one chance to prove to her publisher dad that she’s a serious reporter, even if she has to pretend she’s someone else. Even worse, Connor himself is way too charming for her to maintain any objectivity, or even keep her from getting into all kinds of sexy trouble. By going off the record, Charlie is putting both her reputation and her heart on the line...
His Million Dollar Risk
a Take a Risk novella
Robin Bielman
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2015 by Robin Bielman. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce, distribute, or transmit in any form or by any means. For information regarding subsidiary rights, please contact the Publisher.
Entangled Publishing, LLC
2614 South Timberline Road
Suite 109
Fort Collins, CO 80525
Visit our website at www.entangledpublishing.com.
Indulgence is an imprint of Entangled Publishing, LLC.
Edited by Wendy Chen
Cover design by Heather Howland
ISBN 978-1-63375-186-6
Manufactured in the United States of America
First Edition February 2015
To Duncan.
Chapter One
Connor Gibson didn’t mind being the center of attention—when that appreciation came from a woman’s deliberate eyes and soft, kissable lips in the close confines of a bedroom. Scratch that, he didn’t care where they were as long as it was just the two of them.
Sitting poolside at the trendy Sunset Hotel in Scottsdale, Arizona, he could do without the constant awareness. He’d politely refused several drink offers from Spring Break coeds and declined pickup lines that might have worked if he’d been in a better mood. He’d only sat in the late-afternoon sunshine because he’d gotten to the hotel earlier than planned.
A lounge chair, cold drink, and rare nap had sounded like a good plan. Once he hit the road tomorrow morning he’d have very little down time.
Or peace of mind.
For the umpteenth time he thought about “accidentally” forgetting he was supposed to pick up a reporter from NaturalWorld.com and have her accompany him for a weeklong interview on his stops along Route 66. He hated reporters. He hated liars.
His muscles tensed and he squeezed his hands around the edge of the lounge chair. Okay, so he probably shouldn’t label all reporters as liars and hate the whole lot of them. If the article were for any other magazine, he would have been okay with it. But no way in hell could he forgive what Natural World had done to his mom. If not for the fact that Route 66 was his baby, that no one knew the project as well as he did, Connor would have assigned the exclusive interview to one of his VPs. But this was a chance to bring national recognition to the Route as World Heritage Fund’s preservation efforts were coming to a close, and Connor had the most at stake. He’d worked nonstop for two years and wanted the country to take notice.
He unclenched his hands and laced them behind his head. House music streamed out of speakers disguised as large rocks at the base of several palm trees. A game of Chicken took over the shallow end of the pool. He lifted his Oakley sunglasses away from his face and wiped the perspiration under his eyes.
“Is that chair taken?” Plenty of lounge chairs remained vacant around the pool, including the one between him and a woman asleep on her stomach to his right. He eyed the sleeping beauty with her fair skin, blond hair, and shapely curves. She hadn’t moved a muscle since he sat down an hour ago.
“Yes,” he said, turning his head to address the woman who’d asked the question. He liked his view and didn’t want to disturb it.
“Oh. Okay.” She batted her eyelashes anyway, but he didn’t take the bait.
His friend and work colleague Clay had told him numerous times his indifference only made women more interested. Made them look at him as a challenge. Apparently, his I’m-unavailable vibe flashed like a beacon today.
“Cannonball!” some guy shouted before he leaped into the air and landed with a splash in the deep end of the swimming pool.
The jump sent drops of water into Connor’s lap. The spray must have also hit his neighbor because she stirred.
Then bent her legs and wiggled her feet in the air as if to shake them dry. After a few moments she straightened her long, toned legs and slipped her hands to her sides to retrieve the ends of the bikini top she’d unhooked. With her head canted down and away from him, blond hair that had been loosely piled behind her neck fell over her shoulder.
Connor watched as she lifted up slightly to reach behind her back and connect the ends of her top. She tried unsuccessfully for several seconds before letting out a sigh and releasing the straps to relax her arms.
Offering to help crossed his mind, but the way his body had suddenly perked up told him that was a bad idea. A very good bad idea, the devil on his shoulder said.
That devil had gotten him into trouble before. Just because he found it nice that this girl was the one woman yet to lay eyes on him didn’t mean he should lend a hand.
Her back rose and fell, and she went to grab the ends of her bikini top again. It looked like the clasp on one end had gotten stuck to her towel because she shimmied her hand against her side while her other arm stretched across her back.
A muffled “dammit” reached his ears as she laid her chin on the front edge of the chair. He really was a jackass for not volunteering to lend a hand, especially since she’d probably decline assistance from a total stranger.
She tried again. This time she raised enough to give him a peek at the outside swell of her breast as she wrestled with the uncooperative bathing suit.
His gaze traveled down the slope of her back to the curve of her ass. Her angles and edges looked soft and inviting. Not too small and not too large. She looked just right.
Goldilocks in the flesh.
He zoned out for a second, lost in the smooth texture of her skin, so he had zero time to react when the bikini top flying through the air hit him in the chest.
“Oh my God!” she said.
Connor blinked and watched as Goldilocks sat up, one arm covering her chest, followed quickly by the other for double protection. He reached down and picked up the red top, a hell-yeah smirk on his face.
“I can’t believe that just happened,” she said. “I’m so sorry. The hook got stuck on my towel and then I guess I pulled too hard.” Her hair fell in waves down her back, sleep lines creased her cheek, blue eyes bright with embarrassment stared at him.
“I’m not,” he said, swinging his legs off the lounge chair so he sat facing her.
She narrowed her eyes. “You’re not what?”
“Sorry it happened.” Elbows on his knees, he toyed with the bikini top, but kept his attention on her.
“Do you mind?” she asked, eyebrows raised, her tone flustered.
It had been a while since he’d flustered a woman.
“Mind what?” Yes, he was messing with her, but her cheeks had reddened and he suspected it wasn’t from the warm temperature. “A beautiful woman loses a piece of clo
thing, it’s no bother whatsoever.”
His gaze slid down the pretty column of her neck, down to her chest. He knew she couldn’t see his eyes behind his sunglasses, so he didn’t feel the least bit insolent checking her out. Her arms did a nice job of covering her breasts, but didn’t detract in the least from the sexiness of her pose.
She contemplated the ground for a second. “I’d like my top back, please.”
“I don’t know,” he teased. “It could be construed as a deadly weapon.”
“Excuse me?” Her lips parted in charming confusion.
“I think I’ve got a knick right here.” He glanced down and pressed a few fingers to his abdomen.
“Shut up.” By the sound of her voice, she got that he was poking fun. Still, she studied his body—for a little too long.
“Injury aside, there’s also the fact that there’s not a lot of material here.” He examined the strapless top like he hoped to figure out a tough mathematical problem.
“So?” She dropped her chin and looked around her chair. Probably searching for her shirt or cover-up. He appreciated that besides her embarrassment and impatience, she’d taken the situation lightly. The girl had spunk.
“So. Are you trying to cause an accident? Because this could make a guy forget to watch where he’s walking.”
Her attention shot back to him. She gulped, and he got the feeling she didn’t receive many flirtatious compliments. Hell, he didn’t usually give them. Women sought him out. His position as president of field operations for World Heritage Fund, the largest and most influential nonprofit organization dedicated to heritage protection, garnered him plenty of notice. But it was his family and the wealth that came with his name that really had women clamoring to get close to him.
When he had a few moments of free time.
“Umm…”
He smiled. A genuine, feel-good grin he hadn’t had the pleasure of in a long time.
She broke eye contact and bent forward to retrieve a pale yellow T-shirt under her chair, careful to keep one arm firmly locked across her chest. A sketch pad sat underneath where the shirt had been.
Once she had the garment and sat back up, though, Connor could tell she had no idea how to get it on without using two hands. A second later she lifted her bottom and pulled the towel out from under her.Goldilocks paid him no mind as she managed to get the towel underneath one arm, then the other, before letting out a deep sigh. She tossed her shirt into a bright pink bag and finally her sapphire-blue eyes registered on him again.
“Could I have my top back now? I, uh, need to get going.”
“So soon?”
A tiny smile pulled at the corners of her seductive mouth. “I think it’s for the best.”
“I hate to see the best thing to happen to me all day walk away.” This girl intrigued him and he wouldn’t mind spending more time with her.
She laughed, the sound easy on his ears. “That’s nice of you to say, but I’m not here alone.”
Damn. “Boyfriend?” She wasn’t wearing a ring so he didn’t think she had a husband.
“Girlfriend.”
Double damn. “Oh. Well, she’s a lucky girl.” And his luck sucked. Goldilocks equaled the perfect distraction for tonight. Maybe too perfect. His bet with Clay flashed through his mind and the million dollars he had on the line. He gave himself a mental shake. Better for her to leave.
She grabbed her sketch pad and bag and stood, wrapping the towel all the way around herself. “It’s not like that,” she said before smirking. “But it was cute of you to think so.”
He got to his feet, too. “You think I’m cute?”
Goldilocks rolled her eyes. She put out her hand, palm up. Connor really didn’t want to give up the bikini top since it was the only thing keeping her there, but he did. With his elbow at his side, he dangled it in front of his chest.
Pursing her lips, she reached out and snagged it.
“Well, it’s been a pleasure…” He trailed off, hoping she’d fill in her name.
“Charlie,” she said before she took off like a pack of wild dogs were on her ass.
…
Charlie leaned against the elevator wall as the doors slid shut. Her legs were still shaking and her heart was still under attack, the beats pounding in her chest and ears.
That guy, whoever he was, had been too gorgeous. Too charming. Too intimidating. Guys like him didn’t normally notice her.
She pressed the button for the eighteenth floor and took a deep breath.
Somehow, she’d kept her composure while he teased her about her bikini top. How humiliating to fling it at him! Talk about mortifying. He’d stayed cool the entire time, amusement playing in those very fine lips of his. She couldn’t fault him that. The situation was ridiculous. Add it to her long list of mishaps.
Add being half-naked in public to a reputation that lately seemed to focus only on her failings. She needed to go from accident-prone to flawless sophisticate pronto if she had any hope of getting her father to take her more seriously.
Pool guy’s half-nakedness had been quite all right, though. Men didn’t really have abs like that. Or shoulders. Or arms. Or smiles that showed off perfect white teeth and said, Hi, yes I’m beautiful, but I’m friendly too. Only this one did. He was hotness on a stick and no doubt every girl who looked at him wanted a taste. Good thing she hadn’t been able to see his eyes or she might not have been able to walk away. She had a thing for eyes and no doubt his matched the rest of his unbelievable self.
The elevator doors opened, and she headed down the hallway. “Hey, I’m back,” she called out as she entered the hotel room. “Are you feeling any better?”
Charlie and her best friend, Ashley Morgan, had taken a little road trip from California so Ash could do some research on Route 66 in preparation for her big interview for Natural World, the largest online magazine focused on anything and everything outdoors. Charlie wrote for the company, too. Only her pieces were all fluff, never substance.
The owner and publisher, Thomas Beckett, didn’t think she was ready for more. Just like he hadn’t thought her ready to get her ears pierced until she turned thirteen and date until she was seventeen, and…
“Charlize Beckett, where have you been? I think I’m dying.” Ashley lay curled up in a ball on the bed with her hair matted to her forehead and all the color gone from her face.
“I’m so sorry.” Charlie rushed to her side. “I fell asleep. And then… It doesn’t matter. You’re feeling worse?” She put the back of her hand on Ash’s forehead. She hadn’t wanted to go lay out by the pool, but Ashley had insisted, saying it silly for both of them to be cooped up. “You feel warm.”
“I think the chicken I ate last night has zombified and decided it would be fun to tear the lining of my stomach to pieces.”
“We should get you to an emergency room. It could be serious, like your appendix.” Charlie jumped to her feet. She dropped the towel and found some clothes to put on. “Which by the way has nothing to do with your dinner so don’t think you have to stop eating chicken.” Picky didn’t begin to describe how Ash felt about food.
“Why were you topless?”
“I’ll tell you on the way. Come on.” Charlie helped ease Ash into a sitting position. “You can do this, right?”
“As long as you get me to a doctor and not lost, yes.”
“Hey, I’m not that bad at directions. We’ll ask the concierge and be on our way.” She grabbed their bags and waited for her friend to slide her feet into flip-flops.
“You can never even find where you parked.” Ashley clutched her stomach and stepped slowly out the door.
“Well it’s a good thing we valeted the car then.”
Ashley gave a small chuckle. “Yeah. And whatever this illness is, it has to be gone by tomorrow morning. I’ve got to be ready to hit the road at nine.”
Charlie put a hand on Ash’s arm. “You’ll be fine.”
Only she wasn’t. While sitting
in the waiting area of the emergency room Ash’s appendix ruptured. Emergency surgery followed and the doctor wanted to keep her for at least another twenty-four hours to guard against infection.
“You can,” Ashley said in a groggy voice from her hospital bed a couple of hours after surgery.
“I can’t,” Charlie answered, shaking her head. She sat in a vinyl chair next to Ash. She wanted to say she could, but if she messed up, it wouldn’t be just her head. It would be Ashley’s, too.
“This is the opportunity you’ve been waiting for. An assignment like this doesn’t come around very often. Read through my notes and you’ll be good to go.”
“The guy is expecting Ashley Morgan. You’ve written dozens of stories on important people and events. My pieces are on gear and getaways.”
“And they’re most excellent,” Ash said on a yawn.
Charlie glanced at the wall clock. Almost midnight. “Why don’t you just call the guy in the morning, tell him what happened, and join up with him in a couple of days?”
“Or you can meet him, introduce yourself, and write a kick ass story that gets your father’s notice.”
“My dad will be furious.”
“He’ll get over it. Look, I really think this is the only way to handle it. Schedules are tight, and you know how I hate when things start off on the wrong foot. It’s not like you don’t work for Natural World. Just explain the situation and the guy won’t mind one bit.”
“What if he does?”
“He won’t.” Ashley’s eyes drifted shut.
“If I screw up—which you know is a possibility given my track record with things—then I’m putting Natural World’s reputation at risk.” Charlie shook her head even though Ash couldn’t see her. “No, I think this is a bad idea.”
“All you have to do is be a passenger, ask a bunch of questions, take really good notes, and be your naturally wonderful self. We can write the story together if you want.” Ash opened her eyes. “How’s that sound?”
A mixture of excitement and nervous energy raced through Charlie. This was exactly what she wanted, wasn’t it? To prove herself as a journalist and gain greater respect from her father and peers.
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