Sweet On You - By Kate Perry Page 0,35

you do, and what you do is baking. You don't know the first thing about running a charity. For instance, how are you fundraising?"

"I'm not." She lifted her chin defiantly, even though he wasn't there to see it. "I have plenty of money on my own."

"See? That's what I'm talking about. That's just foolish." He paused and took a deep breath, as though trying to calm himself. "Listen to me, Daniela, starting a soup kitchen is the last thing you should be doing. You just don't have the skills."

She hung up, feeling her blood boiling in her veins. She began to pace, but it didn't help so she picked up a vase from the mantle and heaved it across the room. It hit the wall and shattered into a shower of tiny shards.

Marley rushed into the living room, out of breath and looking uncharacteristically disheveled. "What happened?"

"It slipped." Daniela shrugged. "At least it was empty."

"Hmm." Her assistant frowned at the mess on the floor. "I hope it's not me you're angry at."

"No, and I'm no longer angry at anyone." She flashed a grim smile. "I just needed to express."

Marley watched her cautiously. "Have you expressed it all out of your system, or do I need to be prepared to duck?"

"It's always good to be prepared." She tossed her hair over her shoulder and went to do that herself. She'd show Tony. She'd show everyone. She could accomplish anything she set her mind to doing—and that included outbidding a real estate mogul.

Chapter Seventeen

Her cell phone rang.

Marley didn't have to look at the screen to know who it was. Tony had been calling her almost nonstop the past day and a half.

Well, nonstop might have been an exaggeration. However, he had called more often than usual, as if sensing her failure in getting Daniela to accept the Food Network deal.

She hadn't told him yet, and she wasn't looking forward to it.

She winced as her phone trilled the Mission: Impossible theme that was his ringtone. The longer she delayed the inevitable, the angrier he'd be, so she bit the bullet and answered. "Hi, Tony."

"What's this business with Daniela buying a soup kitchen?" he asked without preamble.

"Soup kitchen? I have no idea what you're talking about," she said truthfully. "I thought you were calling about her refusing to do the Food Network show."

"I'm very disappointed, Marley. I expected better results from you."

It hit her right in the middle of her chest. Instantly, she was a four year old again, being scolded for spilling her milk, or forgetting to pick up her toys, or one of the other list of things that used to drive her mom crazy.

But she wasn't four years old anymore, she reminded herself. She had a voice, and she knew how to use it. "I've been trying to encourage Daniela to accept the gig, but she's been distracted with the guy she's been seeing—"

"What?" Tony roared.

Oh no. Damn it. She squeezed her eyes shut. Why did she blurt that out? She hadn't meant to. She tried to backtrack. "I mean, I don't know that she's seeing anyone. I just assumed since she was going out a lot..."

Marley clamped a hand over her mouth. She wasn't helping the situation.

"She hasn't said anything to me about dating anyone. Only about buying some building to open a soup kitchen."

That was what all the secret calculations and plotting were about. She nodded. Interesting idea. Completely crazy, since Daniela's organizational skills didn't extend beyond the kitchen, but interesting nonetheless.

"Who is he?" Tony barked. "What does he do? Have you had him checked out?"

She winced, thinking about how angry Daniela was going to be when she found out she'd spilled the beans to Tony.

Would it annoy her or please her to have someone quiz her about Brian? It seemed like it'd be nice to have someone care so much that he interrogated her about the guy she was dating. Not that she was dating Brian. Not really, anyway.

"Marley," Tony snapped. "You're not listening."

"I didn't realize you were finished talking." She slapped a hand over her mouth, horrified that she let that slip. "Sorry, Tony. I didn't mean that exactly."

"Exactly? What the hell is going on out there? You don't sound like yourself either. Are you dating someone, too?"

He said it like it was inconceivable, so she defiantly said, "Yes, I am."

There was stunned silence—on both ends of the line.

She lifted her chin and doubled down. "Brian Benedict is great. Successful, handsome, and funny. And we have great