The Tycoon's Blackmailed Mistress - Maxine Sullivan Page 0,8

had been his responsibility, but he’d decided years ago he’d never put any woman’s life at risk with a pregnancy.

So why couldn’t he get this one woman out of his mind, especially since he hadn’t taken her to his bed?

Or perhaps it was because of that?

Yet she was only one woman. There were plenty of others to choose from. But those women would only have been a poor substitute for a sexy sorceress…a witch…but a cheat, he reminded himself.

He had to stop thinking about a certain long-legged, blue-eyed blonde stripped naked and in bed….

His bed…

He wasn’t surprised the following week after returning from a business lunch with the Lord Mayor when his personal assistant followed him into his office, an angry look on her middle-aged face. Connie rarely lost her cool. It was one of the things he appreciated about her. She kept calm under the most trying of circumstances.

Usually.

“This was delivered downstairs at reception,” she said tightly, slapping an envelope down on the desk in front of him. “It’s for you.”

He leaned back in his chair, his eyes narrowing, not sure what it was about. “And?”

A disapproving motherly look puckered her lips. “It’s from Mrs. Ford.”

“Danielle?” he said, tensing, and caught the suddenly watchful look in his assistant’s eyes at his slip of the tongue.

“Yes.”

He wondered what Danielle was up to now, even as mild surprise at Connie’s reaction filled him. “You didn’t like her?”

A soft look filled her eyes. “Of course I liked her, Flynn. She’s lovely. So well-mannered.” Then her expression tightened again as she shot him daggers. “You had better read the letter, that’s all I’m saying.”

Hiding his wariness, he merely inclined his head. “Thank you, Connie. Just leave it there.”

She looked as if she was going to say more, but then obviously knowing how far not to push him, she left the room, closing the door behind her.

For a moment Flynn just sat there, marshaling his thoughts. He stared at the open white envelope. His name had been written on it in a soft style that bespoke of femininity and charm. The uppercase initials of F and D fashioned with little curls tugged on something inside him, as if it were an echo of her voice wanting him.

God, he could still hear the throaty sound of her voice back in her kitchen when he’d been administering to her injuries.

Didn’t this woman know when to give up?

Never one to shirk anything unpleasant, he seized the envelope and pulled out the folded piece of paper inside. He began to read.

Dear Mr. Donovan,

Please find enclosed a check for one hundred dollars as first payment on the outstanding loan of two hundred thousand dollars that my late husband and I owe your company. I apologize if this is unacceptable, however due to my pregnancy I am unable to take a second job at this stage. Please take this as official notice that I will repay the loan as soon as I can.

Yours sincerely,

Danielle Ford.

Flynn threw the letter on his desk, his lips twisting at the word sincerely. No wonder Connie had been upset with him. Danielle’s words might have been businesslike in tone but it made him sound like an ogre who was insisting on his money, come hell or high water.

Obviously this was the way she worked. And now the pregnancy angle had added a whole new avenue to her manipulation skills. She’d certainly hit the jackpot with that one.

As for her “supposed” job, it was probably some sort of volunteer work she did once a month at the hospital. Something that made her look respectable without getting her pretty little hands dirty, he decided, tearing up the check and dropping the pieces in the wastepaper basket.

No doubt once he ignored this, they wouldn’t be hearing from her again. Her little ploy for sympathy would soon die a natural death once she realized he wasn’t about to come running with a magic wand in one hand and an unlimited checkbook in the other.

Then the same thing happened the following week. A check arrived, but without a letter this time.

“Another check,” Connie said tightly, slapping the envelope down in front of him, as if everything were his fault. She smacked another piece of paper on top of it and blurted, “And here’s my resignation.”

His head snapped up. “Your what?” He didn’t wait for her to answer. “What the—Why?”

She straightened her slim shoulders, color coming into her cheeks. “I’m afraid I can’t work for you anymore, Flynn. Not like this.”

He