Winner Takes All by Jacqui Moreau

have to get to work at the crack of dawn. She’d told Reed the proposal would be delivered first thing in the morning, and she intended to make sure it was. Now wasn’t the time to drop the ball, not when her association with Hammond Communications showed signs of prospering.
    And I will finish it, she thought, pushing herself off the couch. She’d had several hours to get over her fascination with Reed and she would not repeat the mistakes of earlier. Time was of the essence, and she wouldn’t waste another second sitting at her desk daydreaming about a man she would never see again. Work was more important, she reminded herself as she unbuttoned her silk blouse. Getting the Hammond account could very well ensure her future at Wyndham’s. Certainly that was more important than an embarrassing schoolgirl crush.
    After brushing her teeth, Eva climbed into bed, set her alarm and closed her eyes. It felt so wonderful to lie down. The emotional roller coaster she had been on ever since meeting Reed had drained her thoroughly, and she was looking forward to five solid hours of sleep. She would have preferred to sleep to her usual seven-thirty, but she wanted to be at her desk typing by then. She would write up her proposal, send it to Coleman Hammond and hope for the best. Maybe Mrs. Hemingway would call to reschedule her appointment. Maybe she wouldn’t. But there was nothing wrong with hoping for the best. At least not as far as innocuous business associations were concerned. But she wouldn’t hope for Reed to call.
    That would be futile and completely useless and a total waste of time. And besides, it would be just plain dumb, and Eva Butler hated being dumb.

CHAPTER THREE
     
    When Cole Reed Hammond stepped off the elevator after lunch with the representative from Wyndham’s, he wasn’t at all surprised to find his efficient admin staring at him with stony eyes. Eva had sized up Mrs. Amelia Hemingway to a T. She was a gatekeeper, and she hated when anyone—even someone he had endorsed—slipped through without her sanction.
    When she wasn’t feeling thwarted or gotten around, Mrs. Hemingway always asked Cole how his meeting went. Now she just looked through him as he approached her desk.
    Cole wasn’t put off. “Mrs. Hemingway, please call my mother and see if she’s available for dinner. Make a reservation at the Four Seasons if she is. Also, tell Philip Knight that I’d like to see him in my office right away.”
    “You have a dinner engagement, sir, with Ms. Wingate for eight,” she reminded him stiffly.
    He had completely forgotten about Lucy. “Cancel it.”
    “Should I reschedule, sir?”
    Cole said nothing for a moment. He didn’t want to reschedule. In recent weeks, spending time with Lucy had become more chore than pleasure. He couldn’t quite pinpoint why. She was beautiful, intelligent, well traveled, and excellent at tennis, but something was missing. Despite her accomplishments—or perhaps because of them—she had started to bore him.
    “Sir, should I reschedule Ms. Wingate?” Mrs. Hemingway asked again.
    As much as Cole wanted to, he couldn’t very well have his assistant break up with the woman he was seeing. “No, leave Ms. Wingate to me. I’ll give her a call.” Because he knew she was still annoyed at him, he looked her mildly in the eye and asked if there was anything else.
    He could tell that she wanted to take him to task for overstepping his authority earlier, but she reined herself in. “No, sir. Nothing else.”
    “I’ll be in my office. Hold all my calls, unless from my mother or Ms. Butler.”
    This last was said to be deliberately provoking, and as he brushed by her desk, he heard his admin mumbling beneath her breath. Cole smiled. He loved when Mrs. Hemingway mumbled. It was so undignified and beneath her, yet she couldn’t seem to help herself.
    He paused with his hand on the doorknob. “Did you say something?”
    She swiveled in her chair. “No, sir.”
    “Are