Naked Attraction. Jule McBride
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concerns what you see in your immediate future.”
She smiled, thinking the phrase sounded catchy, and making a mental note of it. “The future of Future Trends?” Before he could respond, she continued. “Funny you should ask. I am about to do something totally unprecedented in the history of the polling industry.”
Derrick took the bait, leaning forward. “And you’re going to let me announce this in my article?”
Astute fellow. “Of course.” She flashed a smile. “I’m going to put my money where my mouth is.”
“How?”
She glanced toward the front room. “As you’ve made clear, you’re no stranger to the necessity of passion. And ever since Angelina and Antonio became engaged, I’ve been inspired…”
Now Derrick was beginning to look a little confused.
“By using my polling skills and talents with statistical analysis,” she said, “I’m going to find a mate.”
Derrick chuckled. “You’re kidding, right?”
Slowly, she shook her head. “As you know, today’s marketing strategies include tricks unimaginable a generation ago. Today, there are databases chock-full of information about everyone. With nothing more than my computer, I can access a world of data about you—where you go, what you earn, where you shop, what you buy, what you do for entertainment, who you know, what you read…”
“I get the point.”
She laughed softly. “Scary thought, isn’t it?”
“If misused.”
“Well,” she assured him, “I’m in the process of putting my data gathering and analytical skills together to demonstrate why everyone should use Future Trends. After this, everyone will understand that we can make any correct prediction, right down to what you’re going to have for dinner tonight.”
“You’re already blowing people out of the water.”
“Maybe. But this will be spectacular. Within two weeks, I expect to finish crunching my numbers. In addition to available data, I’ve requested focus groups and questionnaires, the results to which Angelina is entering into our private database now. And from all the existing information in the country, I expect to find the man with whom I would be the most compatible.”
“Of course you intend to meet him before you marry him?” Derrick teased, looking incredulous.
“I would not have to,” Ellie assured him. “That’s how much I stand behind my methods, but…” Pausing, she shrugged gamely. “I can’t expect anyone else to play by my rules, and so…”
“So?”
“The announcement will be made next week.”
“And what do you expect to come from this?”
She flashed him a grin. “Besides publicity from you for Future Trends? Mr. Mills, I’m not sure you appreciate the full gravity of what I’m saying. This man will be The One. I will be able to do anything with him…and everything. I can bed him, wed him. Make mad, passionate love. He will be my alter ego and very best friend. That’s what I’m looking for, and—”
“My, my,” her interviewer interjected. “This is interesting, indeed. Other papers may want to follow this, watch the story unfold.”
It was what she’d been hoping for. If things went smoothly, she could actually make a mint in new business, and garner the resources for taking over Lee Polls, if she chose to do so. She took a deep breath. “Let me just finish by saying that I know two things. First, and I speak as a statistician.”
“To say?”
“The numbers never lie.”
“And…”
“Second, as a woman, I’d say…”
He leaned even closer. “Yes?”
“I always get my man.”
He would be better than Robby Robriquet in every way. Sexier. Smarter. Richer. Hotter in bed. And the only remaining question was his identity.
Chapter Three
DADDY EDDIE WOULD pick this booth, Robby thought, sighing as he finished off his burger. As he pushed aside his plate, he stared down to where, years ago, he’d carved his and Ellie’s initials into the wood of the table, a practice the proprietor of the Night Rider, Clancy O’Dell, had long encouraged. Blinking, Robby glanced away, adjusting his eyes to the dim interior, the long, ornate bar and mirror, pool table and jukebox.
He paused to survey a photograph signed by his best friend, J. D. Johnson, who was depicted playing his guitar. Ever since he’d become famous as a country-western singer, J.D.’s picture had graced the walls of all the local eateries and businesses, and Robby felt a surge of pride regarding his friend, not to mention relief, since their relationship had gotten back on an even keel. In fact, since J.D. and his wife, Susannah, had reunited, J.D. had come to the Night Rider on weekend nights to play for the locals.
Robby’s gaze returned to Daddy Eddie, and he wished it hadn’t. Some days, it was damn hard to look at the man, since Ellie was his spitting image. Every glance at the man made him think of Ellie. Just like his daughter, he looked as if he’d recently stepped off the boat from merry ole Ireland. He had the same wavy dark hair that was nearly black in most light, and the same pale, pink-toned skin and blue eyes. The only difference was that Daddy Eddie spent more time in the sun and was covered with freckles. Daddy Eddie’s lips were thin and usually pursed, too, while Ellie had been lucky in getting her mama’s mouth; she had luscious bee-stung lips she always glossed in pink. Otherwise, she was her father’s child, all right, in both looks and temperament.
“The future of Future Trends,” spat out Daddy Eddie, his voice exposing a competitive edge as he removed a plaid cap and placed it on the scarred, rough-hewn wood table. Leaning back, he sipped a frothy head off a lager as he continued to study the newspaper article about Ellie.
“‘It’s easy to see why so many clients have followed Ms. Lee from her father’s company. Poised and bristling with intelligence, Ms. Lee is one of those women who has it all. Brains, looks, ambition and a fearless go-getter attitude…’”
Daddy Eddie’s voice trailed off as he continued reading, mouthing the words. “Has it all,” he muttered, his blue eyes, so like Ellie’s, skewering Robby’s. “That girl doesn’t have jack. She’s running an office out of an apartment, for God’s sake, and in that degenerate hellhole that some people call New York City. Why, I could have gone there, myself, years ago. But no. I stayed right here in Banner, Mississippi, hiring local people and taking care of my own community.”
“You’re the biggest employer in the area,” Robby agreed, feeling compelled to acknowledge Daddy Eddie’s accomplishment. At a time when so many businesses had closed shop in the area, the contribution was even more valued.
“That’s right,” Daddy Eddie fumed. “I never outsourced, and I never laid off anyone, not even when times were at their toughest and the payroll was hard to meet. My grandpa somehow kept on everybody during the Great Depression. But Ellie? She’s run off to the big city now. She’d doesn’t give a rat’s behind about heritage. And she’s scarcely even had a boyfriend, which is downright pathetic at her age. Why, even if she found a man fool enough to date her, she can’t so much as boil an egg. Face it, my little girl is ruined.”
Pausing, Daddy Eddie shook his head. “You should have seen what happened the last time her mama asked her to help with a pot roast. A simple pot roast! Let me tell you, we had TV dinners that night! And she nearly burnt them to a crisp.”
“Cooking isn’t her strong point,” Robby couldn’t help but concur. If the truth be told, Ellie wasn’t any better at takeout. During their