Free Exposing the Billionaire (Corporate Affairs, Book #1) by Andi Alexander

Chapter 1
    K ate Kaufmann listened to her editor’s nasally voice come through over the phone. She swiveled impatiently, sitting at her desk in the small studio apartment she called home. He was running his mouth, as per usual, reminding her that she had one month to get this job done.
    “I don’t wanna hear anything about extensions either,” Peterson warned her. “If you can’t get this scoop, you’re out. After that fiasco with the Jamison Corporation, you’re lucky I’m willing to stick my neck out for you at all.”
    Irritation made her head pound. “The facts were good on that one,” she argued for the hundredth time. “If my chickenshit source hadn’t been bought at the last second that would have been the story of a lifetime.”
    Peterson huffed into the phone. “Well, he did. And that retraction cost us big time.”
    “That won’t happen again. I’ve got an in this time. No source, just direct facts. I’ll expose the Blaine Corporation; you’ll get your story and I’ll get my Pulitzer.”
    “What’s your in?” Peterson asked gruffly.
    Kate smiled, feeling confident despite the pressure he was putting on her. “I’ve got a job as his personal assistant.”
    Surprise coated her editor’s voice when he asked, “How the hell did you manage that?”
    “I’ve got my connections,” she replied vaguely.
    “Yeah, well, just make sure they don’t screw us this time.”
    There was a click and the phone went dead. Now that she wasn’t arguing with her boss over whether or not this story would be the end of her career, some of her confidence faded. Kate was a good reporter. She knew how to write, how to wheedle information out of people, while simultaneously earning their trust.
    No one could argue with her results, until that damn Jamison exposé. Though she had been right and her writing had been top notch, her source who had been a disgruntled worker within the company suddenly denied everything he had told her.
    She didn’t have to ask what had happened. It didn’t surprise her in the least that he had been bought off with a rather sizeable paycheck. She wanted to push the matter and further expose the company by accusing them of bribery to boot, but the paper wouldn’t do it. They had taken a hit for her article and the company had insisted on a retraction. With no hard evidence now that the source was denying everything, they were left without a leg to stand on. And Kate was left in the doghouse.
    Peterson was right about one thing: her job was on the line with this one.
    * * *
    H er day at work started at seven-thirty. A woman named Clarice Adams was showing her around the building and giving her the lowdown on what she would be doing for Mr. Blaine as his personal assistant. Kate wondered if she would have to deal with harassment or something along those lines. She was a fairly good looking woman and it wouldn’t be the first time it had happened.
    Part of her hoped he would make a move on her. A sleazy scumbag would be a nice addition to her exposé.
    She decided to see if Ms. Adams had had any run ins. The woman was beautiful, with blonde hair pulled into a ponytail that went down the middle of her back stopping just before her hips, which were slimmer than Kate’s, but went well with the woman’s tiny waist. If Mr. Blaine liked chasing tail, then it would be impossible not to go after this woman.
    “How long have you worked here, Ms. Adams?” Kate asked, attempting to sound conversational.
    The woman glanced over, her brown eyes making Kate think that the woman wasn’t a natural blonde.  “About five years now,” she replied in that crisp voice of hers. She wasn’t rude, but she wasn’t exactly exuding friendliness either. “I’ve worked for Mr. Blaine since my internship in college.”
    Yep. That sounded about right, fitting the sharp woman to a t.
    “So you must really like it here to have stayed this long,” Kate prompted.
    The woman stopped outside of a