The Devil of Downtown (Uptown Girls, #3)

by Joanna Shupe

“I will speak with a man named Mr. Keller. He handles these things.” “I just came from meeting him.” He tried not to appear as surprised as he felt. “You met with Keller?” Her throat worked as she swallowed. “He told me no. That I’d be taking a job away from a man who needed to support his family. He was . . .” “He was, what?” Fury tightened the angles of her face, her mouth hard and angry. “Condescending and awful. And so very smug.” Keller was most definitely all those things. She added, “He said to pass on his regards to you.” Interesting. That meant his association with Justine hadn’t gone unnoticed by the Tammany boys. Though why they cared Jack couldn’t say. One thing he did know was that Keller would answer for upsetting this glorious creature. His do-gooder. “Is this what you really want?” “Yes.” “Then consider it done.” Her mouth worked but no sound emerged. Finally, she said, “J-just like that? Don’t you need to speak to Keller first?” “Do you honestly think he’ll refuse me?” “No.” Her lips twisted as she gave him a playful smirk. “Is this where you tell me I should have come to you first?” Reaching over, he helped her out of the chair. Though they were close, he didn’t move away. Instead, he ran the pad of his thumb over the smooth skin of her throat. “I won’t deny that I like when you need my help, but I hate dwelling in the past. You did what you thought was right in the moment.”