Tag: Book Hooks

What’s a guy to do? #MFRWHooks

This is a blog hop. Be sure to check the link at the bottom to see posts from other authors!

 One Woman Only by Dee S. KnightBlurb:
As one of a set of triplets, Jonah Goodman has always stood out as the least academic—and the last one to take the world, or commitment, seriously. Thing is, that’s not really who he is. But who can he convince of that? Not his family, who see him as they always have. And maybe not his one love, the sweetheart he left behind in high school but with whom he is now sharing an erotic holiday. Will he get his second chance to prove to Kelly that he is a loving man who wants more than a sensual few days, but a real relationship with the woman he lost once and doesn’t want to lose again? With that chance and Kelly’s love, Jonah knows that a “good man” can become a better man.

Buy link:

Kindle Unlimited

Excerpt:

He lifted his finger to signal the barkeep, who slung a towel over his shoulder and came right down.

“A burger and fries, please.” Jonah had said the words, but in synch with someone else. Someone whose voice was slightly higher and a lot more feminine. He turned his head to the left and met the green gaze of the last person he wanted to see tonight. For an instant, the spit dried in his mouth and his eyes widened as his past slammed headfirst into his present. She was still the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen, and his body responded with an immediate and aching erection.

Then she opened her mouth.

“Oh hell,” Kelly said. “It’s you.”

Irritation struck Jonah right between the eyes at Kelly’s tone if not her words. “Yeah, it’s me.”

“So,” interrupted the barman, “two burgers and fries?” He looked at Jonah. “You paying?”

“Sure,” he said at the same time she said, “No.”

“I don’t mind,” Jonah said.

“No thank you,” Kelly said stiffly. She held out a crisp, new twenty-dollar bill. “Rare as you’ll cook it. Add a bottle of Sam Adams to that, will you? And I’ll be sitting over there in that back booth.”

The guy behind the bar took her money and scribbled on a pad of paper. “Change will come with your beer.” He looked to Jonah. “You?”

“Medium rare on the burger, and I’ll take a refill on my beer.” Standing, he dug out a wrinkled twenty from his front pocket and handed it over. “I’ll be somewhere near that back booth.” The guy nodded and left. Turning, Jonah noticed that Kelly had already gone. She sat as prim as could be, in the back of the dining room, in the booth she’d claimed. A two-top table sat empty next to the booth. Grabbing his beer, he ambled in that direction.

Why in the world, after all the angst he’d suffered knowing he was going to have to see her this weekend, did he now willingly sit near Kelly? He must have some masochist thing going on that he never noticed before. He placed his beer bottle on the table and sat down facing the same direction she faced.

Years ago, she’d worn a lilac fragrance. When the lilacs bloomed each spring since, he’d thought of Kelly. She wore something different now. Jonah was grateful because it provided a break from his memories of her.

“What are you doing? There are any number of other places you could sit, and I wish you would.”

“What was that?” Jonah drawled. “This is a free country and I believe I can sit anywhere I want to. I choose here.”

“Ugh! I thought when we saw each other again you’d be aggravating but I see I underestimated you.” She craned her neck as though looking for another table.

“There’s no place you could move in here right now that I couldn’t find a place close by so let’s just get this initial meeting out of the way and the rest of the weekend will be easier.”

Jonah cast a glance at her and then faced forward again. She didn’t look that much different than when he’d last seen her. How could that be? Same strawberry blonde hair, but cut stylishly short. Her eyes still flashed emerald fire—he’d seen that when she glared at him at the bar. If anything, her shape was more perfect than when they were in high school. Her waist was narrow, her breasts full, and legs that disappeared under her knee-length dress seemed long and curvy. But there was something very different about this Kelly. That glowing, smiling, confident girl he’d fallen in puppy love with and always wondered about had disappeared. In her place sat a woman who looked as though she’d seen a side of the world that had disappointed her.

Protectiveness pushed to the forefront and Jonah wished he could knock her troubles—whatever they were—off her shoulders. One thing remained the same. She still made his heart beat erratically, still had him wishing he could hold her—and do more. He needed to get himself under control if he was going to avoid making a fool of himself.

Quietly she sat, grinding her jaw. Then, her shoulders slumped and she laid her head against the back of the booth as though it was just too heavy to hold up any longer. “Maybe you’re right.”

“Of course I’m right. Here, let’s make this easier.” He stood up and then slid into the booth across from her. All the better to stare into her eyes and study her plump lips that looked so kissable he nearly groaned.

Fire flashed in the emerald depths of her eyes again. “I didn’t invite you to sit with me.”

“Are you sure? Sorry. I thought you did.” The waitress brought their beers and change. Jonah handed her back a five and gave her a broad smile. “Thanks. I’ll have my dinner here, too, okay?”

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There’s magic in the air #MFRWHooks

This is a blog hop. Be sure to check the link at the bottom to see posts from other authors!

Your Desire by Dee S. Knight
Blurb:
Your Desire. A mysterious shop appears in town for one reason: to bring the spice of passion and the thrill of love to one special person. Magic is in more than the item purchased—it’s in the heart of the buyer, often hidden, usually surprising. And after enchantment takes hold? The store fades from sight and memory, only to reappear somewhere else. Maybe in your town….

Buy link:
Kindle Unlimited

MFRW Book HooksExcerpt:
Allison Hayes berated herself for the millionth time as she hurried up the street. Spending her lunch hour shopping wasn’t her greatest desire, but she had little choice.

Why had she agreed to help at the reunion yet again? Hadn’t she been masochistic enough when they’d celebrated being out of high school five years? She’d handled all of the arrangements then. And when the tenth anniversary arrived, hadn’t she accepted the tasks of tracking down everyone in their class, bringing in the entertainment and setting up the welcome dinner?

As the third reunion approached, she’d determined to stay out of it. Yet here she was, sucked in again. At least this time she only had responsibility for handling the welcome table for the mix-and-mingle dinner on Saturday. The opening ceremonies, as it were.

“And I think that will be the extent of my appearances, too,” she mumbled. Why emphasize the chasm that existed between her and her classmates one more time?

The first reunion hadn’t been so bad in that respect. Everyone either had recently graduated from college or was trying to establish their place in the world in some way. She’d felt on equal footing. At the next, she had been among the few who weren’t married, one of only a handful who hadn’t left the Lexington area. This year, she knew she would be almost alone in her single status. Probably a few of her classmates had been divorced and remarried, even, sampling two or three times what she hadn’t known at all. She would feel odd and provincial, still being unmarried and never having left their small hometown.

Walking with purpose down Main Street, she headed for the Belk’s department store. The reunion committee, in its infinite wisdom, had decided to make the introductory party a retro theme.

“So much more fun,” her friend Mary had explained on the phone last week.

“Fun? But I don’t have anything I can wear to a retro party. I’m not even sure what retro clothes are,” Allison had complained.

“Sure you do. Now look, Allison, you must be there. I’m really counting on you. It’ll be fun, you’ll see. Have your hair styled in a flip and find an old bridesmaid’s dress somewhere. Somehow they always look like they’re from the fifties.” With that bit of sage advice she’d hung up to take care of some child-related disaster in the making.

So here Allison was, on her lunch hour and only a few days before the event, trying to find something that filled the requirements. Tugging on the door to Belk’s, she saw the sign posted on the glass: “Closed due to broken pipe. Please visit us again later this week.”

“Great.” Heaving a deep sigh, she wondered where else she could find the kind of dress she needed, in—she glanced at her watch—thirty minutes. Nowhere. She groaned knowing she’d now have to do more shopping than could be handled in a lunch break.

Viewing her reflection in the glass, she noted the lines of fatigue already there, and the week wasn’t over yet. Leaving her plain face starkly exposed, her brown hair was pulled back in a bun, its luster normally hidden under a nurse’s cap. She looked tidy and efficient in the white uniform. But she hurt from the hours on her feet combined with the walk uptown, making her lean to the right in order to take weight off her left leg. The ache added to her weary expression. The last thing she needed was to go shopping.

“Damn!” She hadn’t wanted to go to the reunion in the first place and now she had to rearrange her schedule in order to find a dress she really didn’t want to buy. She turned to trudge back up the street toward the hospital.

Suddenly, a noise caught her attention and she glanced up to find the source, a sign hanging over the sidewalk, squeaking on its hinges. Your Desire, the sign said in fine script. Vintage Clothing. An arrow pointed up the alley where Allison saw another, smaller sign hanging over a doorway. Puzzled, she looked up and down the street. She’d never noticed this sign before. She hadn’t especially noticed this alley, to tell the truth. Vintage Clothing.

“What do I have to lose?” she murmured, dragging herself up the alleyway.

Pushing open the door, she experienced a rush of anticipation, a tingle up her spine. She walked into a store surprisingly different than what she’d expected. From the outside, the storefront appeared tiny. Inside, shelves and racks spaced on each wall extended far into the back, making the shop very deep. She supposed because the windows fronted the alley, the natural light that filled the space seemed filtered, creating a hazy, gauzy ambience.

She stepped farther inside. Background music was loud enough to be heard but not overwhelming. A song by a swing band ended and a Hit Parade ballad by Perry Como began. To her left she saw a Victorian wedding gown hanging on the wall. To her right, a flapper era dress, complete with fringe and sequins. Surely these were reproductions. No one store could have such a wide range of exquisite originals.

“May I help you?”

She started, slapping her hand to her chest. “Oh, I didn’t see you.” The man standing beside her looked like someone she thought she should know. An actor or something. That was it! One of those old actors. What was his name…?

He smiled and she forgot to remember.

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The best laid plans… #MFRWHooks

This is a blog hop. Be sure to check the link at the bottom to see posts from other authors!

Blurb:
Only a Good Man Will Do by Dee S. KnightSeriously ambitious man seeks woman to encourage his goals, support his (hopeful) position as Headmaster of Westover Academy, and be purer than Caesar’s wife. Good luck with that!

Daniel Goodman is a man on a mission. For years he has striven for perfection, fighting for the pinnacle achievement in his world of academia, Headmaster of Westover Academy. Westover, established before the American Revolution, is still one of the most prestigious schools in the country. They accept only boys whose parents fit a certain mold and only those teachers who hold to a stringent set of mores, on and off campus. His brother Jonah considers Daniel a prig. Daniel sees himself as doing his best to serve his students. How much better can he serve them as headmaster? That is what he seeks to find out.

Suddenly, into his cut and dried, strictly black and white life of moral and upright behavior, comes Eve Star, formerly one of Europe’s foremost exotic dancers. Her life is anything but cut and dried, black and white. Bad enough that she’s enrolled her son in Westover Academy under false pretenses. More, she runs the town’s most disreputable bar. Worst, much to Daniel’s dismay, he finds himself drawn to her like a kid to chocolate. Nothing good can come of this attraction. Or can it? He is after all, a good man.

Buy link:
Amazon Kindle Unlimited

MFRW Book Hooks

Excerpt:
Daniel walked into the parlor of the headmaster’s house Saturday afternoon seeking first the food table and second, his friend, Stan Baxter. He spotted them both near the front window.

“You’re late,” Stan said.

“Lots of people wanted to chat.” Parents’ Weekend, when teachers sat in their classrooms to meet their students’ mothers and fathers, meant mandatory tea afterwards for all professionals at the Academy. Board members and parents attended at their own discretion, and the boys—the reason the school existed and they were all there—mostly stayed out of sight and hearing.

“Fortunately for me, a good many parents now have grabbed their progeny and left campus, so I have access to the snacks unimpeded,” Daniel said, examining the finger food on display before making his selections. The challenge was always how to load his plate while appearing to take a socially acceptable portion. “Did I miss anything?”

“Only an angel.” Stan turned toward the window. “Holy Mother! Look at that,” he muttered.

“What?” Daniel asked, fitting a cucumber sandwich beside the smoked salmon-topped cracker on his dessert plate. “Am I missing a table of fare? I swear, every year the offerings at these teas are more meager than the last.”

Stan chuckled and answered in the same low voice, “Is your stomach all you think about? I was talking about another kind of dish. One you can have fun eating in bed, if you catch my drift. And she just slipped out onto the lawn.”

“Is your libido all you think about?” Daniel bit a carrot stick in two and sighed. Only three more hours and he could order a pizza. With all of his charges gone from the dormitory for Parents’ Weekend, he had a rare, private, two-day holiday ahead of him. With the tiny plate full, he joined Stan at the large windows. “Where is this goddess?”

“There. In the red dress and hat.”

Daniel saw nothing but the shapely form of a woman walking away. Slender ankles topped three inch heels. A dress of some kind of lustrous material hit her mid-calf. The style was soft and feminine, and berry red. Not many women showed up at Westover in a color sure to make them the focus of attention. Not that most of them didn’t expect to be the focus—didn’t demand it, in fact—but they usually weren’t so obvious. The breeze at her back molded the material to the curves of her hips and ass, and fluttered the dress’s full sleeves. A wide-brimmed hat hid her hair, but based on what was visible, Daniel easily imagined a long column of neck designed for kissing.

At that moment, a young boy wearing the school uniform and a big grin ran up to the woman. She bent to catch him in her arms. When she straightened, she ruffled the boy’s hair. His expression and his wagging finger showed that he chastised her, but then he laughed and finger-combed the mussed hair back into place. She took his hand and they walked toward the circle where most of the parents parked. Looking up at the woman, the boy’s lips moved the whole while, carrying on a steady monologue.

Something in her actions captured Daniel’s attention. They were artless, performed naturally and with unabashed love. The child fairly skipped beside her and the frequent turns of her head showed she looked at him as though hanging on every word he spoke.

“How wonderful,” Daniel murmured, impressed with her total attention to the boy. “Did you see that?”

“Oh, yeah. I didn’t think her hips would ever stop swaying, and it’s a crime they make hemlines so long.”

Daniel laughed. “You’re such a hedonist.”

“And proud of it. But looks like she’s a student’s mother and off limits for dating. Damn the luck.”

For once, Daniel agreed with his friend. But not just because of the woman’s obvious good figure. More because she seemed to love her son and didn’t care who knew it. He normally kept his distance from flashy women, as this one appeared to be, based on her dress color, but her easy manner with the boy would be enough to make him ignore his own inclination toward the conservative. If she weren’t also a patron of the school. Assuming the gods smiled on him and he became headmaster, he and the woman would be on business terms, and nothing good ever came from mixing business with pleasure. Pleasure is what every male instinct in him screamed she would be.

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Not so cute meet #MFRWHooks

This is a blog hop. Be sure to check the link at the bottom to see posts from other authors!

Only a Good Man Will Do by Dee S. KnightBlurb:
Seriously ambitious man seeks woman to encourage his goals, support his (hopeful) position as Headmaster of Westover Academy, and be purer than Caesar’s wife. Good luck with that!

Daniel Goodman is a man on a mission. He aims to become headmaster of Westover Academy. For that he needs a particular, special woman to help him set high standards. Into his cut and dried life of moral and upright behavior, comes Eve Star, formerly one of Europe’s foremost exotic dancers. Her life is anything but cut and dried, black and white. Daniel is drawn to her like a kid to chocolate. Nothing good can come of this attraction. Or can it? He is after all, a good man.

Buy link:
Amazon Kindle Unlimited

MFRW Book HooksExcerpt:
“Michael is upstairs.” She pushed open the screen door and held it for them, giving Daniel his first clear view of her.

He knew right away that one look wouldn’t be nearly enough. She was gorgeous. Her casual stance and even more casual Levis and long-sleeved tee shirt showed she wasn’t working to impress. White sneakers covered her feet below the faded jeans.

At least five feet ten inches tall, she was also slender. Chestnut colored hair wildly cascaded over her shoulders and her eyes were the shade of melted chocolate. He’d been so wrong earlier. If the woman had one bit of makeup on, he’d gnaw on Jeffrey’s lacrosse stick. And yet, her eyes stood out like beacons in her face. He didn’t dare let his gaze linger on her breasts or hips for fear of forgetting why he was there. There was nothing was more appealing in a woman than natural good looks, or less appealing in a man than ogling.

“You should be in bed,” she said to Jeffrey then cast a glare at Daniel as though he was negligent for bringing the child out into the night. Which, of course, he was.

He’d noticed her voice on the phone, and now the low warmth of it washed over him again. Good God. If he closed his eyes and listened to this woman talk he’d have a hard-on in no time.

Better not close his eyes.

“He was in bed until I received a call from you. I want to see Michael.”

“Follow me.” She let them enter the vestibule, then closed the door and locked it. Another closed door faced them and stairs rose to their right. That’s where she led Daniel and Torrington.

It was then, even with Jeffrey on the steps between them, that Daniel noticed the curve of her ass and the sway of her hips with each step.

Well, damn! Daniel was following the Lady in Red!

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Men (and women) in uniform #MFRWHooks

Naval Maneuvers by Dee S. KnightBlurb from Naval Maneuvers:
Men and women of the armed forces experience lust and love pretty much like everyone else. Except, well, there is that uniform. And the hard-to-resist attraction of “duty, honor, service” as a man might apply them to a woman’s pleasure. All things considered, romance among the military is a pretty sexy, compelling force for which you’d better be armed, whether Weighing Anchor and moving forward into desire, Dropping Anchor and staying put for passion, or setting a course for renewed love with Anchor Home. Explore the world of love and the military and see just how hot Naval Maneuvers can be.

Book Hooks MFRW

Buy link: Amazon KU

Excerpt:
Naval Maneuvers by Dee S. KnightShe cleared her throat. Finally concentrating on the map he held she asked, “Where are we again?” Jeez. The thing had to have every trail in the area on it. Even with this map, she’d be just as lost.

He studied the paper for a few seconds and then folded it so he could use one hand to hold it. With the other he pointed. “We’re here. I’d say if you head back west about a mile and then turn north you’ll run right into the campground.” Sure enough, right under his finger was a mark for Paradise Valley Campground. “About four miles should do it.”

“Four miles?”

“Done in?” He smiled and in the dappled sunlight his eyes twinkled and his straight teeth seemed blindingly white. He was good looking enough to be a model. An underwear model. Yeah, her mind’s eye pictured him in only underwear. She licked her lips.

Unfortunately, in her current state—more hair pulled loose from her ponytail than still in it, Redskins ball cap half on, half off, scratches on her arms and legs, and probably smears of grime from where she’d wiped sweat off her face—she must look more like a reject from Deliverance.

“I’ve been out since about ten and I’m not used to these mountains. I usually do my running on flat ground.”

“Did you have plenty of water with you and something to eat?”

“Water, yes. But only a cup of trail mix.”

He raised his brows until the right brow disappeared under the shock of hair on his forehead. “Where do you normally run?”

“Around D.C.”

“Ah. Where there’s a coffee shop every few blocks.”

Just because she was lost was no friggin’ cause for him to patronize her. “I normally run ten to fifteen miles a day with nary a coffee break. This is just my first time here, and I’m not quite used to the ups and downs.”

“They do call them ‘mountains.'”

And they do call them assholes. Shocks of sexual electricity and hyper-attraction did not excuse a man from being a dick. “You’re right. So right. Thanks for the help. I’ll be on my way now.” After consulting her compass once more she started west, the thought of four miles draining what was left of her energy. But she could do it. Four miles was nothing. Nothing. She did more than that every day of the week.

A branch knocked the cap off her head just as a vine caught her leg and she fell, sliding on her butt into a shallow ravine. Her hair clung to her neck and face. She pulled strands out of her mouth, off her forehead and back behind her ears. When had she last been this hot, sweaty, and just plain exhausted? Maintains one, Carie zero.

Leaves rustled behind her and over her head. “You can make the four miles,” he called down to her. “I don’t have any doubts about it. Or you can walk half a mile to the road and I’ll drive you.”

Half a mile? There’s a friggin’ road half a mile away? Why didn’t he point that out on his little Boy Scout map?

Sighing, she dragged herself to her feet and started up the five yards of hillside that looked more like a mountain. When she was close to the top, he extended his hand. She took it and another spark sizzled up her arm, across her shoulder, and zipped south. Good God! He was like a sexual magnetic pole. If she pointed her compass at him, the needle would snap right to S-E-X.

Naval Maneuvers by Dee S. KNight

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You never forget your first #MFRWHooks

Impatient Passion was my first book, published in 2003 on Valentine’s Day. I had no idea what I was doing–I was just trying to “write a book.” I did it in a month, sent it to Liquid Silver Books (in the process of folding now, sadly), and they accepted it. I was bitten by the writing bug, for better or worse! 🙂

This is a blog hop. Click the link at the bottom and see what other authors are posting!

IMpatient Passion by Dee S. Knight

Blurb:

Austin D. Gardner, an award winning web designer in San Francisco, has just faced the fact that she is going to turn thirty-five years old on Saturday and her life is nowhere near what she dreamed it would be. She needs to make big changes.

On the crowded bus trip home, Austin is pushed into a man. Instead of trying to move away, he pulls her to him. Austin is shocked at first, but then lets fate take her by the hand. An anonymous adventure on a crowded bus might be a safe way to break out of the dull life she is living.

Tyler Birch spent years waiting for Austin to give some indication she would welcome getting to know him better, but time is up. He decided Monday to stop being passive. That afternoon he finds himself pressed against her on the crowded bus trip home. Not one to turn down an opportunity when he’s presented with one, Tyler accepts the chance to mount a two-pronged plan of attack. One as the anonymous stranger who can set Austin  fire with his touch, and the other as Tyler Birch who can touch her soul.

MFRW Book Hooks

Excerpt:

In the years Austin had worked for Bay Web, her contact with Tyler had been limited, just the way she liked it. She glanced at him and found he was looking at her.

“You look as though you’re having a conversation with yourself. Want to tell me what about?” The look he gave Austin was open, friendly.

“No.”

He grimaced at her terse response. “Fair enough.” Tyler got up and closed the door, which worried Austin. She had never been alone in a closed room with any of the staff there. Even Henry, when he was arguing with her over designs, left the door open. What was this about?

“Ms. Gardner, or Austin, if I may call you that?” She nodded, and he gave a half smile. “Austin, you’ve been working on the Ron Morris project haven’t you? How do you think it’s coming?”

“I’ll have it ready for Henry to look at by end of day Wednesday. That should give him plenty of time to familiarize himself before Friday’s presentation. Is there a problem?”

“No. How do you feel the work is going? I guess what I mean is, how do you feel about what you’ve done?”

“Good. I think I’ve captured what Mr. Morris wants, and I think he’ll be happy with the results. Why? What’s going on? I’ve given Henry the preliminary drafts.”

“Yes, and he showed them to us at the executive meeting this morning.” He stopped and regarded her with a frank expression. “I’ll get right to the point. Austin, I want you to handle the presentation on Friday. Can you do it?” Tyler leaned back in his chair, crossed his legs and tapped his fingertips together, forming a steeple with his hands.

Austin was stunned. Presenting her own work to the client was not something she had ever done. In fact, not being able to do so had irritated her more than once, because she felt Henry might not have given her work the pitch he should have. She knew that part of being a backbench employee was being behind the camera, so to speak, not up where the client action was.

However, this account was really important to her, and she had hated the thought of turning it over to Henry, especially since he hadn’t shown much enthusiasm for her ideas. He wanted flash and lots of action on the screen instead of her more unadventurous, calm design. She quickly made up her mind. She looked up to see Tyler staring at her, quietly waiting for her response. “Yes, I can do it.”

“Good. I hoped you would say that. I liked your prelims and I think you can best explain them to Morris.”

“My only concern is Henry. This won’t go over too well with him.”

“Let me worry about that. Now,” he said as he uncrossed his legs and leaned forward. He rested his elbows on the desk and looked at her intently. “I hope you won’t take this the wrong way. I know we’re a very casual company-this is California, after all, and what’s California if not casual? But for this level of client dealing, I like the staff to be a bit more formal. No offense, but you look like the college kids out there.” He waved vaguely toward the cubicle area. “I’d like you to represent the adult side of the firm on Friday. Will you come in to work dressed a little more formally and with a different hair style?”

Austin bristled, and Tyler could obviously tell. “Now, don’t go getting all huffy. This isn’t anything I wouldn’t ask of a man if he normally came in every day dressed for the beach.” Austin opened her mouth and he held up his hand. “Which you don’t. That’s not what I meant.”

“If you don’t mind my asking, what exactly is wrong with how I look?”
Tyler stood and walked around his desk. He took her hands in his and forced her to stand. Austin was struck speechless as he casually appraised her, front and back, then motioned for her to sit again and went back to his chair. He leaned back and looked at her, still saying nothing.

Tyler sat quietly because, truth be told, he couldn’t speak quite yet. He thought Austin was beautiful. Had thought so since she started working there, but had been very careful never to reveal his thoughts. She had gorgeous blonde hair that she kept in a horrid braid. If it was loose, falling over him… He cleared his throat and forced his mind off of that track.
“With how you look? Nothing. With how you dress? Plenty. Bagginess is fine for sitting in a cubicle in front of a computer screen, but not for client presentations.” Tyler saw Austin tense and a flush spread up her neck and across her face, but he continued. “You have very nice hair, but this is a San Francisco business, not Little House on the Prairie. Something a little more suitable to your age and responsibility would be good.”

Austin caught her breath, and Tyler saw her eyes sparkle with tears. Fortunately, they didn’t fall, but he immediately softened his tone. Leaning forward, he said a little more gently, “You have beautiful skin and you’re one of the few women I know who doesn’t need makeup. Your eyes are amazing, even behind those gosh awful glasses you wear to see the computer screen. But tennis shoes don’t go with the image I have of the corporation, Austin.”

He looked at her steadily, and saw that she had control of her emotions. No tears for her, he thought. She’s pretty brave to sit through this and not lose it. He tempered his criticism with the next statements. “You’re a valuable employee. Your work is excellent and has brought the company recognition. I take you seriously, and I want others to take you seriously too.” He could see that his last words had an effect on her.

He lowered his head slightly and regarded her through his lashes. “I don’t mean to be harsh. For here at the office your regular dress is okay. If it’s a problem making a few changes for Friday, I understand. But I really wanted you to handle the presentation.”

There it was. The challenge. Would she give in to his request or give up control of her work? “I’ll do it,” she said in a low voice. “Is that all?”

Buy link: Amazon

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