Copyright © 2010 Shadonna Richards
All rights reserved; no part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead is entirely coincidental.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thank you, God for all my blessings. To my wonderful family and friends for your endless support.
And to JP, the best editor ever!
THE BRIDE SERIES
An Unexpected Bride
The Jilted Bride
The Matchmaker Bride
His Island Bride
An Unexpected Baby (The Sequel to an Unexpected Bride)
The Bride Series (5 Bestselling Novels in 1 Volume)
ACCIDENTALLY FLIRTING WITH THE CEO (Romantic Comedy)
What happens when a seductive e-mail goes to the wrong recipient—your boss?
If Jess Tandon were any hotter, he’d be a fire hazard! The sexy, arrogant president of TLC Advertising is more than just delicious eye-candy. He’s caught the eyes and heart of his normally-play it safe executive assistant, Alexa Worthington.
Too bad the only sex Alexa is having is safe text. She’s only just gotten over tragic heartbreak in her life, but she wants to move on now. She takes a romance writing class for therapy and creates a sizzling fantasy love scene starring her boss, Jess, and herself. When she e-mails it to a friend to critique, it ends up going to the wrong recipient—to Jess himself. Is this a disaster waiting to happen—or the beginning of something too hot to handle?
1
Alexa Worthington’s heart began to beat erratically as she sat up on her bed glaring at the screen of her laptop computer. The display read ‘sending message’ then the confirmation screen popped up. Something was not right. She just sensed it. A green tick appeared on the screen followed by ‘Message Sent.’ She glanced further down the screen and there it was:
Recipients
Jess Tandon
She continued to look at the screen but didn’t think too much of it at the time. Then it struck her hard like a bucking bull at a rodeo.
“Crap!”
Alexa felt as if she were going to have a cardiac arrest.
“Lex? What’s up? What’s wrong? Did you send the e-mail to me?” Her friend Jessica Macy Brown, who went by the name Macy, queried as her voice boomed through Alexa’s speaker phone.
Alexa’s entire body went cold.
Did she send the email?
Oh, yeah! Her salacious e-mail assignment to her critique partner got sent all right. To the wrong recipient!
Alexa had stayed up late that night working hard on creating a sizzling love scene for her online romance writing course—the assignment was due the next day. Heck, Macy and she had enrolled joking that maybe one day they could become published novelists and maybe even quit their day job—if they were lucky.
The trouble was, she named her character after her sexy, arrogant boss Jesse ‘Jess’ Tandon, CEO of TLC Advertising as her leading man—the hero of the story. Heck, a woman could fantasize couldn’t she?
The online workshop was more or less therapy for her. It had been two and a half years now since Eric, her serious boyfriend of one year, died overseas in the Middle East while serving in the Armed Forces. It took her two years to finally deal with the tortuous pain of her loss.
Now she was ready to move on filling the empty void in her heart and her soul. Macy had encouraged her and told her that taking the romance writing course would be a fun way to dream, release her tension and believe in happily-ever-after again. She really needed to focus on the beautiful aspect in the world for a change. Something she thought she would never ever be able to do again.
She glared over her notes that were spread out over her bed. It was already late at night and she would have work in the morning. Her stomach tightened in knots when she read over her own words.
Jess Tandon is hot. If he were any hotter he’d be a fire hazard!…I’m addicted to his firm flesh, the spicy scent of his aftershave and his dark sexy eyes framed with the longest lashes I’ve ever seen on a man. The delicious feel of his smooth skin on mine…. I crave his taste… his hardness thrusting inside my walls of desire….His muscular, well-defined body holding me, bringing me to the brink of ecstasy…. His soft lips brushing mine…
Alexa squeezed her eyes shut and held her head in her hands sensing a migraine coming on. A feeling of horror washed right through her. She couldn’t even go further reading what she had just written—words that were never meant for Jess to read. After all, it was a private in-class assignment. Oh, why did she have to name the character after her sexy boss?
“Oh.My.God.”
“What?” Macy’s voice was impatient now.
The recipient should have read Jessica Macy Brown, not Jess Tandon.
How the hell did she make that happen?
“I’m screwed. I’m so dead.”
“What is it?”
Alexa got up from the bed and paced frantically. The screen was still on the e-mail confirmation waiting for her to hit the ‘Okay’ button.
No. It’s not okay!
Her life. Her career. Everything she’d worked for flashed through her mind. One by one, her dreams toppled like her grandfather’s antique toy soldiers.
Her thoughts whipped around frantically in her mind. Then like a merry-go-round it stopped at one memory she had of Jess at TLC Advertising.
It was a serious meeting with the company’s lawyers. Jess had been slapped with a sexual harassment suit that was deemed later to be fabricated by a disgruntled ex-female employee. Then the company’s accountant and part owner. The L in TLC. His ever so stoic, old-fashioned older half-sister, who could practically be his mother, Lee Leon warned all employees about sexual harassment in the office and inappropriate conduct. She fired two employees on the grounds of misconduct for sending inappropriate e-mails to each other as per violation of the company’s bylaws.
And Jess became totally distant after that time. His personality hardened somewhat and though he kept his courtesy, he eyed his employees especially the females with suspicion almost every time. Who could blame him after what happened?
He could be charming and command respect one minute and icy cold the next. He was one person you just didn’t want to tick off in the office. No one was stupid enough to cross his path after that. Word got out that the employee in question who admitted that she faked the whole scenario got blacklisted everywhere. Jess was a well-connected man who didn’t take too kindly to his name being dragged through the mud by an opportunist.
Tomorrow morning before her employee evaluation with Jess, Lee, and Chase, his laid-back cousin who was also part owner of the firm—he was going to read that e-mail.
Alexa told Macy what just transpired.
“What? You did what?” Macy’s voice rose. Then she laughed hysterically.
“Girl, you’ve got to make sure he doesn’t see that e-mail. Unless you want to have something going on with him.” Macy tried to make light of the situation so that Alexa wouldn’t slip into a depressive state of mind and think she was a total screw-up with everything in her life.
“Come on, Macy. You know what happened at the firm with that woman and the lawsuit.” Alexa ran her fingers nervously through her hair as she paced back and forth around her bed. She peeked over and saw Mittens, her sweet little three-year old ginger shorthair cat, was fast asleep on the bed. Alexa wished
she were a four-legged feline with no cares in the world. No access to the internet. Damn! Why couldn’t a person retract an e-mail that was sent in error? One would think with all the technology they figured out how to reach back into cyberspace and delete what was not meant to be sent. If it were up to her, they’d be a pop-up box that read “Are you sure you want to send this email to xyz?”
“Oh.” Macy’s voice sounded dry and low. “Listen, you’ll be fine. Just don’t go running for office or become a celebrity sportsperson and it won’t come back to bite you in the butt. Then again, you might be able to get a reality show out of the scandal.”
“Macy, this is no joke!”
Macy sighed. “Sorry. I’m just trying to make you see it’s not the end of the world. Worrying about stuff doesn’t make it go away—it just gives you added heartburn. If you can’t do anything about something, forget it. Don’t let it ride you up.”
“But, Macy, you have no idea what I’m up against. How am I going to get any sleep now? I’m going to look like crap in the morning with bags under my eyes and Jess and the entire team will get that e-mail. This was supposed to be my appraisal, my employee evaluation for my conduct over the year. My potential raise.”
“Oh, no, girl! I see what you mean.”
“Let’s face it, Macy. I’m so screwed.”
2
Jess Tandon reached over to the night table from his bed, eyes still closed, to stop his BlackBerry from buzzing.
It was another incoming e-mail. He could tell by the way the phone vibrated twice.
He had a bad habit of keeping his cell phone on as it still charged overnight. He was trying to get into the environmentally friendly energy-saving thing. Not just because of one of his clients at the agency, but it was the right thing to do. He always said if he ever lived long enough to settle down and have kids, he sure wouldn’t mind a planet that was still in decent shape for them to inhabit.
It was dark in his bedroom; he lay naked under the blue satin sheet on his king-sized four-poster bed. Oddly, he always felt comfortable with no clothes on. While at home, of course. The room felt slightly cool tonight with the window cracked open slightly to allow some breeze to seep through. It had been an unusually humid day in the month of May for Mercy Springs, Texas—but thank God, the night was cooling down.
He pressed the button to power off his cell phone.
“Who the hell could be sending an e-mail at this hour?”
He squinted open his left eye to look at the digital display of his alarm clock. It read: 12:03 a.m.
“Great!”
He’d been up since the crack of dawn and was sleep deprived the entire weekend as he planned for the work week ahead. Busting his butt, meeting client demands. Setting up new strategies on his computer with files he brought home from the office. All this from one of his clients. And that was because a new major launch was about to spring. Otherwise he would be on a less-stress-diet plan. He was on a new path now.
Though at twenty-nine he was part owner and CEO of TLC Advertising Agency, he sure didn’t want the heartache and ulcer that often paired up with top-dog positions. He had to learn to play it cool now. He’d known too many of his buddies in the industry, the corporate world, some not too much older than himself, with that old familiar zigzag surgery mark on the center of their chest. Triple Bypass surgery.
Usual precursor? Poor diet, too much stress. Clogged arteries were just not his thing.
He ate well, most of the time, and exercised hard at the gym, his second home apart from the office of TLC.
He lay on the bed, eyes open now with a lot on his mind.
Too much on his mind.
He had to satisfy his newest client, Hot Spot Resort, with their impossible demands and get a major photo shoot on the island done ahead of schedule. Hot Spot was having an extreme image makeover and wanted to relaunch this year to compete with other Caribbean resorts. A challenge in this economy. But if it wasn’t a success that meant that Hot Spot might not renew their contract. He knew the owner of Hot Spot, a spoiled rich brat who inherited a whack of cash from her grandfather and teamed up with a friend to get this holiday resort thing going. They were known to ditch contractors at the drop of a cap.
They might be hot but their demands could be damn right cold.
That meant he would have to fly his creative team out there and scout out local talent then get this show going. At such short notice.
Jess groaned.
Stress.
He had to watch his heart and his back in this industry. The owner of Hot Spot already hinted she might not renew. Which could cause a huge financial dent in the company that he’d started with his older sister and cousin.
Chase, his cousin, had told him to take a vacation while down there. Unwind. Get away from office politics and running the business. He even offered to foot the bill out of his own pocket for Jess who promptly refused. Jess just didn’t want to spend any more time than necessary at a romantic resort. He had his share of women but falling in love and romance just wasn’t his thing—never would be. The more he guarded his heart the better it would be. He’s been burned one too many times by gold-diggers and opportunists.
When his parents died, they left him and his half sister with a generous life insurance payout. He felt he would rather have his folks back than the money. If only.
He decided to open up an ad agency after finishing college with Chase but his ever-so-watchful and untrusting older sister didn’t think his decision was wise and since she held the keys to the money at the time, she only allowed him access to the funds on the condition that she could be the company’s accountant and part owner. Reluctantly, he agreed.
But that was the only thing that they agreed upon. Since Lee had been part of the company, which was from the very beginning she’d been nothing but cantankerous and challenging.
With his staff.
With his past girlfriends.
With him.
Still, he couldn’t blame her for wanting to watch her little brother’s back. Though he didn’t always agree with her method.
Of course, she was there for him, when he needed her the most like that deadly lawsuit filed against him with an ex-employee. He still felt sharp pains in his heart when he thought of the devastation.
The lies.
The deceit.
Yet another reason why he would never run for political office.
You never know when somebody would make something up to make a name for themselves. Luckily, into the mediation, the claim was dropped when it was revealed the plaintiff made the whole thing up to get back at him for pulling the firing trigger at her dismissal meeting. She hadn’t been with the company long and was barely finished with her probationary period.
Speaking of meetings. He would be faced with another employee meeting tomorrow. With Alexa Worthington.
Another thing Lee and Jess could not agree on. She never wanted to hire Alexa, because she was young and pretty—she would be a distraction for Jess, especially with his track record. Lee didn’t want any more potential damage done to the company’s name. Alexa also didn’t quite finish college at the time.
But still, Jess took a chance on her. And he was glad he followed his gut instinct—and his male libido, he smiled to himself.
She was fantastic. Not only did she perform her job well and didn’t throw herself at his feet like some of the other female employees but she proved she could get her degree. She studied hard online and got her papers and was now working on her Masters degree online. Something Jess respected about her. She was all business. A smart little go-getter!
And all legs too.
Jess smiled to himself as he lay in his bed looking up at the sparkled, designed ceiling of his bedroom. He had it specially done so that at night when the lights were off, it would appear as if he were outside looking up at the stars in the dark. Call him crazy but there was something about closeness to nature. The natural elements of the universe that switch
ed his own lights on.
Jess pulled the sheets off his body and got up to use the bathroom. He opened up the door—then on second thought went back over by the bed and picked up his silk boxers to put on. He would often get up and use the bathroom nude. No problem. But when you have a house guest, or someone you were helping out, it was better be safe than sorry.
He yawned as he walked down the hall to the bathroom and turned the light on. Sleep deprivation seeped through his motions. Peeing with his eyes pretty much closed. He squinted them open to make sure he didn’t miss his aim, flushed the toilet, washed his hands in the sink, then turned off the bathroom light.
Jess scuttled down the stairs to the fridge where he grabbed a cool drink. The digital clock on the stove read: 12:50 AM. He had to get a life. And a good night’s rest.
“Jess?” The loud piercing cry shattered his earlobe. He almost dropped the cup from his hand.
“What the—?”
It was his sister, Lee, his house guest. He was beginning to have regrets about agreeing for her to stay with him for a while as her house got renovated. She was always on his back one way or the other.
“What are you doing up at this hour?” Her eyebrows furrowed while her dark eyes narrowed in suspicion. Lee hastily adjusted her pink fuzzy dressing gown and rubbed her hand over her head of rollers and tied scarf. Her matching pink fluffy slippers and matching pink rimmed glasses were quite a sight. But he loved his sister, though sometimes she got on his last nerve.
Is she forgetting this is my house? She is a guest on my turf. I could get up any hour of the night if I want to.
She looked older than her 55-years. Her lips were mostly pinched. She rarely smiled. He always reminded her of a strict old-time school teacher. She pretty much felt more like a strict stepmother who treated him as naughty child than someone who was a grown man who could hold his own court. Heck, he was CEO of his own company.
Accidentally Flirting with the CEO Page 1
