Table of Contents
Copyright and Disclaimer
Free Gift
The Assistant
The Dom Next Door
The Reconstruction of Cyprian
Maelstrőm
Torn
No Promises
About the author
The Assistant & The Dom Next Door
Michelle Love
Eliza Duke
Contents
Copyright and Disclaimer
Free Gift
The Assistant
The Dom Next Door
The Reconstruction of Cyprian
Maelstrőm
Torn
No Promises
Copyright and Disclaimer
About the author
Copyright and Disclaimer
©Copyright 2018 by Michelle Love & Eliza Duke - All rights Reserved
In no way is it legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document in either electronic means or in printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited and any storage of this document is not allowed unless with written permission from the publisher. All rights are reserved.
Respective authors own all copyrights not held by the publisher.
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Spending her first Christmas away from her family, Juno Sasse finds that while her day job as a music teacher at the Gabriella Renaud Foundation is fulfilling, she feels a little isolated, with nearly all of her friends coupled up. Spending the holidays with her friends Livia and Nox, she bonds with a young singer, Ebony, and the two become good friends. When Juno reveals a lifetime dream of learning to dance, Ebony introduces her to her older brother, Obadiah, one of New Orleans’s finest dance tutors. Their working relationship is soon complicated by a growing attraction between the two of them and when Obe asks Juno to be his partner at an important dance competition, Juno has to put aside her innate shyness and step up to the challenge…
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The Assistant
An Older Man Younger Woman Romance
Lust. Lies. Power.
For Brock Gordon, the biggest playboy billionaire in the entire country, it’s just another day. When he sees something he wants, he gets it, no matter what—or who—it is. Life has always been one big game for Brock, and he knows he can have anything in the world if he waits for it.
Until he meets a young girl who is fresh out of college.
She is everything Brock never knew he wanted. She is young, she is fresh, she is so innocent to the ways of the world of men. And she has spirit.
From the moment he lays his eyes on her, he knows that he has to have her. But this prey is proving much harder to catch, and for the first time in his life, Brock must come to terms that he doesn’t get everything he wants.
Or does he?
Chapter 1
“Say what?”
The meeting room, previously full of light chatter as the various executives waited to get things underway, went silent.
Brock met Jennie Gray’s eyes, the woman looking more defiant than contrite. “What do you mean, Andrew Vetter isn’t phoning into the meeting?”
Jennie, a temp worker hired specifically to help out with such matters, shrugged. “It means he’s not phoning in. Is that a problem?”
“Uh … yeah,” Brock said dryly. “He’s the whole point behind this meeting. We literally have nothing to do here without his input.”
For the first time, Jennie looked flustered. “Um. Oh. I didn’t—”
“I’m aware. I probably didn’t make it clear.” It was all Brock could do not to yell in frustration, but it really wasn’t the woman’s fault. She was being asked to hold together all the various pieces of his business life, without the benefit of a title, a commensurate salary, or even any kind of training. Maybe someone with the right kind of mentality could have run with the job as a temp and landed a good position with Brock in the long-term. Jennie, however, clearly wasn’t interested.
He directed his look at the silent executives. “Sorry for wasting your time, folks. I’ll call another meeting in a few days, as soon as I coordinate a day with Vetter.”
The chatter started up again as people stood and began to gather their papers, coffee, and donuts. Jennie had at least coordinated those three things well, including the agenda. Of course, the agenda clearly read Edward Vetter Meeting, so you’d figure she might have guessed …
Brock stifled a sigh and turned to Jennie, who had resumed her defiant stance in the seat beside his. “We need to talk.”
Thirty acrimonious minutes later, Jennie was headed back to the temp agency with a generous stipend to make up for the days on her contract she wouldn’t complete. Brock hadn’t gotten where he was by walking all over people. Be good to them, they’d be good to you down the road, he’d learned.
And as she left the building, he entered his office and rolled his shoulders. Jennie had offered some good parting advice.
Hire a personal assistant. Some young kid who you train to your managerial style. A coffee getter, paper pusher, meeting scheduler, whatever.
But who? Brock wondered as he took a seat at his vast desk, pushing aside the stacks of paper that seemed to multiply in his absence. Bitcoins were the new thing, which was proving to be both a curse and a blessing. All the young kids wanted to get in on them, but no one understood how they worked. It was a perfect storm of the greatest idea on the planet, combined with roadblock after roadblock.
For a time, he’d managed to do it all, minus outside assistance. But with the sudden surge in interest, all the balls he was juggling were about to come crashing down unless he got a second pair of hands to help him manage the back end of things.
Irritated, Brock grabbed the laptop that was sitting in front of him and opened it, pulling up the biggest job service site in the city. It wasn’t how he usually found his employees, but there was no time to waste on extended interviews at this stage. He needed someone, yesterday.
“Erica, it just makes sense,” Meagan began, gesturing in the direction of the In and Out around the corner, the one they both spent way too much time at. Now Meagan was suggesting Erica spend even more time there, wearing a uniform.
“Shut up! I’m not going to work fast food! I didn’t go thousands of dollars into debt to dish up fries!” Erica Samson rolled her eyes.
Meagan crossed her arms. “You’re thousands of dollars in debt. Dishing up fries at least also dishes up some money ...”
The words stung, but Erica brushed them off. “If I try to pay off my college debt by working at a fast food joint, I’ll be dead before my loans are paid.”
Meagan gave her friend a look of disapproval. They’d been friends for years, had recently graduated from college together, and this was the most they’d ever argued.
Meagan thought that they should both find any job that they could and start bringing in some money while Erica felt living in Chicago would make it easy for her to find a job in her field, and she wasn’t going to waste her time on a job that wasn’t taking her down the road to her dreams of being a successful accountant.
Unfortunately, that meant she had been sleeping on Meagan’s couch for the past few months, and she was just as ready to get out of the crowded apartment as her friend was ready for her to go. She had been giving Meagan as much money
as she could afford to spare, to pay for her bunking in the living room, but the tension was growing between them. If she didn’t get out of the apartment soon, Erica knew their long friendship might not survive.
She looked away from Meagan, back to the computer, and scrolled down another row on Monster.com. To her surprise and delight, up popped:
Future Enterprises
Urgent: Seeking secretary.
“Look! Here’s something!” Erica pointed and Meagan came over, sitting cross-legged on the couch with her cup of coffee in her hands.
“What is it?”
“It’s a secretarial job. Not accounting, but I’d rather serve staples and office memos than Diet Cokes. I’ve never heard of this place before, though. Future Enterprises?” Erica looked up from the screen at her friend, who looked just as confused as she was. Suddenly, there was a flash of recognition in Meagan’s face.
“I know what that is! The guy’s name is Brock Gordon, and he established some sort of Bitcoin bank or something. He’s looking for a secretary? Apply!” She pointed to the ad, running her fingers across the lines and looking at her friend.
In spite of her momentary excitement, Erica frowned. Her stubbornness was both her best and worst quality. “I don’t know. It’s not accounting.”
“Erica,” Meagan groaned. “Are you kidding? It’s a major financial firm, so consider it a stepping stone. Not to mention you’d be working for one of the richest men in Chicago, if not the world. The guy’s a billionaire. Think of the bonuses.” Meagan nudged her with her elbow, and Erica hesitated.
“It’s not really the same thing,” she started to argue, but Meagan cut her off.
“Apply! It’s not a restaurant, and you’ll be making good money if you get it. Who knows? He might have something available that you do want to do, but you’re never going to know if you don’t apply.” Meagan got off the couch, skillfully rising without spilling her coffee on either herself or the floor. Erica watched as her friend rose, then went back to the screen in front of her.
“What makes you think he’s going to hire me? He’s got quite a list here of the things that he’s looking for. I doubt a twenty-two year old college graduate is going to make the cut.”
“You’re hot. That might help,” Meagan replied with a sly wink as she walked over to the kitchen, kicking aside a pile of Erica’s dirty laundry as she did.
“Meagan!”
“What? I’m just saying. Use what you’ve got. If you don’t have the credentials, use your assets.” Meagan smiled then set her mug on the counter. “Anyway, you need a job, and I need a shower. And maybe my couch back at some point this century. When I get back out here, I want to hear that you’ve applied.”
“Yes, Mother,” Erica said dryly. Meagan gave her another look on her way to the bathroom. After she disappeared from view, Erica sank into the couch with another sigh.
Is this really what it’s coming down to? My looks instead of my brains?
She didn’t even believe that she was hot. Attractive, perhaps, but certainly not hot enough to get a job based on that fact. She had auburn red hair cut close to her head on one side and longer on the other, edgy for a secretary, but she could pull it back and hide the fact she had it short on the side. She was short, but of an athletic build, and commanded the attention of everyone in the room.
Erica knew how to work what she had, but she didn’t think it would work on a man like Brock Gordon, even if she dared attempt it. Now that she thought about it, she had heard of him; a billionaire in his thirties who had been made rich with a good idea. He was like the next Bill Gates, only better.
It didn’t matter what she looked like. She’d have to be a celebrity if she was going to rely on anything but her education to get her a job at a place like that.
But then, it certainly didn’t hurt to try.
What was the worst that could happen? And after he found her attractive and hired her, then she could put her brain front and center. Right?
Chapter 2
“I just want to know what’s taking so long? Who wouldn’t want to work for my company? Or me, for that matter?” Brock muttered. It had been only three days since he had put the listing on the job service website, but he’d expected that there would be more applicants than what they were already getting.
“We’re working on it, but I can only talk to those who have come through,” Angie said. “It’s not like nobody’s applied. You’re just so freaking picky.” She didn’t bother hiding her annoyance with Brock. But then, no one did. He had the kind of relationship with his employees that allowed them to talk to each other in such a way without worrying about any tension.
“More should apply,” Brock grumbled. “I reserve the right to be picky about the people I’m trusting with my company!”
“The next applicant is supposed to be here in an hour!” she called after him as he stormed off toward his office. “The résumé’s on your desk, along with her references!”
“Call them and see if they can get in here sooner,” he said. He didn’t wait for an answer, heading off to his office. As Angie had said, there was a crisp one-sheet resume on the desk and he scanned it.
Erica Samson
She was young, recently graduated, but her various internships had been high level, with some well-known people in the field listed as contacts who would vouch for her work ethic. She’d graduated with honors, too.
Hmm. Could be overqualified. Could be under. Hard to tell with someone so fresh out of school.
He wanted someone who would be able to handle all that he was going to throw their way, but he also wanted someone he could work with. Someone who could put up with him without getting butt hurt about the way he treated them. He wasn’t a patient man. That was just fact. Patience hadn’t built his billions.
“She’s here,” the voice came through the intercom, and Brock opened his eyes in surprise.
“You said an hour!”
“And you said tell her to get here sooner and she was just around the corner,” Angie shot back. “Do I send her away?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Send her in.”
A moment later, Angie opened the door to the office and just like that, in walked the most beautiful woman Brock had ever seen.
He stared in total shock, not sure what he’d expected, but certainly not this. She was petite, with gorgeous red hair cut in a seriously sexy style that somehow made her look both soft and edgy at the same time. There was no hiding the fact that she was in good shape, her lithe curves poured into a gray suit that couldn’t come close to containing that toned body.
Then there were her eyes, sparking intelligent blue fire in his direction, and he realized he’d been standing there stupidly, gawking.
“Hello! Miss Samson, come on in and have a seat!” Brock said hastily.
“It’s so nice to meet you,” she said, not nearly as nervous as any of the other applicants as she walked forward. Her stride was sure and her handshake was firm and steady as their fingers met. Brock felt a powerful jolt of heat and barely contained a groan.
Beautiful and confident? Oh, yes. Now if we can just pair that with some outstanding secretarial abilities …
Though she didn’t know his name, he decided on a whim not to give it to her. He already liked her, and he didn’t want to make her even more uncomfortable by finding out he was the man who owned the entire business. Instead, he decided to plunge directly into the interview and see how things went with her.
“I looked over your résumé, and I am quite impressed,” he said.
She smiled, obviously pleased. “Thank you.”
“I have to ask right away—having worked with such high level companies, why take a secretarial position now?” Brock deliberately threw the hardest question at her. He honestly didn’t have too many more. In his position, he had learned to judge people on far less than Erica had already displayed. He liked her. He wanted her. In more ways than one, admittedly.
“The
y don’t have any jobs,” she said simply. “I could keep working for free, now that I’ve graduated, but that seems to make the whole degree and gazillion dollar loans a moot point.”
He nodded. “Fair enough. I realize there aren’t many jobs out there right now. Tight market. So you’re okay with doing secretarial work? You don’t see it as a step down?”
Erica grimaced. “I have to admit, I’m not quite sure about all of this, really. Obviously you know what you’re doing, but I don’t. They didn’t teach us a thing about Bitcoins when I was in school. Honestly, it’s either this or a burger joint, by the looks of things. No offense intended.”
Brock flashed a wide grin. He appreciated her honesty and added it to the list of qualifications that she checked off his list.
“Well, if we hire you, I’ll make sure you get some accounting experience too. It’s a full-time position, and I expect all my employees to be dependable. I don’t do late,” he said with raised eyebrows.
“And I was an hour early to this interview,” she replied with a small smile.
Oh yeah. Ohhhh, yeah. He liked her a whole lot more than he should.
“There’s no need to pull punches here, Ms. Samson. I know quality when I see it. Do you have any questions for me, before we proceed?”
“How long do you think it will be before I hear back about this position? I’ve been living on my friend’s couch for the past few months, and she’s about to kill me in my sleep,” Erica admitted.
“If you want the job, it’s yours,” Brock informed her, and for the first time, she seemed taken off guard.
“Really? I—” she began.
The Alpha's Assistant & The Dom Next Door Page 1
