Sawyer, Rita - Uncommonly Brazen [Brazen Sisters 4] (Siren Publishing Classic)
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Brazen Sisters 4
Uncommonly Brazen
Josephine Brazen is the best CPA around, but even she may not be able to help Cameron Elwood out of the mess he’s in. Reluctantly, she takes him on as a client. Cameron pushes her buttons, driving her to distraction. He makes her want to do things she’s never considered before, and having her sisters not believe her when she tells them he’s just a client forces her to realize they might be right.
Joey is so organized she scares him, but Cameron knows she’s just what he needs. The more he’s around her, the more he wants to get her to loosen up. He hates that she keeps him at a distance when all he wants is to get closer. When people around town start talking about them, he decides to play up that angle and see if she can still pretend the only thing between them is business.
Genre: Contemporary
Length: 55,985 words
UNCOMMONLY BRAZEN
Brazen Sisters 4
Rita Sawyer
EROTIC ROMANCE
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Erotic Romance
UNCOMMONLY BRAZEN
Copyright © 2011 by Rita Sawyer
E-book ISBN: 1-61034-154-6
First E-book Publication: March 2011
Cover design by Jinger Heaston
All cover art and logo copyright © 2011 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Letter from Rita Sawyer
Regarding E-book Piracy
Dear Readers,
While it is a joy for me to write my books and interact with my readers, writing is also my career. It’s my way of supporting my family, and I work at it full time. I do not have another career. I love creating worlds and characters in my books and hope my readers enjoy them.
I am very upset and distressed when I see my books being pirated. This means my work has been stolen.
It is illegal to pirate e-books. Just because it is anonymous and easy to upload someone else’s work for free, it doesn’t make it right legally or morally. It is no different than shoplifting or holding up a store or robbing a bank.
Please do not share this e-book with a friend. Do not send a copy of it to a forum, newsgroup, or file sharing site. Do not auction it. Please do not give this e-book to anyone who has not legally paid for their own copy from Siren-BookStrand or one of the legal distributor sites. Some readers may think the sharing of a copyrighted e-book wouldn’t amount to anything, but it does. It is very disheartening for me as a writer and makes it hard for me to continue to write.
So, please, respect my hard work and do not pirate my books.
With deep gratitude,
Rita Sawyer
DEDICATION
To my family, cause they me laugh.
UNCOMMONLY BRAZEN
Brazen Sisters 4
RITA SAWYER
Copyright © 2011
Chapter One
Joey glanced at the clock again. She took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. The technique was supposed to help her relax according to her twin sister, but the incessant tap of her pencil against the desk got faster and louder. From the way her friend Alec had described the situation, she hadn’t expected his friend Cameron to be happy about meeting with her, but she had expected him to at least be on time. Of course, she’d had clients who occasionally ran a little late. Five or ten minutes was one thing, but thirty minutes was really pushing it in her opinion.
Damn it, she’d managed to clear a whole hour to consult with this guy. She refused to call and leave him another reminder of their appointment. What was the use? Even if he showed up now, half an hour would barely give them enough time to scratch the surface of Mr. Elwood’s issues. Her next client would be there in forty-five minutes, which would give her fifteen minutes to eat lunch. Luckily, she had only promised Alec a consultation.
Being the best CPA in a hundred mile radius, keeping the books for the lodge, and overseeing the financials for the remodel of the family lodge and cabins kept her so busy, she barely had time to stop and think. Her time was definitely at a premium these days. And she refused to let some half-witted nature freak waste it.
Alec had practically goaded her into taking him on as a client, but she had seen into his plan and declined. When he’d said he would consider it a personal favor and that he’d owe her one, she realized just how desperate his buddy must be. Having any one of the Mitchell cousins owe you a favor could come in handy. They had so many connections it was kind of scary. With the remodel starting within the next few weeks, she just might need to call a favor or two in.
Even so, she still didn’t make him any promises. Agreeing to a consult just to see how bad things were was as far as she was willing to go. Now, she was glad because she had no intention of taking on this bozo as a client. She really didn’t have enough time to devote to straightening him out, anyway.
Never one to sit around and waste time she decided to use the next half hour to go over some of the cost projections her brothers-in-law had given her this morning on their way out. She entered the info from the pages into her computer going over the columns, double checking everyone’s math. So far, the estimates were right on target or below budget. Of course with them being the architect and builder for the project, she had expected nothing less.
Joey hadn’t told anyone yet, but she even worked out a budget for supplies to get her sister Frankie’s how-to remodel and interior design book going. A new laptop with updated software and a state of the art digital camera were first on her list. She could probably make do with what she had now, but Joey wanted her to have the best chance to get published. Joey’s twin sister, Georgie, who was their marketing guru, decided it would be a good thing for all of them, since they could use the book and lodge as promotional tools for each other.
People who bought the book and wanted to see all the changes they made for themselves could
get a discount or something. The opposite would work, too. They could sell autographed copies of the book to the guests, as well. Of course, Frankie probably wasn’t going to really get started on the project until her fling with Hal, Victor’s foreman, ended when he left in a few days. Having this project would hopefully keep her from thinking about him too much.
She pulled up the email Georgie had sent her this morning, expecting it to be more ideas. Instead, it was picture of kitten hanging from a rope, with the caption “Hang In There.” Joey laughed. Somehow, Georgie always managed to stay one step ahead of her, but there was no way she could’ve seen this coming.
She looked at the clock as she got to her feet. Joey decided if he wasn’t here by now, then he obviously wasn’t coming. She walked over to the little fridge and pulled out a plastic covered bowl. The lid made a pop sound as she took it off. Joey caught a whiff of the pent-up scent as it filled the air and her stomach growled. She shoved it into the microwave and hit start. While she waited for it to warm up, she cleared off her desk. She used to go meet Georgie or Frankie for lunch, but she couldn’t remember the last time she’d had enough time. Never mind going out to lunch, she couldn’t remember the last time had a real date.
The last time she’d gone out socially had been with a group of delegates from the Chamber of Commerce. She’d had a good time, and a few single guys had flirted with her, but it had been a business meeting, so she’d kept it professional. Frankie had covered for her at the lodge that night and met Hal. They’d been pretty much inseparable since. That had been almost three weeks ago, and she didn’t see any chance for mingling with anyone who may ask her out on the horizon. Dating would just have to wait until the remodel project was done.
She wasn’t complaining, really, because she knew she wasn’t the only one making sacrifices. Her five sisters were working hard, too, and giving up time for the lodge came naturally to all of them. It helped her to know that three of her sisters had a warm body lying next to them at night. Sooner or later, probably much later, she’d find her Mr. Right. She sure in hell didn’t have time to search for a Mr. Right Now, even though her list of requirements wasn’t very long. She’d like him to be handsome, but not enough to draw too much attention. Hopefully he’d be tall, or at least be taller than her five feet eight inches. But the most important quality would be his wittiness. She needed a guy who could take a joke and deal with her sisters sticking their noses into her business. Her stomach rumbled, reminding her of more immediate concerns.
Thankfully, her older sister Sam had been taking care of her lunch problems. Even though Sam was busy running the kitchens at home and at the lodge every morning, Joey found a bowl or plate in the fridge with her name on it. When Joey told her she didn’t have to, Sam just waved her off. Once the baby came, Joey figured Sam might actually let them do the cooking a little bit more often. She opened the microwave and sniffed the air. It would never smell or taste as good, but at least they wouldn’t starve to death, well unless Bobbie, the youngest of the Brazen sisters, cooked.
She sat down and twirled the spaghetti around her fork before stabbing a piece of the meatball. Joey dipped her head and raised the fork to her wide open mouth.
Her office door suddenly flung open, and a guy she’d never seen before stepped in. He walked over and dropped into the chair across from her. She stuffed the spaghetti into her mouth, thinking this had to be the very tardy Cameron Elwood. He kind of looked the way Alec had described him, but more handsome. In fact, he probably could have made more money in front of the camera instead of behind it. Holy shit, he looked good, even if he wasn’t really her type.
Joey chewed slowly while she looked him over. He had to be at least six feet tall, but with his wiry build it could be more. She found his face ruggedly handsome. His short brown hair had a little curl at the nape of his neck and above his ears. That would have been enough to make her look twice, but it was his blue eyes staring back at her that concerned her. She sensed they were the kind of eyes that saw way too much. His boots and cargo pants were splattered with mud, but his white T-shirt was spotless. The short sleeves showed off his muscular arms, which had a nice, even tan. Somehow, she managed to swallow and not choke. Speaking, however, was another story all together.
* * * *
Cameron pulled his Jeep into the lot and looked up at the old, faded brick building. He stepped out of the car and looked down at himself and groaned. This totally sucks rotten eggs. He couldn’t do anything about his muddy jeans and boots, but he stripped off the dress shirt he’d spent fifteen minutes ironing and re-ironing this morning. Thankfully, his T-shirt was still clean. He turned and ran for the door.
He wasn’t just late. He’d missed the appointment that his buddy Alec had to beg for. Okay, that wasn’t completely true, he had about three minutes left. And since this woman was supposedly his only hope, he figured he had some major ass kissing and begging of his own to do if he was going to get her to reschedule him.
Damn Cecil! His assistant had suddenly quit, but not before single-handedly destroying any type of record keeping system Cameron might have had. He hated to admit that it hadn’t been much of one to start with. There was no way Cam could get things straightened out on his own. He never should have hired an assistant, but Cecil had come highly recommended by one of his publishers, and Cam had a tendency to get swept up in his projects, so he gave it a try. Luckily, the publisher felt so bad, they were going to reimburse him for hiring someone to fix this mess.
So here he stood ready to beg this woman to do whatever she had to do to get this disaster a year and half in the making rectified. Hopefully, it would only take a fraction of that time to get his records back in order. Just thinking about the boxes and boxes of receipts and other documents back at his new cabin made him want to drag everything out into the yard and set it on fire.
Cameron opened the office door and froze. The young woman sitting behind the desk wasn’t what he had been expecting to find. Somehow Alec had given him the impression from the way he touted all of her qualifications and experience that she’d be much, much older. Her looks had never come into question, but Alec could have warned him that she was a looker. Then again, he should’ve known something was up when he told him to watch his step, because he and his cousins considered her family. She closed her lips over the forkful of spaghetti and just stared at him. Not wanting to push his luck, he took a seat and waited for her to say something.
The immaculate office smelled incredible, and his stomach groaned. She raised her chin and dabbed her lips with a napkin. He heard noises indicating someone had come into the outer office. It took everything in him not to say something before she kicked him out so she could deal with her next client.
“I take it you’re Cameron Elwood?” She ignored the noise and took another bite of her lunch.
“Yes.” He nodded and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “I’m sorry I’m late, Ms. Brazen. I don’t want you to think I’m taking this lightly. I had planned to be on time. Actually, I had planned to be a bit early.”
“But obviously something muddied up your plans.” She didn’t crack a smile, but the comment alone showed she potentially had a sense of humor.
“You could say that. Look, I know you have another client coming in, so I won’t take up too much of your time. You were doing Alec and me a huge favor by just squeezing me in for a consultation, but I would really appreciate it if you could reschedule my appointment.” He waited with baited breath for her response.
She moved her bowl to the side, pulled a leather bound appointment book out of her drawer and dropped it on her desk. He watched her run her fingers of her left hand down the pages before flipping them. Her nails were painted a light pink shade, and he happened to notice she wasn’t wearing any rings. It shouldn’t have mattered, but for some reason it did. He told himself that it was just because he hadn’t been in such close proximity to a woman in six months, at least not one this pretty.
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br /> “I don’t have another opening for two weeks.” She sighed and shook her head. “Alec explained that your problem needed immediate attention, so leave me that folder with the information I asked you to bring and I’ll go over it. I’ll try to get back to you by the end of the day, but if I get hung up, it could be early tomorrow morning.”
“Okay, so I won’t toss and turn thinking about you. I mean, your decision.” He shot to his feet, and she followed a little slower.
She rounded the desk and leaned against the edge. It was impossible not to notice the way her tan skirt ended mid-thigh, showcasing how long her legs were. She sure in hell didn’t need the sexy high-heeled black boots she was wearing. It was even harder not gawk at the way her pink blouse stretched across her breasts. It came in at the waist, accentuating how curvy she was. She looked so tidy, he wondered how she’d look first thing in the morning after a wild night in his bed.
She wasn’t what most guys would consider hot, but she was doing a damn good job at warming him up. He knew his mind was veering off into dangerous territory. He needed Ms. Brazen professionally, which meant he couldn’t allow anything personal to happen between them. Not that a woman like her would ever give a guy like him a chance.
She held out her hand, and he gave her the thick folder. “Mr. Elwood, I need you to understand if I take you on, we’re going to be working very closely.”