CFO's Affair - 3rd book in the Executive Wives' Club series
(strong women fiction elements)
Excerpt:
“I'm fine. I merely had a strange
encounter after I left work.” Sylvia strolled to the sofa across from Marianne
and sank onto the plush cushion. The large windows lining the opposite wall
behind the other couch offered an appealing view of a bright harvest moon. The
empty cornfield, which sat behind Brie's house, displayed row after row of
shredded corn stalks. The depressing sight foretold of the snow that would fall
continuously in a couple of months.
“Why don't you tell us about it?”
Jen, the willowy, young, brunette of the group, laid a hand on Sylvia's thigh,
and perched on the edge of the sofa near her. “Did Vince do something to upset
you?”
“I warned you he was a Casanova.”
Brie dropped into her favorite recliner, her lion slippers bobbing on her feet.
“No, he has no interest in me.
After the first day, I haven't seen much of him. He probably only walked me
into the building because Knox didn't want me to bolt.” Sylvia recalled the
man's handsome profile and the alluring scent of his cologne. He could walk
down the hallway ahead of her and she'd find herself tempted to follow.
Shoving thoughts of him aside, she
focused on a theory she’d devised during dinner and gripped Jen's hand. “I
think I might be able to find out who Bob was having an affair with.”
She looked into Jen’s concern face.
She’d been the first to learn of Bob's request for a divorce. He dropped the
bomb hours before leaving on a company business trip to Seattle, the ill-fated
trip where none of the executive team had come back alive.
“Please, Sylvia, let it go.”
Marianne leaned forward and held out her hands in a pleading gesture. “Bob is
dead and you're only hurting yourself by worrying about this.”
“I can't. I've tried.” Sylvia
closed her eyes and released Jen's hand. “I have to know why he decided to
leave me.”
“Do you have any ideas?” Jen
shifted closer. Her warmth reminded Sylvia that she didn’t have to go through
this heartache alone. The other three ladies in the room had lost their
husbands too. Even though Jen and Brie had both remarried, they knew the pain
of losing a spouse. They simply didn't comprehend how much it hurt to have one
ask for a divorce right before that loss.
“No. I think Wyoming Tetterman
might help me learn who he was seeing.” Sylvia couldn’t fathom any other reason
for Wyoming's refusal to talk. Did she know something she didn't want to share?
“Why?” Brie rose, shuffled over to
Sylvia, and squatted down in front of her. “Did she tell you Bob had a lover?”
“No, but for some reason she
doesn't want to talk to me either.” Sylvia stared into Brie's sweet face,
gained a little perspective on how this might affect her friends and glanced up
at Marianne. “I could be wrong, but why else would she feel the need to avoid
me?”
Marianne shook her head and shifted
forward. “Honey, you're setting yourself up to get hurt. What happens when you
find out the name of the person Bob slept with? Are you planning to confront
them? Because they won’t have any sympathy for you. In their eyes you got it
all.”
“Ouch, that's brutal. However,
she's right Sylvia. I still have people look at me as if I kill Eric so I could
get the insurance money from the wreck.” Brie grabbed Sylvia's hand and held it
between both of hers.
“I know; I get those looks too.”
“Then imagine how much worse it'll
be if they find out he wanted to divorce.” Marianne rose and stepped behind
Brie. “Please let it go. If working at Mama Turner's is causing the problem,
tell Knox to take a flying leap off a high bridge.”
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IT's Exec's Baby - 2nd Book in Executives' Wives' Club series (strong women fiction elements)
With the warmth of the sun beating
down on her head and the sound of her children’s laughter ringing in her ears,
Brie spread her arms and spun in a circle.
She raised her voice and called to
her kids as she walked to the railing of the upper deck. “You better find a
good hiding place because ready or not here I come.”
With Isabella down for a nap, Brie
drew in a deep breath, enjoying the fresh air and the freedom from being stuck
inside the house. The kids had convinced her to play with them outside. She
loved the easy game of hide-and-go-seek. Glancing over the rail, she scanned
the backyard, searching for Ethan’s and Allison’s young forms.
A giggle sounded from below the
deck.
Brie stepped down a few stairs to
search the patio below. Still unable to catch a glimpse of her children, she
continued down the staircase, listening for sounds that might give her a clue to
their whereabouts.
Not seeing either one of them, she
hugged the back wall and silently slipped to the corner of the house that had
concrete steps, which led to the front yard.
Determined to catch one of her kids
heading for home-base, Brie refrained from peeking around the corner. The
squeak of a tennis shoe alerted her to someone’s arrival.
Ready to grab them the minute they
rounded the corner, Brie stayed out of sight. A shadow fell across the patio,
and Allison’s young form raced past.
Jumping out to grab her, Brie
touched her daughter’s shoulder.
Allison’s wail of surprise vibrated
off the bottom of the deck and pierced through Brie’s brain. Undeterred by the
noise, she caught her daughter’s arm and spun her around.
“I got you.”
“No,” Allison screamed again.
Footsteps thundered across the deck
above. “Brie, Allison, where are you?”
The concern in Jason’s voice threw
Brie. He hadn’t stopped by since their date. What was he doing here now?
Allison groaned and wrapped her
hands around Brie’s waist. “Ethan must have led him through the house.”
“Mom, where are you?” Ethan’s short
legs appeared at the top of the stairs leading down to the patio. He leaned
over the banister, a wide smile on his face. “Coach just stopped by.”
Allison whirled around and pointed
a finger at her brother. “And you cheated. You’re not supposed to go through
the house.”
“But...” Ethan walked down a few
steps. A pair of jean-covered legs appeared and Jason stepped into view.
“That was my fault. I thought it
would be the quickest way out here.” Jason added, taking the blame off her son.
Brie raked her gaze over his lean
form encased in a blue t-shirt and faded jeans. The wind had tossed his dark
hair in disarray. He appeared as if he had all the time in the world.
“But you’re not even playing the
game with us.” Allison shuffled backwards, grumbling to her mother, “I
shouldn't have to be it because they’re not playing fair.”
Brie laid her hands on her
daughter’s shoulders and offered her a conspirator’s wink. With the excitement
of seeing him again singing through her blood, she forced herself to remain
calm. “You’re right. I say we make Jason it.”
“Hey, I didn't even know we were
playing hide-and-seek,” Jason argued and lightly tapped Ethan’s arm with his
fist. “You didn’t tell me, sport.”
“Tough, that’s the cost of showing
up late.” Brie sidestepped her daughter, but before she could take more than a
few steps her daughter caught her hand.
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Marketing Exec's Widow 1st Book in Executives' Wives' Club series (strong women fiction elements)
Friday night, sitting at a booth in a nice, romantic
restaurant, Jen silently wished she could enjoy the subdued atmosphere, and
order a rib eye steak. Instead, her hands shook and her stomach churned with
doubt. The survival skills she’d learned after becoming a real estate agent
demanded a calm, composed front, but she couldn’t pull it off.
Hell, who was she fooling?
After ten years without a date, what made her believe she
could do this again? She stared at the menu. Could she even swallow a bite of
beef? And if not, what should she order?
She lifted her gaze to the drop-dead gorgeous man on the
other side of the table. Hagan Cheney, a Greek god incarnated, had strawberry
blond hair glowing like gold around his head. Wide shoulders and strong arms
were encased in a hunter-green cashmere sweater. Apollo himself wouldn’t look
any better.
Why in heaven’s name did he ask her on a date?
And why did she care?
She had no plans other than a casual dinner for two.
He glanced up and a pretty-boy grin crossed his lips. The
twinkle in his hazel eyes softened the square line of his jaw. “So have you
decided what you want?”
Heat simmered low in her belly. Oh, yeah, answering that
question the wrong way could get her into a world of trouble.
Tempted by wicked ideas, Jen blinked and stared at the menu.
She’d do better if he didn’t know the wild directions of her brainwaves. “I’m
not sure I can eat. I haven’t been this nervous since my first date with Craig.”
Ah, shit, I wasn’t supposed to mention him. Fire burned
her cheeks and her gaze popped onto Hagan’s befuddled expression.
“Craig?” Hagan lowered his menu.
“My...uh...husband. He died several months ago.” Jen’s grip
tightened on the plastic folder and her heart raced into overdrive. Great, just
what she needed to say to start the evening off on the right note. Mention your
dead husband and kill the mood.
“Want to call the evening a bust?” she blurted out, angry at
herself for failing so miserably at the dating game.
Hagan leaned forward and folded his hands above his menu.
“No. I already knew.”
“What? How?” She clenched her hands together under the
table. He said he moved here from Texas, having arrived a few months ago to set
up his practice and to be near his dad. How could he have found out? Did
someone tell him? But who?
“My dad told me. He read about your husband’s accident in
the paper.”
“God, you must think I’m awful.”
“Not even in the ballpark as to what I think about you.
Because I know you would never have said yes to a night out with me if you’d
been happy in your marriage.”
His words hit her like a fist to the face and her head
snapped backward, striking the wooden partition between the booths. Wow, how
could he have guessed the truth when so many people who knew her hadn’t?
She closed her eyes and searched for an answer. For so long,
she’d kept her emotions bottled inside, not allowing anyone to see the
loneliness or heartache her unhappy marriage had caused. What now? Lie, or
admit the truth?
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Hope you enjoy,
Tina
