Danger Warning from Sommer Marsden

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Today I’m happy to welcome back Sommer Marsden with another fabulous offering from The Thousand and One Nights anthology of Xcite’s Secret Library collection. Sommer is here to tell us about her hot novella, The Highest Bidder. The Highest Bidder is also available as a stand-alone novella on Kindle.

Danger, Danger, Gentle Constant Reader…

This will be a bit different than my normal goofy, slightly flighty blog posts. This one has a bit of, dare I say, emotions wound into it. Read at your own risk.

I’m supposed to discuss The Highest Bidder today, one of my favorite things I’ve written in the last year or so. Funny and intense with lots of sex. But so romantic I even set my own little (very repressed) girlish heart going pitter patter. I almost always have romance in my work, but not to that degree.

I think a lot of the romance and sizzle stems from  Casey having lost her husband and how much she needs to heal. My man was diagnosed Type 1 Diabetic about three years ago. Odd for a 40-something year old man, yes. But due to a birth defect that left his pancreas compromised it finally gave up the ghost. He went from ‘normal’ to insulin dependent pretty much overnight.

Scary.

I think of myself then and how scared I was to hear his diagnosis and how it’s still sinking in to me how he must have felt. I cannot imagine his internal reaction even though I have been with him all but seven days or so days for the last 17 years (you heard that right. we’ve spent *maybe* a week to ten days apart)

I chose to spotlight diabetes in The Highest Bidder because it hits close to home. It also allowed me to write my way out of the fear box. I admit, there are times when I still get very afraid and my brain goes to what I would do if I didn’t have my better half. Not to be icky, stick and gushy, but the man makes me whole. If I didn’t have him, I’d be lost.

I certainly can’t imagine ever falling in love again. Ever. I think I’d roll up the dating carpet and buy a cat. I can’t fathom ever experiencing again what I have with him, but I could certainly give that to my heroine. Because I’m generous that way 😉

Casey Briggs is funny and kind and sexy, she has a humongous heart and she also had a big-big love with her husband. But it’s time for Casey to experience something she hasn’t in a long time. Attraction, connection, and even lust. Good old fashioned, bone rattling lust.

It doesn’t hurt that Nick Murpy is a good guy. So good that he wonders if he can even live up to what it is Casey’s trying to accomplish—a big donation to the aide research of the disease that took her husband. It’s a bachelor auction, but clearly no one is going to bid big bucks on an average Joe like him.

So he thinks, anyway.

I just love when two good hearted people connect and fall in love, don’t you?

As for writing my way out of the fear box, I think I did an okay job. My mother lost my dad when he was 26. I can’t imagine. Not only losing my partner at such a young age but being left with a four year old. Death is hard to understand at four. It doesn’t’ get any easier as we age, though, in my opinion.

36 years later and I still miss my dad. And so does my mom. But she was lucky enough to meet someone who made her happy. They started a whole new chapter of life together. And over 30 years later, they’re still together and happy.

I took the fear I was working through at the time to start the story and then gave Casey the happily ever after that my mother got—because they both deserve it, don’t you think?

As for how a writer’s mind works…which is sort of what this blog was meant to illuminate…well, I could sit here all day writing and still never manage to explain it. I guess the best way is this: however it works and cranks out that story, is how it works. I’m just grateful every time it does its thing and leaves me with a new piece of work to show off and take credit for!

XOXO
Sommer

Where to Buy :

Amazon UK

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Secret-Library-One-Thousand-Nights/dp/1908262087/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1343028411&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Highest-Bidder-Xcite-Romance-ebook/dp/B0087FZIK2/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1343028571&sr=1-1

Amazon.Com

http://www.amazon.com/Thousand-Nights-Secret-Library-ebook/dp/B007YUYXMA/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1343028722&sr=1-1-fkmr1&keywords=Sommer+Marsden+The+Thousand+and+One+nights

http://www.amazon.com/Highest-Bidder-Xcite-Romance-ebook/dp/B0087FZIK2/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1343028798&sr=1-1&keywords=Sommer+Marsden+The+Highest+Bidder

Bio:

Best selling author Sommer Marsden has been called “…one of the top storytellers in the erotica genre” (Violet Blue), “Unapologetic” (Alison Tyler), “…the whirling dervish of erotica” (Craig J. Sorensen),and “Erotica royalty…” (Lucy Felthouse for Blog Critics Books).

Her erotic novels include Restless Spirit, Big Bad, The Best of Sommer Marsden, Hard Lessons, and Angry Sex. Sommer currently writes erotica and erotic romance for Xcite Books, eXcessica, Ellora’s Cave, Pretty Things Press, Resplendence Publishing and House of Erotica. The wine-swigging, dachshund-owning, wannabe runner author writes work that runs the gamut from bondage to zombies to humor.

Sommer’s short works can be found in over a hundred (and counting) erotic anthologies. Her short stories have also been included numerous adult and romance magazines–both in print and online. Visit sommermarsden.blogspot.com to see what she’s up to.

Simon Lipson Tells Us About His Novel Inspiration

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Thank you for inviting me to contribute a guest post.

A number of people have asked me what inspired me to start writing Song In The Wrong Key and the truth is, I’m not entirely sure. I remember sitting in my local Starbucks a couple of years ago with time on my hands (I was between engagements, dahling) and just started writing. I thought this would be an exercise, something to pique my interest until a voiceover gig or radio show came along. Neither did, it seems, so I carried on. And it didn’t take me long to realise that I was onto something, inspiration in itself. I don’t mean that I believed I was writing a great book, by the way, more that, having suffered through the writing of a dark psychological thriller some years ago, I immediately recognised that I was now doing something in a style that came naturally to me.

I’ve been a (semi) professional comedian/impressionist, actor and comedy scriptwriter for 20 years and have always looked at everything from the comedic standpoint first. That is not to say that I don’t have a serious side (aren’t all comedians meant to be miserable souls?) and I try not to laugh at funerals, for example, but even in the direst of circumstances, laughter can be a release if not a cure. The protagonist, Mike Kenton, is a middle-aged man whose previously contented existence is thrown out of kilter when he loses his job. His marriage comes under strain and his family life is thrown into jeopardy. Meanwhile, his career fails to re-ignite and he hits rock bottom. What’s funny about that? Well, if you ask me, most of it; not in and of itself, of course, but in the gallows humour it provokes. The fact that most reviewers have agreed that the book is ‘laugh out loud funny’ bears testament to that. But I hope Mike, and indeed all of the characters and situations, are real too. This sort of stuff can and does happen; I’ve just chosen to attack it from a comedic perspective.

I’d always been drawn to tales about Ordinary Joes defying the odds, in particular, those whose previously obscure, private lives suddenly become public. As much as I detest the premise behind shows like X Factor (and the drivel and tittle-tattle that spin off from them) there’s something fascinating about them too. As a thwarted musician myself, I always wondered what it would be like to be thrown into the lion’s den of public approbation and opprobrium, so that was the inspiration behind Mike’s journey.  I thought this would play out as an interesting contrast to the disasters befalling him in his professional and family lives.

My other key inspiration was less to do with the book itself than the lack of books like it in the fiction market place. I’m an avid reader but struggle to find contemporary fiction that makes me laugh. Most of the book shops these days are drowning in fantasy, YA, Scandinavian thrillers and commercial erotica. I have no problem with any genre, but the kind of authors I enjoy – Nick Hornby, David Nicholls, Tom Wolfe, Jonathan Tropper – are increasingly rare. So either I’ve misjudged the public mood or I’m at the vanguard of a new breed of comedy novelists. Time will tell!

*****

Song in the Wrong KeyMichael Kenton is a middle-aged man living in middle-class comfort with wife Lisa and daughters Millie and Katia. Drifting complacently towards retirement, Mike’s world is turned upside-down when he is thrown unexpectedly onto the career scrapheap.

While Lisa’s career sky-rockets, Mike slobs around in his track suit playing guitar, rekindling his teenage love affair with pop music. Knowing Lisa wouldn’t approve, he plots a secret ‘comeback’ at a grimy Crouch End bistro where music executive Ben, desperate and out of time, asks if he can enter one of Mike’s songs into the Eurovision Song Contest. With nothing to lose, Mike focuses on Eurovision but quickly finds himself staring down the barrel of low level fame. His crumbling marriage now page five news, he must choose between his musical dream and mending his broken family, a task complicated by the re-appearance of ex-love of his life Faye.

A laugh-out-loud comedy about love, family, friendship and Euro- tack by acclaimed stand-up and comedy writer Simon Lipson.

*****

Simon LipsonSimon Lipson was born in London and took a law degree at the LSE. After a spell as a lawyer, he co-founded legal recruitment company Lipson Lloyd-Jones in 1987. In 1993, Simon took his first tentative steps onto the comedy circuit and has since become an in-demand stand-up and impressionist across the UK, as well as a regular TV and radio performer/writer. His broadcasting credits include Week Ending, Dead Ringers, Loose Ends and Fordham & Lipson (co-wrote and performed own 4 part sketch series) on Radio 4; Interesting…Very Interesting and Simon Lipson’s Xmas Box on Radio 5 and And This Is Them on Radio 2. He is also an experienced voice artiste who has voiced hundreds of advertisements as well as cartoons and documentaries. His first novel, Losing It, a thriller, was published by Matador in 2008. Simon is a columnist for Gridlock Magazine (www.gridlockmagazine.com). His next novel, Standing Up, will be published by Lane & Hart in Autumn 2012.

 

www.songinthewrongkey.com

www.simonlipson.com

http://www.facebook.com/simon.lipson.3

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Song-In-The-Wrong-Key-Simon-Lipson/140280092721031

Twitter: @SimonLipson

www.simonlipson.blogspot.co.uk

 

Buy links – paperback and Kindle:

Amazon.co.uk: http://amzn.to/xaosKp

Amazon.com: http://amzn.to/yo7bpY

My show, The Accidental Impressionist, is on at the Camden Fringe 20 – 23 August @ 8pm. Everyone welcome! Details and tickets here: http://j.mp/JDPBnu

Kitti Bernetti Dishes the Dirt Behind Her Novella, The Thousand and One Nights

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The Story Behind The Story

It’s my pleasure to welcome Kitti Bernetti to a Hopeful Romantic to tell the story behind her hot novella, The Thousand and One Nights, the title story of another one Xcite’s fabulous Secret Library anthologies. Go ahead, Kitti! Turn up the heat!

 

The Thousand and One NightsThe whole world is going on about Fifty Shades of Grey. But erotic literature has been around for centuries, and has simply seen a revival with electronic devices. But, the 50 shades phenomenon has a different angle. It is primarily erotic fiction for women, written by a woman and has at its central core an all-consuming love story.

That was also the main brief for those writers asked to pen a novella for Xcite’s Secret Library. Mine, ‘The Thousand and One Nights’ which comes with two other brilliant stories is first and foremost a hot and passionate love story. (It will also be available as a FREE Kindle promotion as a single title called ‘Dark Nights’ from 15 to 19 August). My tale concerns Sebastian Dark, multi-millionaire who is being swindled by Breeze, a girl with a past. When Sebastian discovers Breeze’s treachery, he exacts his own special revenge – she must entertain him each night to save her skin. They start out hating each other but soon discover how much they have in common. Here’s an extract where they are getting it on up in the deserted balcony of the Albert Hall (yes, the Albert Hall! She has to come up with some seriously inventive places to make love to please an alpha male like Seb Dark):

‘… He opened his mouth and cried out as he felt the spunk forced up inside him shoot into her as she pumped mercilessly, opening her eyes and connecting with him, looking into his soul as she drove him, rode him, forced him to mind-blowing orgasm just as the drums thumped, the cymbals crashed, the might of the whole orchestra filling the Albert Hall drowned out his yells of orgasmic fulfilment.

He felt sleepy, exhausted, fulfilled. If the world ended in that second he would be a deliriously happy man. The bed was superb, gilded, over the top. The beautiful Albert Hall, rich and red, was extravagant, echoing the way he was beginning to feel about Breeze lying next to him. Ice Queen, she was not. He turned towards her supine beside him and noticed goose bumps. “You’re cold.” He gently covered her over, pressed the warmth of his body close to hers. A sudden rush of protectiveness engulfed him…. He didn’t want her to be cold, didn’t want her to be hungry or unhappy.’

Find Kitti and her book:

http://kittibernettis.blogspot.com

http://www.kittibernetti.moonfruit.com

Link to ‘Dark Nights’ http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dark-Nights-Xcite-Romance-ebook/dp/B0087G44XS

Link to ‘The Thousand and One Nights’ http://thesecretlibrary.co.uk/?page_id=8769

Quarantine: The Story Behind the Story By Lisabet Sarai

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The Story Behind The Story

It’s my pleasure to welcome the amazing Lisabet Sarai to A Hopeful Romantic on her blog tour for her stunning story, Quarantine. Welcome, Lisabet. Tell us the story behind Quarantine.


I don’t know if I would have written Quarantine if I’d been brought up as something other than Jewish.

None of my family members personally endured the Holocaust. They immigrated decades before the Nazis rose to power. Nevertheless, when you’re a Jew, even a non-observant one like me, the concentration camps and the gas chambers are part of your legacy. The notion that a government might systematically imprison and exterminate millions on the basis of their religious or ethnic background may seem far-fetched and difficult to believe to most people, but when you grow up Jewish, you know the truth. Humans have surprising capacity for evil.

I was an adult before I learned about America’s own camps, where millions of Japanese-Americans were detained during World War II. Of course these individuals weren’t slaughtered, but some did die, of disease or malnutrition, and many of those that survived lost their property, their livelihoods and their communities.

When I listened to the rabid anti-gay rhetoric of right wing politicians and religious figures in the United States, I realized that it wouldn’t take all that much to tip society in the direction of interning gays. (In fact homosexuals were among the victims of Hitler’s “final solution”.) The premise of Quarantine came from that realization, along with the vision of persecution we Jews seem to carry in our bones.

Dylan and Rafe first came to me as characters for a short story, in response to a call for gay BDSM erotica. I could imagine the power differential between a camp guard and a gay prisoner, in a world where being homosexual was a crime. I soon understood that this was far too complicated a scenario for five thousand words. As I started to work on the idea, I saw that the power dynamics could be far more nuanced than I’d initially imagined. In the final novel, Rafe is ostensibly the one on top, but Dylan controls much of the action through charisma and craft.

The final book doesn’t include any explicit BDSM, other than a scene where one of the villains kidnaps and binds Dylan for his own entertainment. At the same time, the book is about power – political power, moral power and erotic power.

QuarantineBlurb

When love is forbidden, the whole world’s a prison.

Dylan Moore will do anything for freedom. Seven years ago, a gay epidemic spread to heterosexuals, killing millions and sparking brutal anti-gay riots. The Guardians rounded up men who tested positive for the homogene and imprisoned them in remote quarantine centres like desolate Camp Malheur. Since then, Dylan has hacked the camp’s security systems and hoarded spare bits of electronics, seeking some way to escape. He has concluded the human guards are the only weakness in the facility’s defences.

Camp guard Rafe Cowell is H-negative. He figures the lust he feels watching prisoner 3218 masturbate on the surveillance cameras must be due to his loneliness and isolation. When he finally meets the young queer, he discovers that Dylan is brilliant, brave, sexy as hell – and claims to be in love with Rafe. Despite his qualms, Rafe finds he can’t resist the other man’s charm. By the time Dylan asks for his help in escaping, Rafe cares too much for Dylan to refuse.

Dylan’s plan goes awry and Rafe comes to his rescue. Soon they’re both fugitives, fleeing from militant survivalists, murderous androids, homophobic ideologues and a powerful man who wants Dylan as his sexual toy. Hiding in the Plague-ravaged city of Sanfran, Dylan and Rafe learn there’s far more than their own safety at stake. Can they help prevent the deaths of millions more people? And can Rafe trust the love of a man who deliberately seduced him in order to escape from quarantine?

Excerpt (Rated X)

Rafe rammed his prick into Dylan’s mouth, seeking heat and wetness. Meanwhile, he opened wide and engulfed his lover’s cock, sliding his lips down the length. The taut skin was velvety and smooth. He thought he could feel Dylan’s pulse against his tongue. He licked at the warm, ripe flesh. It felt so alive, so full, ready to burst.

He’d never tasted a man’s cum, but he wanted to now. He rocked his hips up and down, letting Dylan feast on his meat. Meanwhile, he suckled the other man’s organ, mimicking the tricks Dylan used, that he was using now in fact, to drag Rafe to the very edge of control. Pleasure welled up and threatened to overflow, but Rafe didn’t plan to come yet. No, he needed to hold on until he made Dylan shoot. It was a matter of honour.

The white guy was close. Rafe bore down, tilting his head back to lengthen his throat. Dylan arched in response, slamming his bulb against Rafe’s palate. Rafe fought the urge to choke. He knew how good it felt to let everything rip, to drive your cock deep, as deep as you could, to ravage someone’s willing mouth, holding nothing back, nothing…

Without warning, or at least any that he recognised, yeasty fluid filled his mouth. He coughed and swallowed. Dylan’s cock convulsed, spitting out more gobs of warm liquid. Rafe gulped down as much as he could, the remnants leaking from the corners of his lips. The odd taste, the unfamiliar sensations, and most of all, the knowledge that he’d sucked his lover to climax, all combined to take him over the edge. With one last thrust, he let go.

The pleasure was round and full, different somehow from his usual wild, jagged orgasms. It surged up from his depths, powerful, irresistible, sweeping away every thought in a blissful tide of satisfaction. For what seemed like hours, the waves rolled through him, pleasure swirling up from his balls and out onto Dylan’s tongue.

Rafe collapsed on top of his lover. Dylan’s cock slipped out from between his bruised lips. His face was sticky with jizz. His arms muscles screamed from exertion. He felt Dylan’s cat-like tongue, lapping the last drops of semen from his own dick.

He’d never been happier.

****

Thanks, K.D, for having me as your guest. This post today is part of my Quarantine blog tour, which will run  through the 24th of July. I’ll be giving away an ebook to one commenter at each stop on the tour. So leave a comment – and don’t forget to include your email address so I can contact you!

I’ll also be choosing one commenter from the entire tour to win the grand prize – a $50 All Romance Ebooks gift certificate. Meanwhile, all comments at my own blog Beyond Romance (http://lisabetsarai.blogspot.com) during the tour will also go into the drawing for the gift certificate.

You’ll find the schedule for the tour in my July newsletter: http://www.lisabetsarai.com/news.html

You can watch the sensational Quarantine trailer here. And if you’re interested in getting your own copy of Quarantine, just go to Total-E-Bound (http://www.total-e-bound.com/product.asp?P_ID=1725)!

*****

Bio: More than a decade ago LISABET SARAI experienced a serendipitous fusion of her love of writing and her fascination with sex. Since then she has published four single author short story collections and seven erotic novels, including the BDSM classic Raw Silk. Dozens of her shorter works have been released as ebooks and in print anthologies. She has also edited several acclaimed anthologies and is currently responsible for the altruistic erotica series COMING TOGETHER PRESENTS.

Lisabet holds more degrees than anyone needs from prestigious universities who would no doubt be embarrassed by her chosen genre. She loves to travel and currently lives in Southeast Asia with her highly tolerant husband and two cosmopolitan felines. For more information on Lisabet and her writing visit Lisabet Sarai’s Fantasy Factory (http://www.lisabetsarai.com) or her blog Beyond Romance (http://lisabetsarai.blogspot.com).

Welcome Grace Marshall: As Interviewed by Her Naughty Twin

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It’s a pleasure to introduce my doppelgänger, Grace Marshall. Grace is no good at keeping a secret, and neither is our husband. Him I can’t lock in his room.  Her however, I finally had to until Xcite made the announcement of her new Executive Decisions trilogy official. Now that she’s been unleashed onto the world, along with her soon to be published hot romance novel, An Executive Decision, I’m very pleased to be the first to have her as my guest.

KD: Grace, you and I have known each other all our lives, and you’ve always been happy to collaberate  and make sure that I didn’t leave romance out of my smut. What made you decide to strike out on your own?

GM: Well, you know I’ve always been the true romantic between the two of us, KD, and as much as I love writing smut with you, I just thought it was time for me to go in search of my own Happy Ever After.

KD: Good for you! I think everyone should have a Happy Ever After. And wow! Are you going at it in a big way, a hot new trilogy with Xcite Romance right out of the blocks. Hon, you’re really hard core.’

GM: It takes one to know one, Sweetie.

KD: Thanks Grace. I’ll take that as a compliment. I’m really curious. You’re new trilogy, is it an effort to catch the Fifty Shades wave?

GM: KD, there was an Ellison Thorne way before there was a Christian Grey, and at the time Ellison Thorne made editors and agents nervous because he was just a little too hot, a little too risqué. He was ahead of his time, as was his outrageously competent and sexy new business partner, Dee Henning. I guess you could say that Fifty Shades was the coming of age novel that brought truly sexy romance into the mainstream all grown up and seductive. Hats off to Christian Grey for that. At last, romance for adults!

KD: You mean romance with hot sex? Well exactly! I’ve been saying that all along. I don’t know about you, but I’ve always wanted to see what goes on behind closed doors and in the back of limos and in elevators and … well you get the picture.

GM: You always were a bit of a voyeur, Hon.

KD: So tell my readers about Ellis and Dee. What makes their story so special?

GM: What makes their story so special? Four words, KD, four words, The Executive Sex Clause?’

KD: The Executive Sex Clause?

GM: It’s what happens when you’ve got two busy executives ready, willing and able to conquer the world and everything in it … but totally unable to find time for a love life.

KD: Hold on a minute, you mean sex is a part of the contract? Sounds pretty kinky to me.

GM: Oh, I don’t know, I think it’s actually quite practical. Think about it, a source of strings-free, on-demand sex would boost productivity and creativity, relieve stress, even reduce sick days. And who knows how much more two top-notch businessy types could accomplish if their junk wasn’t interfering with their brains.

KD: Wait a minute, Grace, that sound more like something I’d write. Where’s the romance? Where are the hearts and flowers? Where’s the staring longingly into each other’s eyes?’

GM: Oh, I promise there’s PLENTY of romance, KD. Because though Dee and Ellis might be able to work sex into their business arrangement, you and I both know the heart has its own agenda, and a secret like The Executive Sex Clause, a secret business strategy that cutting edge and that kinky is not going to stay secret for long. I’m sure you can imagine, there’ll be … consequences.

KD: Okay, I’m intrigued. I want to know more about Dee and Ellis and their Executive Sex Clause. Could we have an excerpt, please.

GM; I thought you’d never ask. Here’s a sneak peek.

An Executive Decision Blurb:

Over drinks one night after too many hours at the office, Ellison Thorne’s business partner, Beverly Neumann and his brother Garrett jokingly scheme the Executive Sex Clause, an innovative cure for Ellis’s lack of a love life. They speculate a source of no-strings, stress-free sex in certain employee contracts would raise productivity, minimize stress, and boost creativity for a busy CEO like Ellis. But they were joking, weren’t they?

Enter Dee Henning. Young, hungry, gifted, what Dee lacks in experience, she makes up for in ambition and hard work. Dee is the queen of no-time-for-sex.

When stressful negotiations over a huge project break down, driving Dee and Ellis into each other’s arms, the aftermath is a deal even sweeter than they imagined. Suddenly the Executive Sex Clause no longer seems like a joke. Could it be the ultimate secret weapon for success? And why not, if no one else knows? But secrets seldom remain secret, and Dee and Ellis find out the hard way that there’s no such thing as no strings where the heart is concerned.

Excerpt:

‘I missed her again didn’t I? She’s going to think I’m avoiding her.’ Ellis dropped into the chair in front of Beverly’s desk and flipped absently through the files Dee Henning had just left. ‘It’s not her I’m avoiding, actually, it’s your silly retirement plans.’

‘You won’t be laughing when you come in here some morning and find my desk empty. You’ll be SOL big time, boy.’

He offered her an amused chuckle. ‘Who are you kidding, Beverly? You love this place and you know it. You’re not going to retire. How many false alarms have there been now, three?  Four? I’ve lost count. Face it; you’ll work here until you drop dead.’

‘Believe what you want, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.’ She pulled a manila envelope from the top drawer of her desk and handed it to him.

‘What’s this?’

‘My replacement. Since you won’t help, I’ve taken matters into my own hands. She’s been right under our noses all along.’ She rubbed her hands together with a shiver of anticipation. ‘Come on, humor me.’

Still holding her in a disapproving gaze, he took the envelope as though he half expected it to be booby trapped. He opened the clasp then slid the contents from inside and gave it a glance. ‘Wait a minute. This is a file on Dee Henning. You can’t be serious. You want a head hunter to take over running half of Pneuma Inc?’

‘Don’t be such a snob, Ellis. It’s not like she’ll be taking over tomorrow. I’ll be here to train her up to suit your persnickety standards.’

‘How did you get this information anyway?’ The file was too thick for a simple resume, and some of the pages looked like hand-written notes photocopied. Others were odd sizes, and the whole packaged smacked of Beverly’s scheming.

‘Portland’s a small city.’ Suddenly she seemed particularly interested in the leaves of a thriving Christmas cactus sitting on the edge of her desk.

‘Beverly?’

‘I’m friends with Irv McDowell, okay? At least I think we’re still friends.’ The look of driven-snow innocence gave way to something just slightly this side of devious.

‘You’ve been head-hunting from the head head-hunter? Dee Henning’s Jasper and McDowell’s star recruiter. Surely Irv didn’t give you this willingly.’

Beverly ignored the question and nodded at the photo he now held in his hand.

‘She’s exactly what you need on all counts. She may be only a few years out of grad school, but what impresses me is her accomplishments during that time. She reminds me of you back in the early days – young, hungry, dedicated… And pretty. Don’t give me that look, Ellis, you’d blush if you heard some of the juicy conversations about you I overhear in the ladies’ room.’

He pretended to ignore the photo. ‘Your delusions aside, it doesn’t matter — that she’s good looking, I mean.’

‘And that’s why you’re drooling over the photo? I may be old, Ellis, but there’s nothing wrong with my eyesight.’

He put the picture of Dee aside and flipped through the file. ‘What all do you have in here anyway?’ He read out loud from the photocopied pages. ‘Classically trained, voice and piano? Oh, that’ll come in really handy here at Pneuma Inc. In fact, I was just thinking of requiring it for all new employees.’

‘Stop being an asshole. It’s just background information, just stuff that’s good to know.’

The hand-written notes stated that both of Dee’s parents were musicians. Her father had sung in the chorus for the Paris Opera. Her mother was a soprano, who went to Paris on some summer program, and nine months later Dee came along. Ellis suddenly felt like a voyeur. ‘This is none of our business.’ He tried to shove the file back at Beverly, but she refused it.

‘Oh for chrissake, Ellis, there’s nothing in there I haven’t already wheedled out of the girl over coffee or drinks. Don’t be such a wuss.’

‘I’m sure she didn’t give you the copy of her finances over coffee and drinks.’

‘Oh that. Just tells us that we can’t appeal to her with money alone.’

‘Clearly she doesn’t need it,’ he said. He was surprised to find someone so young had such a good portfolio. She obviously knew how to make money work for her. She wasn’t exactly rich, but give her a few more years, and she would be.

‘My point exactly. Musicians tend to be poor, and I think our Dee has taken it upon herself not to follow in her parents’ footsteps.’

‘If the need ever actually arises for me to interview her, what makes you think she’s even interested in working for me? She’s got a growing career with Jasper and McDowell, and as you said, she’s making very good money.’

Beverly frowned. ‘Jasper and McDowell is a means to an end. Surely you don’t expect someone with her talent to settle in there permanently, do you? It’s the experience of working here with you that will appeal to her. She’s a perfectionist, never does anything half-assed. She’s always striving to be the best. She’s driven, just like you are. Remember that when you interview her.’

He shuffled pages. ‘What did you have to do to get this stuff, tie Irv to a chair and beat him with a tire iron?’

‘It’s amazing what a man will tell you over a couple of drinks.’

‘You got him drunk.’

‘It wasn’t that hard. He never could hold his booze. I can’t believe I didn’t figure it out sooner. She’s perfect for my job.’

Ellis looked down at the resume. ‘She’s not perfect for your job, Beverly. She’s too young, too inexperienced, and this is not even her area of expertise.’

‘The woman’s a head hunter, Ellis. She has to be competent in lots of areas. Besides, we’ve always been risk-takers, and those risks have always paid off. I’ll train her myself, and you’ll see, within a few months she’ll be able to run this place on her own.’

‘An opportunity she’ll never get because you’ll never retire.’

‘Forget about my retirement, Ellis. It’s time. You know it is. We need someone in training for when the inevitable happens.’

He gave up pretending to ignore the photo, which was definitely the nicest thing he’d looked at all day. Short, dark hair framed blue eyes, a straight Roman nose, and a full-lipped smile that suggested competence, with a touch of mischief. So this was what Dee Henning looked like. He’d often wondered.

‘Hire her, Ellis. It’s not just that I’m retiring, but I’m old. Hell I could drop dead anytime, then what?’

‘Oh for fuck sake, Beverly, we both know you’re too damned ornery to die. You’ll outlive me. But I tell you what, if and when you do drop dead, I’ll hire her. Hell, when you drop dead, I’ll give her your job on a silver platter and train her myself, I promise. Now can we get back to running the business here?’

Two weeks later, Beverly had sent him an email from the airport. The last email he got from her before she flew off to Brazil.

Ellis,

Just an addendum to the conversation we had earlier about Dee Henning. I want to make it clear how I feel. I’ve already told you she’s perfect for the position. And if you were ever going to implement the ESC, she’d be the one to do it with – that is if you’ve got the balls.

Dee’s exactly what you need on all counts.  I know you think she lacks experience, but trust me, with the right training, given half a chance, she’ll be brilliant.  Hire her, Ellis. Implement the ESC. Trust me, it’s the perfect strategy, a secret weapon that could make Pneuma Inc even more successful than it already is.  And if anyone could do it, you could.  Do this for me and I can retire and enjoy my dotage.

-Beverly

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