The Callaway Corporation recently bought the high-end resort property Jenny Jacobson manages. In that time, they have micromanaged both her and it into the ground. With no budget for repairs, she does most of the work herself. She proves to be pretty handy with most of the daily mishaps, until she meets the mysterious drifter Thomas Beck. In the middle of a plumbing emergency, Beck comes to her rescue and fixes the problem, saving her from further disaster and costly repairs. Despite her best attempts, she cannot seem to get away from this man who shows up at every turn.
Regardless of her cold treatment toward him, he turns on his charms. Will his cocky arrogance mixed with his sexy smile break down her tough exterior? If so, what secrets is Beck keeping that could ultimately ruin any chance they have to find happiness together?
Note: This book was previously published with another publisher and has been extensively revised and expanded.
Available at Bookstrand and Amazon
Excerpt
She wanted to see him again, but had no idea if she ever would. He could have already moved on and be long gone. Without so much as a good-bye, this morning may have been the last time she’d ever see the mysterious man who came into her life out of nowhere to seduce her.
The truth was, she wanted to do much more with him again than just lay eyes on him. She wanted to feel his touch, his kiss, the way he felt when he was thrusting inside of her. The memory, the images in her mind, it was all too much for her libido to handle. Her nipples pebbled in the confines of her bra and her panties became moist, dampened with her body’s ache for more.
“Ugh…stop it, Jenny,” she mumbled to herself, annoyed at her inability to get a single thing accomplished since she’d managed to make it to her desk, much later than she usually did.
“Excuse me?” Marianne said from the doorway.
Jenny jerked her head up. She had been so completely lost in her thoughts that she hadn’t even heard her come in, much less seen her standing there.
“Yes, oh, I’m sorry, Marianne. I didn’t even see you there. What can I do for you?”
“Oh, that’s all right. We had a complaint about the television in the main lounge. I was just wondering if you wanted me to call Beck and see if he would take a look at it.”
Jenny sighed. “No, Marianne. Do not call Beck.”
She wasn’t sure why, but she felt a sudden pang of annoyance at Marianne’s question. She had been running this hotel just fine until Beck had come along. She didn’t need him to come to her rescue every time something was broken. Having him in her bed was incredible, but having him prove her incapable of handling things was another thing entirely.
“Are you sure? I would’ve called him myself, but I wasn’t sure if he had a walkie-talkie yet.”
“A walkie-talkie? Why would I—” She sighed. “Never mind. It doesn’t matter. I’ll take care of it myself.”
“Well, okay, if you’re sure. I just figured it would be a quick fix for someone of his expertise—”
Jenny abruptly cut her off. “His expertise, Marianne? Really, with all due respect, I appreciate that he helped us with our plumbing problem, but he is hardly an expert on maintenance.”
“I certainly didn’t mean to upset you, but he does seem quite capable, and since you hired him and all I figured it was a no-brainer. Besides, he was more than willing to help this morning with the Jacuzzi issue. So, naturally I assumed that—”
“Excuse me?” Jenny asked her, unwilling to allow Marianne to even finish her sentence. Curiosity-filled anger plagued her from the news that she had apparently hired Beck and he was already off fixing Jacuzzis. Obviously he had been doing things under her nose, and she didn’t care for being undermined, especially in front of her staff. Whether they knew what he was doing or not.
“What? I was just saying that—”
Jenny shook her head and stood up from her desk. “Yes, I heard you, Marianne. What I don’t understand is why I am just now hearing about a problem with a Jacuzzi in a hotel that I am quite clearly the manager of.” She picked up her wooden desk name plate to prove her point.
Marianne stood there staring at her. She gave no response, which only made Jenny more furious. Damn it, Beck! Not only had he fixed something else, but apparently he let on that he was now on the payroll. Well, he would be in for quite the surprise if he actually expected a paycheck. What was it with him? Did he not think she was capable of running this hotel without his help? What the hell was it with men, anyway? She was very capable. Extremely capable, not to mention sick and tired of men trying to steamroll over her.
With an annoyed sigh, Jenny asked Marianne to leave her office. She went into her office closet and retrieved her small bucket of tools. On her way to the main lounge frustration consumed her as she kept thinking about how her whole life she’d had to prove she was capable of accomplishing anything a man could. When would it be enough already?
She rounded the corner of the lobby and entered the main lounge to see Beck standing in front of the very television that Marianne had just notified her about. He was reaching his hand behind the wall-mounted flat screen while laughing and speaking with their concierge about some football game that was apparently the upset of the year. He couldn’t fit into the stereotypical cliché of male species anymore if he tried.
“Beck!”
Jenny’s shout resonated in the cozy sitting area. A flush of embarrassment covered her face when everyone in the room turned to stare at her, including her staff members.
“Yes?” Beck’s answer as well as his expression showed Jenny he was just as surprised by her rather sharp tone.
“I—what are you doing? I came to fix that.”
Beck’s amused grin did nothing to curb her anger. It wasn’t bad enough that he pushed her to the limits of her sanity, making her lose all professionalism, but now he was going to stand there with that shit-eating grin on his face?
“Right. Well, now you don’t have to worry about it.”
His arrogance wasn’t helping her mood. “I’ll be the judge of that.”
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