Publication Date: September 16, 2016
Paperback: 342 pages
Genre: Christian Inspirational Romance
ISBN-10: 0989969150
ISBN-13: 978-0989969154
ASIN: B01M0GXCGB
“Aaron, good morning. This is Holly.”
“Good morning. What’s up?” He couldn’t imagine why Holly was
calling, knowing he was on his way into work. He didn’t have anything pressing
on his calendar or any clients coming into the office until later that
afternoon.
She muttered, “Aaron, Mr. Kane is here to see you. He
keeps coming to my desk, asking when you will be arriving. If he keeps pacing
back and forth on that carpet in the sitting area like he’s doing right now, we
might have to bill him for new carpet.”
Aaron let out a deep sigh. What is it now? “Okay. Tell Mr. Kane I’ll be there within the next
fifteen minutes.” He paused. “Holly, pull the file.”
With a heavy sigh, he ended the call. He drove the rest
of the way to work praying, Lord, my
morning cannot start like this. He had an unnerving feeling about the
meeting, but he didn’t know why.
Fifteen minutes later, he pulled into the parking lot. He
grabbed his briefcase from the passenger’s seat and took the elevator up to his
office. When the elevator doors opened, instead of seeing Simone’s beautiful
face or being greeted by Holly, he was met by Mr. Kane, who had fire in his
eyes.
Aaron forced a smile. “Good morning, Mr. Kane.”
“Aaron,” Mr. Kane grunted.
Aaron instructed Holly to hold all his calls. From the
look in Mr. Kane’s eyes, Aaron could tell he hadn’t come to pat him on the
back. The back of Aaron’s hair stood up as Mr. Kane trailed him into his
office. Why does it feel like I’m about
to get a beat-down?
“Come on in and have a seat.” Aaron sat in his chair and
observed Mr. Kane pacing back and forth.
“No, thank you. I’ll stand.” The man blew out a terse
breath. “Blackman, I trusted you with this project. And this is how you repay
me?” His voice was shrill, harsh.
Aaron was about to respond, but Mr. Kane held up a hand,
silencing him. Aaron’s eyes widened, but he remained calm.
“Were you trying to rip me off, or what?” He peered at
Aaron and cleared his throat for the tenth time.
Aaron’s jaw tightened. He was getting furious. There was
a long moment of silence between them. Aaron quickly rose to his feet. He stood
at least two inches over the man. With one punch, he could send the man into
his next dream. Aaron gave him an exasperated look instead. “Mr. Kane, what do
you mean, ‘trying to rip you off’? Blackman and Blackman is a reputable
organization, and I take offense. I would strongly recommend you explain your
statement.”
Mr. Kane tossed the financial reports on Aaron’s desk.
“Gladly. Those are the financials we received in my office. My accountant
looked them over and informed me that the bottom line is over the original
budget by four million dollars.”
Aaron frowned. “That can’t be correct. I looked over the
reports myself and verified the amounts before they were sent to you. There
must be some logical explanation.” Aaron grunted. He felt like a scratched record.
The last time Mr. Kane was in the office, Aaron had given him the same
response. His heart rate increased as he glanced over the report. “I need time
to look this over and see where the mistake is.”
“Don’t bother, Blackman. Time is money, and mistakes like
this are costing me.” He paused to take a breath. “I’ve decided to take my
project to LW Partners instead. I hear Lamont is one of the best in the Bay Area,
also.”
Aaron’s face tightened. “Mr. Kane, give me until later
today to see what happened. I’m sure the mistake will be corrected.”
“Blackman, you sound like a broken record.”
Aaron’s anger rose several notches. His level of
tolerance diminished. “Mr. Kane, do I need to remind you that we have a signed
contract?”
“No, you don’t need to remind me at all. Sue me then,
Blackman.” He turned and walked out of the office, slamming the door behind
him.
Aaron collapsed in his chair. What happened? He was in disbelief. Did he say he was giving the project to Lamont Willis? He leaned
back in his chair and loosened his tie. One
of the biggest projects of my career slipped out of my hands … because of a
mistake.
All the time and long hours wasted, not to mention the
money the firm was planning on making. He sighed heavily as he stared,
bewildered. He sat in confusion, replaying the last few minutes in his head.
The more he thought about it, the more annoyed he got. Why does Lamont Willis’s name keep popping up?
Lamont was his archenemy—professionally and personally.
Out of all the real estate developers in the Bay Area, Mr. Kane had selected
him. Why? Aaron pounded his fist on
the table. The man was a scumbag and a cheat. How did he manage to steal this project away from me?
Aaron thought about the last time he’d seen Lamont. How could I forget? He came to pick up
Simone for lunch. He remembered the smirk on Lamont’s face. A twinge of
irritation crawled over Aaron’s skin.
Aaron and Simone had looked over the financials together.
They were all in order. Everything was correct. So, what happened between
Simone leaving his office and Mr. Kane receiving the package? Something wasn’t
right. It didn’t add up. Could she have bungled the reports? But why? No. Aaron. She’s too meticulous. She would
have never made that kind of mistake.
His mind traveled to the times all three of their paths
had crossed. Lunch at Le Cheval. Maybe that
would explain her nervousness that
day. The conference in Las Vegas. He’d seen them talking. Lamont came to
the office to pick her up for lunch. The roses—she’d never divulged their
sender. I’d bet good money they were from
Lamont.
It was obvious Lamont was attracted to her, but she’d led
Aaron to believe she wasn’t interested in Lamont.
Knowing Lamont, he’d use anybody to vex Aaron, including
Simone. Aaron, you’ve lost your mind.
Hmm, have I? Could
they be working together? If they were, she was
really good at fooling him. He felt a tightening in the pit of his stomach. His
skin crawled.
His eyes flew to their picture on his phone. The selfies
they had taken at Yoshi’s. His feelings were all over the place. One moment, he
dismissed the thoughts of her and Lamont conspiring together. The next, he
pondered the possibility.
Nah. Not Simone.
He was emotional, but he had to know the truth.
Aaron marched into Simone’s office and threw open the
door. She jumped in her seat as he slammed it shut. She spun in his direction,
and he stared her down with dark, piercing eyes. “We need to talk.”
In addition to being an award winning author of Completely Whole,
Paulette is an inspirational speaker, as well as a writing workshop instructor.
She has a passion to coach aspiring authors and speaks into the lives of women
from every walk of life. Her literary works have been spotlighted in a growing
number of publications, including CBN, Real Life Real Faith Magazine, and Black
Pearls Magazine. She has also appeared on numerous local and online radio
shows.
Paulette resides in Northern California.
