by Tara Wyatt
“And what did you contribute to this project?”
Sebastian frowned. He’d contributed...well, he’d been at some of the meetings, and...He shook his head. “Why do you ask?”
Stammler said nothing and pulled out another folder, tossing it at him. “Tell me about this one.”
Again, Sebastian paged through the folder, his skin suddenly feeling tight and itchy. “This is Barnett Tower,” he said. It was a low-rise office building in Harlem with ground floor retail as well as over 40,000 square feet of community space for after school programs. He’d been responsible for developing relationships with potential businesses looking for space as well as some of the non-profit organizations who might be interested in using the space. As he skimmed through the folder, he saw that many of the spaces were already leased and several organizations had signed on, which was news to him.
“This one,” said Stammler, sliding another folder to him. A private school they were building in Queens. Another for a hospital in Harlem. Another for a massive residential project in Washington Heights. All projects on which he’d been the lead. All projects on which he’d apparently dropped the ball, and yet...the work was done. And done well.
All signed off on by Kayla Bristowe, his manager of marketing and communications.
“Miss Bristowe brought all of this to my attention this morning,” said Stammler, leaning back in his chair, his thick, stubby fingers tented. “Apparently she’s tired of doing your job for you.”
“She doesn’t do my job for me. She works under me.” His mind spun, scrambling to think of an excuse to explain away the obvious fact that he’d been fucking up his job along with everything else in his life.
“Not anymore. You’re fired. I’m promoting Kayla into your role since she’s already doing it and doing it better than you ever did. You’re a mess, Prescott,” Stammler said with a sneer. “It’s a shame because you’re one of the smartest guys here, but you drink too much, you’re never here, and you’ve embarrassed this company one too many times. You’re done.”
Sebastian felt as though the floor was dropping out from underneath him, his stomach in freefall mode. A week ago, he’d been kicked out of his apartment after a misunderstanding with his landlord—you run one tiny gambling ring and everyone freaks out—and now he was unemployed. His life was unraveling before his eyes and he knew it was entirely his own fault. His breathing became faster and shallower, panic swamping him. What was he going to do now? He was unemployed and homeless, crashing with his brother.
It was terrifying enough to make him want to go do something stupid. Something reckless and risky and thrilling so that just for a little while, he could forget about the total clusterfuck his life had become.
No. No! That was what had landed him here in the first place. He knew it and knew he needed to figure his shit out and get his act together if he didn’t want to crash and burn to a point beyond salvaging.
And yet all he could think about was drinking until he was numb. Or taking what little money he had left and betting it all on something wild and crazy. Or heading to his “boxing gym” that was really an underground fighting ring where he’d let someone pummel him until he couldn’t think or feel anymore.
“Collect your things,” said Stammler with a dismissive wave of his hand, as though Sebastian was no one and not a guy who’d worked as a senior executive there for the past six years. “I want you out of the building within the next ten minutes.”
Pulling together the ragged scraps of his dignity, Sebastian stood and headed back to his office, where two security guards were waiting for him. “Seriously?” he snarled as he strode into his office, his anger becoming sharper and more explosive by the minute. “I can walk myself out. I’m not going to steal a photocopier or something.”
“Company policy,” said one in a monotone voice. Jaw tight to the point of aching, Sebastian closed his eyes and blew out a breath. Then he retrieved a Banker’s Box from one of the shelves, dumped the papers out of it and onto the floor and started cramming his personal effects into it. Less than five minutes later, he was practically being frog marched down the hall, sandwiched between the two security guards, the box clutched in his hands. He kept his eyes down, refusing to look at all the people who’d come out of their offices to see him escorted off of the premises.
Until he saw her. Kayla. The woman who, once upon a time, he’d had a raging crush on, with her blond curls and ample curves and mouth made for sin. She was smart and confident and had never put up with his bullshit, and he’d always liked that about her. He’d never made a move because she was technically his subordinate and he was a lot of things, but he wasn’t a douche to women. Never. Especially not Kayla.
And then she’d gotten him fired. She’d cost him his job, the only thing keeping him afloat in the quagmire of his life.
He locked eyes with her and she had the balls to wave at him, a little smirk on her face. “Good luck, Sebastian,” she said in that breathy come-fuck-me voice of hers. It was a voice that had once filled his fantasies, but now would haunt him. “You’re going to need it.”
I hope you’re as excited for Kayla and Sebastian’s story as I am! To get your copy of Snow Job, click here!
(PS – If you’re curious about Javi and Aerin’s story, click here to take a look at Moon Shot, a steamy enemies to lovers standalone!)
Books by Tara Wyatt
The Prescotts
Stupid Love
Snow Job
Love Bug
* * *
Dallas Longhorns Series
Stealing Home
Wild Card
Caught Looking
Moon Shot
* * *
The Graysons
When Snowflakes Fall
Like Fresh Fallen Snow
Until the Sun Sets
The Complete Graysons Trilogy:
Can’t Help Falling in Love
* * *
The Blood and Glory Series
co-written with Harper St. George
Dirty Boxing
Take Down
No Contest
* * *
The Bodyguard Series
Necessary Risk
Primal Instinct
Chain Reaction
* * *
Standalone Titles
Royal Treatment
Nailed
Stripped
Little Blue Lines
* * *
For complete information on all of Tara’s books, visit www.tara-wyatt.com/books.
About the Author
Tara Wyatt is a contemporary romance and romantic suspense author. Known for her humor and steamy love scenes, Tara’s writing has won several awards, including the Golden Quill Award and the Booksellers’ Best Award. In 2018, she was a RITA® Finalist for her novella, Until the Sun Sets.
When she’s not hanging out with your next book boyfriend, she can be found reading, bingeing something on Netflix, and drinking wine. Tara lives in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada with her husband, daughter, and the world’s cutest dachshund.
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