Dark Romance Novel - Submission + Taken + 1 Mystery books Bundle Set (A Dark Romance Series Novel)

by Veronica Cane

  Submission

  Sometimes we need to fully submit to

  learn to be in control.

  Veronica Cane

  Thesios LLC

  Orlando, FL

  Copyright © 2015 by Veronica Cane

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, without prior written permission.

  Thesios LLC

  P O Box 540375

  Orlando, FL

  www.thesios.com

  Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.

  Version 1.2

  Submission/Veronica Cane. -- 1st ed.

  ISBN 978-1512257281

  CONTENTS

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Spanish Version

  Taken

  Taken Spanish Version

  Bonus Book

  Excerpts from Bound Discipline

  Bouns Book

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Chapter 1

  Growing up, I didn’t have the luxury of believing in little girl fairy tales. I didn’t dream that Prince Charming would one day come and take me away. I knew life for what it was, a cold and harsh place where daddies went away and mommies worked two and sometimes three jobs to try and support their children. And even then, that wasn’t a guarantee that food would always be on the table.

  My mother did the best she could, but with five children, it wasn’t easy on her. Even when I got old enough to take on part time work, we all still struggled just to survive.

  Two days after my seventeenth birthday, my mother died after a long bout with pneumonia. My elder brother Charlie could only afford to keep one of us and since I was the only one old enough to work, he chose me. The younger children were sent off to foster homes. A few months later, Charlie got into a car wreck and he died too. So I was officially on my own.

  Although I graduated high school, I couldn’t exactly afford to go to college, so I took any job I could. Anyone that would hire someone without any real skills or work experience. One day, while working for a temp agency, the girl at the front desk suggested I come in and hone my computer skills. She said that if I could improve them, she would be able to place me in higher paying jobs. I spent every free minute I could in their office practicing anything and everything they could teach me.

  Eventually I was able to pass the skills test to become an entry level secretary. Some people might laugh or turn their nose up at such a job, but it was the best job I ever had and a huge step up from waitressing or the retail sales gigs I normally got. I felt like I had a career, or at least the start of one.

  The temp agency kept me pretty busy, always placing me in new jobs, as soon as my last assignment was over. Finally, one day I got the call for a long term placement at one of those big fancy downtown law firms. The pay was fantastic and if I did well, I had the opportunity for a permanent job with the company, after six months. And that would include benefits like health insurance, paid vacations and retirement. It was a dream come true and I knew I would do whatever it took to make these people love me so I could have that permanent position with the company.

  Unfortunately, I found out rather quickly that this law firm hired so many people from the temp agency so that they could always keep fresh meat coming in. The boss was a total and complete pervert and used the temp agency more like a dating service. The girls that would sleep with him got to stay, the ones who didn’t put out, found themselves replaced.

  I lasted only three weeks. But that was just long enough to figure out the kind of skills a law firm was looking for in their clerical staff. I knew one day another position like that would come available and I wanted to be ready.

  A year later that call did come and by then I was a pro at the computer and with the software they used.

  This law firm, Ashworth and Kent specialized in International law and had offices around the globe. Their main office was in London and many of the senior partners were British. I had landed the job as the personal assistant to one of the partners, Julian Moretti.

  On the long elevator ride up to the thirty-third floor, I gave myself a pep talk. “You can do this. He’s just like anyone else. Don’t be nervous. He’s not going to bite you. He’s no different than anyone else. Even if he does happen to be rich. His money doesn’t matter. He’s still a normal guy.”

  My stomach was in knots. I’d never met anyone like Julian Moretti before and now I was going to be working for him, interacting with him day in and day out. He was a powerful man, a legal genius, who was said to be able to take even the worst cases and somehow win them.

  I caught sight of myself in the oversized mirrors. I was having a great hair day and was sure that was a sign that today was going to go well. I was glad to be alone in the elevator so that others wouldn’t see me looking at myself and admiring how my long blonde hair fell in soft waves, framing my perfectly made up face. That would be rather embarrassing.

  Normally I didn’t like to trade off of my looks, but still I couldn’t help it if they gave me an advantage at times. I only hoped that today of all days, it worked towards my benefit. I needed everything I could get. I’d heard that Julian Moretti could be rather intimidating. Maybe if he thought I was pretty, he would go easier on me -- it was my first day after all.

  I still couldn’t believe I was hired as the executive assistant to Julian Moretti at Ashworth and Kent no less. They employed thousands of people all over the globe. Finally I had a job with actual opportunity for growth.

  I never dreamed that I would be so lucky to land such a great paying job in my entire life. Okay sure I dreamed that I would get a job like this, but I never thought that dream would be a reality. There were no doubt hundreds of people who applied for the position and yet somehow, after three interviews, a skills test and a background check, I got the job.

  And now here I am, on the first day, and I couldn’t figure out whatever made me think I could handle the job of working for such an important man.

  The elevator sounding my arrival snapped me to. I took several deep breaths. Reminding myself that I could do this.

  The doors opened up to a massive lobby with a round desk front in center. Behind the desk was an older woman, probably in her late forties with her hair in a tight bun on top of her head and a big smile plastered on her face.

  Two white marble columns flanked the elevator doors which matched the white and black marble floors of the lobby. In the corner there was a seating area with black leather furniture with a matching modern designed table and lamp. The room felt cold and lifeless, even with the exquisite paintings that hung on the wall that would normally give a room a dept
h of warmth. The room still just felt like a museum. On the other side of the room there was a floor-to-ceiling window with a view of the Houston skyline. It was a stunning view.

  I felt increasingly inadequate as I stepped up to the desk in my second hand business-suit and borrowed Christian Louboutin heels.

  “Can I help you?” The woman asked as I stood self-consciously before her.

  “Yes I’m Elizabeth Seabrook, Mr. Moretti’s new assistant.”

  The woman pushed a button and spoke into her headset. “Mr. Moretti, I have Elizabeth Seabrook here, who says she’s your new assistant.”

  She paused for a few moments. “Okay. Yes sir.”

  She pushed the button again, disconnecting the call and then turned back to me. “Mr. Moretti said to take a seat. He’ll send someone to get you shortly.”

  The woman pointed towards the black leather couches in the corner of the room. She didn’t give me another glance as she turned back to her computer.

  Before I had a chance to even take a seat however, the elevator chimed and in walked a man with beautiful light green eyes and a charming smile.

  “You must be Mary Elizabeth. I’m sorry I’m late but I got stuck in traffic. I-10 seems to be getting worse every day. I’m David da Luca and I’ll be working with you this week, getting you trained for your new position.”

  “It’s so good to meet you Mr. da Luca and please call me Elizabeth.”

  “Alright Elizabeth, let’s get you settled into your new office. It’s right next to the boss’s.”

  “I have to be honest, this is all a little overwhelming. I don’t know how one man does it all.”

  “He’s a brilliant man and I’m sure you’ll enjoy working for him.”

  I laughed.

  “I meant you Mr. da Luca. I don’t know how you keep up with everything.”

  “It isn’t easy, but you’ll learn in time how to manage so many tasks at once.”

  “Do you work for Mr. Moretti as well,” I asked.

  “No, I work for one of the senior associates, Devlin Kent. You met Mrs. Sherman already at reception. She handles all of their phone calls and general emails for both Mr. Moretti and Mr. Kent. Like you will be doing, I handle everything for my boss to picking up his dry cleaning, to filing his paperwork, his emails, phone calls, his schedule and grabbing him lunch and sometimes dinner. You’ll also book his meetings, arrange his travel and at times, buy gifts for his friends and family. You know, your typical assistant type duties.”

  “Sounds like a lot of work,” I said teasingly -- still a little overwhelmed by how much they expected of me, but trying to play it off like I could so handle all of this.

  “Get used to it. This is your life now. Starting today you’ll be at Mr. Moretti’s beckon call.”

  “Wait, what?”

  “This isn’t a nine to five job Miss Seabrook. I thought human resources explained all of this to you. If Mr. Moretti needs something at three am on Christmas Eve then you’ll jump your pretty little head off of those fluffy pillows of yours and get it for him. If you can’t handle that then you need to speak up now so we can find you a replacement.”

  “No, of course not. I look forward to the challenge. I assure you, I’ll do whatever it takes.”

  “Good,” he said as he opened the door to my new office. “That’s exactly what I wanted to hear. I know this job won’t be easy but it pays extremely well and the benefits are out of this world. You’ll see.”

  I didn’t quite know what he meant by that but for now I was just too overwhelmed with my new office to think to ask.

  The office I would be sharing with Mr. da Luca, was small but breathtakingly beautiful. There were matching U shaped desks made of cherry wood with a matching hutch, file cabinet and a bookshelf that took up most of one of the walls filled with a variety of titles. It really was an ideal office.

  The beige carpets were soft and several oversized plants were positioned throughout the room to give it a homey feeling. The office was a sharp contrast to the modern feel of the lobby. On the desk was my new laptop, iPad, and the latest iPhone.

  “These are your lifeline. You keep them with you at all times. If Mr. Moretti needs you, he needs to be able to reach you. The iPhone and iPad both have solar chargers built into the cases so you shouldn’t ever have ‘my phone needed charging’ as an excuse.”

  “Yes sir,” I said as I gathered them up, placing the iPhone and iPad in my purse.

  On the side of my desk was an overflowing in and out box.

  “Let’s get started,” Mr. da Luca said as he took a seat and began going through the notes, organizing them by which needed attention first. Once the notes were ordered, I dug in and got started on the work.

  By the early afternoon I began to pick up on some of the tasks and really enjoyed Mr. da Luca’s company. We worked well together. After lunch we began the daunting task of cleaning out Mr. Moretti’s email. I was glad to find I was able to do it on my own without much assistance needed from Mr. da Luca.

  Just as I finished, we were interrupted.

  “David, cancel my appointments for the rest of the day. I need to go handle something for my father. Before I leave, I also need those shipping channel reports if you’ve finished them.”

  I looked up as the most stunning man I’d ever seen walked through a connecting door on the east wall. He was distracted, looking at something on his iPad which gave me a few moments to check him out.

  The first thing I noticed about him was his build. He was easily six foot four with broad shoulders, chiseled features and a sexy smile. As his arm moved, stretching the obviously expensive, well-tailored business suit, I could easily glean he was pure muscle, not an ounce of fat dare touch his perfect body. He looked like a God from one of those statues from ancient history.

  He reached up and ran his fingers through his black hair, giving it a tussled look, making him even better looking.

  Just then, he looked up and his silver eyes met my startled green ones.

  “I’m sorry David, I forgot you had someone with you today.”

  I sat there frozen in place. I couldn’t stop staring at the man.

  “Devlin Kent,” he said as he held his hand out to me.

  “Holy smokes, I’m in trouble,” was my only thought as I looked at his hand like it was a snake that was going to bite me. I knew I was supposed to take his hand and shake it but I just couldn’t move.

  As I hesitated an awkward amount of time, he raised his eyebrow at me questioningly. My face turned several shades of red as I finally broke eye contact. I snapped out of my trance, stood and gave him my hand.

  “Hello, I’m Mary Elizabeth Seabrook.”

  As our hands touched, I felt a surge of electricity shoot through my body. I was rooted to the spot as his fingers closed around mine. The intensity between us was enough to leave me shaking, though I really hoped my fear wasn’t showing through.

  “Mary Elizabeth,” he said softly, as if he was testing it out on his tongue. “I like it.”

  Normally at this point I would say something like ‘please call me Elizabeth’, but I couldn’t seem to formulate a single word. All I could do was smile.

  I knew the firm couldn’t have been named for him because he not a partner. I remembered David saying earlier in the day, that his boss was a senior associate. But still, I couldn’t help but wonder if he was somehow related to one of the founding partners because not only did he speak with a distinctly British accent, but his last name was Kent as in Ashworth and Kent. Maybe it was just a coincidence. Perhaps Kent was a common last name in England like Smith or Jones was here in America.

  I didn’t even know why it mattered. It didn’t matter. It shouldn’t matter. But it did. This man was all I could think about. The way he walked, the way he talked, the way he smelled, the way he smiled, the way his grey eyes sparkled when the light hit them just right. Oh my God, it’s official. I’ve gone completely insane. What I needed to be doing was focusing o
n my job. But with each passing day my secret obsession with Devlin Kent grew.

  But the one thing I was not, was the kind of person who would act on their emotions. I knew better. I knew that this was the best job I’d had in my entire life and trying to date one of the senior associates could only be trouble and would probably cost me my job.

  As much as I wanted the man, I wasn’t going to risk my job over it.

  Chapter 2

  The next week I almost went into full blown panic mode when Mr. da Luca informed me he was going out of town and that I would have to pick up the slack in his absence with Mr. Kent, as well as my normal duties for Mr. Moretti. It was my second week and I was doing much better, but fear consumed me at the thought of Mr. da Luca leaving me on my own.

  “Don’t worry about it. You are going to be fine,” he assured me.

  But I knew that wasn’t true. It was too soon. I needed more time before being left to my own devices. There was still so much I didn’t know and now I would have to handle additional duties.

  “If you need me, I’m only a phone call away. You can call me anytime you want, day or night.”

  That made me feel a little better, but still I was nervous. Mr. Moretti was such a demanding boss. One wrong move and he could fire me and I desperately needed this job. He wasn’t exactly rude, but he hadn’t been all that friendly either. I’d yet to see him smile.

  Come to think of it, Mr. Kent was the same way. I hadn’t seen him smile either, especially when he was looking at me.

  “You are going to be fine, really. Just go down your daily checklist and mark things off as you complete each task. If he asks you for anything, add it to your list. It’s really that simple.”

  I knew David was right, but it still didn’t make me feel any better about being left alone with Mr. Moretti and Mr. Kent.

  “Alright then, I’m off. Have a great week,” Mr. da Luca said before heading out of the office.

  I sat at my desk, feeling overwhelmed. But I had my assignments so I dove right in. A few hours later my intercom buzzed.