by Jayne Blue
Wes directed a devastating smile in her direction, “Right this way.” He shifted the pressure of his hand on her back while making a museum tour guide gesture with the other.
Warning bells went off in her brain. Danger, danger, Will Robinson! Wes’s sexy smile was clearly capable of melting even the coldest corporate consultant’s heart. Macy feared that the tenuous grasp she had over her new life was just waiting to unravel, and all he had done so far was smile and touch her shoulder.
She hoped Wes Thompson would be too busy to spend much time with her in the next six weeks. Surely the station owner had better things to do...terror gripped her chest when she realized he was looking at her like he was starving and she was a juicy steak. Did he look at all women that way? Probably. And it probably worked like crazy.
But if there was one thing she knew how to do, it was ignore distraction and perform. She’d done live shots in battle zones, on the side of highways, and even once while a steer took a shit behind her at the county fair. She had a lot of work to do in this small-market disaster, and she could perform the role of a cold-hearted consulting bitch no matter how steamy this man was making her feel.
Hopefully Wes was a hands-off kind of boss and she wouldn’t see too much of him. Except she also hoped she’d see all of him. Somewhere inside, her subconscious was banging its head against a wall.
Chapter Three
The scent and sight of Macy Green stunned Wes. He smelled Chanel No. 5 and something else, something uniquely her, as she walked in with Bernie. She was fucking sexy as hell with a coiled up tension he hadn’t seen from anyone he’d encountered in this sleepy town – or anywhere, really – in years. She was sleek and professional in a business suit, but he was focused on the button of her blouse straining in just the right spot across what he was sure were beautiful breasts.
His jaw clenched as she sat opposite him and talked about her time commitment to the station. He wasn’t exactly sure what she was saying and tried not to notice her skirt hike upward a bit as she sat down. Who was this vision?
Wes had been described as a playboy in his day, but Macy was not his typical curvy little bombshell; she was something else entirely. He reacted instantly to her face, he wanted to touch her hair...and God help him, he wanted to release that button struggling against her breasts. It was an unfair burden to put on one little button. He fought to repress the thoughts and urges that had been ignited within just two minutes of meeting Macy Green.
When Bernie explained he was going to give the lovely Macy the tour Wes decided that would be his job instead. He’d planned to let the news consultant handle the newsroom and then meet with him a couple of times a week as the term of the contract progressed. But the “he” turned out to be the most delicious “she” he’d seen in years. After laying eyes on her, Wes mentally rearranged his schedule so he could take a much more hands-on role with his new consultant.
As Macy gazed toward the pictures from the 1950s that adorned Wes’ office he had the urge to plunge his fingers into that lush auburn hair. Oh yes, he was going to be sure to work very closely with her. It was good to be the boss for so many reasons, and right now Wes was relishing the fact that he’d get to decide what to do with Miss Green‘s time— at least, he hoped it was Miss. He glanced quickly at her hands. Likely, a woman who could drop everything and live in another town for two months was unattached, but he didn’t need to deal with that obstacle.
No ring. Ah ha.
Instead of enduring the coldest February in years at the hands of his controlling father perhaps he’d have something much hotter, in the form of Macy Green. WLUV was looking like it may turn into something much better than the exile he’d anticipated.
Not that he was looking to complicate his life. He had proven to be a preoccupied husband, and made a much better ex-husband. But his interest in young curvy blondes had waned in the last few years. Despite being single, he’d lost interest in the women who constantly fawned all over him. This woman was clearly not a fawner. He noticed, in fact, that she purposely conveyed a no-nonsense style. It was admirable; she was focused on her job. It was a job that would fail here at WLUV, ultimately, but she didn’t have to know that.
As he walked Macy through the studio and the control room he contemplated all kinds of things about her, like what color bra she was wearing...
“Do you one-man band it here?”
He heard her cultured and intelligent voice ask him the question and he snapped out of his dirty thoughts. “Yes. We’re a small operation so it makes financial sense.” A lot of stations had taken to combining the photographer and reporter position so the reporter shot their own material. It saved a lot of money on staff.
“I see a lot of resentment from staffers in one-man band shops. It really isn’t the best in terms of quality or news product. We’ll need to talk about that.”
Great, she already wants to spend money at a station that’s bleeding out. Of course. Why did women always want to spend his money? Maybe Miss Green was just a higher-class version of the women he’d grown tired of, the ones who liked him to buy them things.
Wes ushered Macy through a narrow hall and a producer ran towards them. It was getting close to news time, and the pace was picking up around them. The narrow hall meant that Macy had to press close to Wes so as to not impede the frenzied producer. He pivoted her into an edit bay in one swift move to avoid a collision. They were nose to nose in the small dark space.
“Whoa! I guess we’re almost to deadline,” she laughed, “I like the intensity of some of the people here. That’s good. It’s half the battle sometimes, getting that intensity.”
Wes watched Miss Green’s lips as she formed the word “intensity.” It was a good description for her energy, actually. He wondered what it would be like to be inside that intensity, and pretended not to notice the more pronounced way her chest rose and fell while they were squeezed together in the tight space.
“Urgency can be all the difference, in news – in a newscast.”
The cool Miss Green was slightly rattled. Good. That was good news. “Urgency and intensity, number one and two on the list.” He made a check mark in the air.
“Well, let’s watch the news. It’s almost six. I want to see the live product today. Where do you suggest I do that?” Miss Green slid across him without touching him, quite a feat in the closet-sized edit bay, until she found herself in the hall.
“How about we watch in here?” Wes gestured towards the glass-walled news director’s office. “He’s out today. Most days, actually,”
The office was a mess. The news director was one of the biggest weaknesses of the newsroom, Wes thought. When he did show up, Pat Walters usually smelled of liquor. It would be interesting to see how Miss Green assessed the situation. Was she as tough as she tried to appear? Did she have the guts to fire someone?
They sat at a few chairs at the conference table cluttered with wrinkled paper and discarded coffee cups and turned on the newscast. Macy then turned on the competitors in the other two monitors.
Her undivided attention on the monitors gave him the chance to focus on her without seeming lecherous. He was certainly feeling lecherous, but no need to scare the woman.
Macy’s hair sat in soft waves that fell just to her shoulders. The auburn framed a pair of gorgeous green eyes that tilted slightly up at the corners. He followed the line of her turned up nose to a set of gorgeously full lips. He was imagining what they tasted like when she began to mumble at the screens.
“Get off that shot. Where’s the video? Why are they just standing there?”
Wes looked at the television. Apparently these were all things she was noticing as she watched WLUV Action News at Six. He wondered if she knew it seemed insane, her muttering.
But it was easy to ignore her incoherent utterings by letting his gaze follow her long neck to the hollow of her throat and the collar of her silk top. She’d ditched her blazer when the newscast started and the look of her blouse tucked into her
pencil skirt had him shifting in his seat like a teenager. He was envisioning his hands gripping her by the hips. She brushed a hand through her hair, absently.
Ever since he’d set down roots in Grand City nothing had caught his eye, no woman even remotely got him going, much less challenged him. He’d taken a few different women to events in the last few years, but no one had ever blown him off course like this. Everything about Miss Green distracted him from the work at hand. The last thing he thought he’d be considering this morning was how to get the consultant naked. But that’s exactly what he was thinking about when he needed to be focused on ratings and demographics.
Miss Green had gotten up from her chair and had taken to pacing in front of the wall of televisions. She leaned on the desk for a minute and Wes noticed that while she was thin as a rail, her calves were muscled nicely, and he wondered absently if she were a runner. He speculated what her legs might feel like wrapped around his—uh oh, she was talking directly to him instead of muttering to herself.
“Is there any reason why, Mr. Thompson? Have you ever considered that?” Macy had caught him staring at her instead of the screen. But he was no dummy. He knew exactly what she’d asked. His rational brain could engage in conversation, even if other parts of him ached at the lovely sight of her.
“Just Wes, really,” he answered. Her eyes flashed momentarily. Was she trying not to blush? “Weather in the first block? Yes, that’s a good idea. You have free reign here, so get into the rundowns with the producers, coach the talent, whatever you think it takes—even staffing changes.”
“Do you have a live truck?” She’d recovered herself quickly, and was back to pacing in front of the monitors. Her heels made her calves flex, and he tried not to stare at the lean muscle that climbed up her leg, “The other stations in the market have three each. You need three.”
“We have one. And they don’t even use it half the time,” Sexy calves or no, Wes was not looking forward to the money this woman was already proposing he spend.
“I’m sure you’ve got a few reporters who are afraid of freezing up if they go live. It’s too important for the station, though,” Macy paused mid-step, shifting her focus, “But let’s get started with the basics. First, I’m going to meet the night crew. Do consider adding photographers, though.”
She was throwing ideas out like darts, “And yeah, your live situation is subpar, we really do need to get on that. You won’t win sweeps with one crappy live truck.”
“Perhaps you should spend a day here before you start adding hundreds of thousands of dollars to my budget?” Wes fired back. Her eyes flared, and this time there was no accompanying blush. All the women he knew were pushovers, but not this one. It was going to be very interesting with Macy.
“You’re going to have to spend money. Either that or start the garage sale now.” She didn’t back down.
Wes decided he’d buy just enough to keep her around for a bit. She didn’t need to know he’d pretty much decided to scrap this place. Heck, though, if she made an impact in ratings maybe he’d get a little money out of WLUV. A romp with the lovely Miss Green and liquidation for Thompson-Hardaway during this year of exile? It probably wasn’t what his father had in mind, but Wes figured he was just making the best of a bad situation.
Their brief battle was forgotten as Wes introduced Macy to the night crew, then he let her work. If he hovered over her she might spook and he actually did have calls to make.
“Stop in upstairs before you leave tonight,” Wes instructed her. He sensed she was the type that didn’t eat or sleep until a job was done. The dark little hollowed-out space under her cheek bones was a clue that food and sleep weren’t her main priority. He resolved to take good care of her while she was at his television station— in ways she didn’t even know she needed.
He was thinking about running his tongue over her sharp jawline and paused, mid-fantasy, realizing that was the first time he’d thought of it as “his” television station. Back to the fantasy, his tongue traveled from her neck to her... work. Back to work. Macy was talking again. What now?
“I probably won’t leave until after the eleven o’clock, are you sure?” her eyes met his. God, she was gorgeous. And he definitely sensed something flirty behind those cat eyes. It stirred him just as much as that strained button.
“I’m sure. I don’t want you walking to your car alone. The staff is all in the gated lot which is secure. You’re parked in the visitor area which is not. I’ll make sure you get to your care safely and tomorrow Mrs. King can get you parking pass for the gate.”
Did Miss Green let out an exasperated ‘harrumph’ as he walked away? Saucy, very saucy, he smiled to himself.
Wes stayed out of the way after that. He needed to do a little research on Miss Green. It was best to know more before he leapt, because the sight and scent of Miss Green made the leap a near certainty. He couldn’t wipe the smile off his face as he walked back to his office. He’d been all over the world and in every type of board room. Who’d have thought that the most intoxicating woman he’d ever met would be delivered to the doorstep of this ramshackle, sentimental business he was tossing on the scrap heap?
WLUV might just live up to its call letters, after all.
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Don’t Miss Jayne Blue’s New Series!
The Men of the Great Wolves M.C.
Meet the sexy, dangerous, tortured men of the Great Wolves M.C. and the strong women they love. The series kicks off with Dex!
Dex - When they locked me away for another man’s crime they called it justice. When they set me free they called that justice too. But their damned justice cost me my freedom, my family, my club, and the only woman I ever wanted ... Ava.
Now I’m back. Only two things have kept me sane all these years. I want to hurt the man responsible for sending me to prison and end his hold over the Great Wolves M.C. forever. And I want the feel of Ava’s body beneath mine again. I need to watch the way she surrenders only to me and makes me whole. It’s selfish of me to think Ava would wait for me.
But, I’m a selfish man and it’s time for me to take back what’s mine.
Ava - At night, sometimes I still dream of what it felt like when Dex touched me. He awakened things in me, made me burn for him like no other man has since. But those are just dreams, aren’t they? The years, distance, and the battles I’ve fought have made me remember Dex as something more than he really was. Except now he’s back, stirring my body and heart even though my head knows better. I can’t let him take me back into his world...the club, the violence, the heartache.
I don’t know if I can survive loving or losing him all over again and we both know there’s only one way this can end.
**Each Great Wolves M.C. book is interconnected but can be read as a standalone.***
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