“And we were just getting to the good part,” Liza said.
“Well, let me just leave you with this … he’s moving to Atlanta, and we’re having a housewarming party for him in five days. So you can meet him in the flesh and tell me what you think then. If past behavior is anything to go by, this meeting with Mr. Lennox means we’ll be busier than a bee at a Sunday picnic and won’t have much time for girl talk any time soon.”
“Deal!” Liza said. “Can’t wait. Glad to hear love still blooms. Gives me hope.”
“Keep hope alive Liza. Keep hope alive. There are still a lot of good men out there.”
“Thanks for the ear Kammille. I feel much better.”
Kammille instinctively hugged her friend. “Glad I could help,” she said.
“You better scram,” Liza said, uncomfortable with blatant affection. “You know what a time-crunch Mr. Lennox is always in.”
“True, very true,” Kammille said, looking at her watch. She grabbed her bag and scarf as she headed for the door.
“See ya!” I haven’t even had a chance to go in my office, she thought as she headed out the front door from where she’d come just about 20 minutes ago.
“If you need me Cheryl, call me on my cell. I’m on my way to the airport to meet Mr. Lennox. I should be back in two or three hours.”
“Will do, Ms. Howard.”
EPILOGUE
“Are you all ready to be an Atlanta resident, Mr. Shaw?” Kammille asked.
“Yes. Seventy-two hours down; 24 more to go. Can’t wait to get settled in the A-T-L.”
“Listen to you sounding like a native already,” Kammille teased.
“It’s a fabulous city. I’ve been there so many times, it’ll be nice to live there and actually go to all the places I read about online. Every time I’ve gone, I try to go to a different restaurant, although I do have a couple of favorites. And, Atlanta has some great jazz clubs. But the best part of moving, is I’ll be close to you. Thanks again, by the way, for helping me select an apartment. I can just hit the freeway and be to you in 20 to 30 minutes. And it’s not too far from your office, which means you can sleep in a little longer when you stay over with me,” Landon said.
“Who says I’m going to be spending nights with you, Mr. Shaw?” Kammille teased with a straight face.
“Oh, you will. You will definitely be spending nights with me – and days, and afternoons and weekends. In fact, my plan is to spoil you so thoroughly, you’ll give up that mansion in the suburbs and move into town with me.”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, Mr. Shaw. For now, separate residences work just fine.”
“Alright, alright, I won’t push. While I appreciate technology, I just can’t wait to see that pretty face of yours in person all the time. With all trace of joking disappearing from his voice, he finished, “You make me very happy Kammille.”
Kammille teared up.
Landon touched her cheek on his tablet screen via Skype. “I hope those are happy tears,” he said, smiling as his grey gaze penetrated her heart.
“They are. Very happy tears. You make me very happy too. …. Oh goodness, I’m ruining my makeup, and I have to get out of here and get to the office. Have a good day good looking.”
“You too gorgeous. I’ll Skype you tonight around 9:30, ok?” He put two fingers to his lips and touched the screen. “Until tonight,” he said.
“Until tonight,” Kammille parroted, and signed off.
***
Kammille smiled as she sat at her desk that sunny afternoon. True to form, her meeting with Mr. Lennox a few days ago had produced more work. She and Liza were going to have to get their own commercial kitchen. It was a major expense, she knew. She made a note to discuss it with her partner. They couldn’t put off figuring out how to do it any longer.
Landon arrived tomorrow – for good. She could barely contain her excitement.
She couldn’t remember a time when her life had felt so full and right; especially her personal life. She reflected on a saying that she’d run across on her social media accounts often. It went something like, “When you meet ‘the one,’ you’ll know why it never worked out with anyone else.” And now she knew why things hadn’t worked out with her Omar, her ex-fiancé. It was because she was meant to meet and fall in love with Landon.
And she was definitely in love. In fact, she was hooked on it … with this man.
###
PREVIEW: PART II – HOOKED!
How can this be?! Kammille wondered, literally shaking from head to toe. It had to be some kind of mistake. It just had to be.
Landon was her business partner’s ex-fiancé. The man she'd found her friend crying over just a few days ago was the very one who'd brought her such joy into her life. The man she was planning on building a life with. The man who'd moved to Atlanta for her. The very one who drove her to depths of passion unlike any other. The one she’d fallen deeply in love with. He was the love of Liza’s life?
Why hadn't he told her?
Why hadn't she told her?
Questions about everything she'd thought was true galloped through her head.
Had Landon moved to Atlanta for her, or for Liza? Was he still in love with Liza, as she was with him? He'd checked up on her, so he had to know that she was in business with his ex-fiancé. There was no way he couldn’t have known it.
Had he been in contact with her? And what possible reason could he have for not telling Kammille about her? Why would he keep it a secret if there was nothing between them.
Kammille felt betrayed – on so many levels – she didn’t know where to start. It was all too much. She grabbed for something; anything to stay upright.
A friendship; a fast-growing, multi-million dollar business; her future and her heart were on the line. Could she salvage any of it, or would she lose it all?
Note: Coming this month (May 2015).
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE … Ruthless Love: An Interracial Romance
Preview
“Remorselessly ruthless …,” one article described him.
“They call him RJ, for ‘Ruthless Jag’,” another said.
“There’s only one word for someone who operates like that … ruthless,” yet another one revealed.
That’s who Charity Walker was dealing with she had to remind herself as she confronted the New York real estate tycoon about the theft of her grandmother’s brownstone.
###
Charity was prepared for a battle with the successful real estate developer, Jag Hollander, over her grandmother’s property. What she wasn’t prepared for was the explosive chemistry between them … or the realization that her life would never be the same after meeting him.
***
Excerpt
“Miss ... as you’ve so rudely interrupted my meeting, can you at least be polite enough to tell me your name so I can address you properly?” Jag said in his most calm, business-like voice.
“Now you want polite to be part of the equation? Now … after you’ve taken advantage of an old woman. Now … after you’ve stolen what it took a lifetime for her to build. Now … after you rob me of my inheritance. Now you want polite?!” Charity snarled at him.
The two of them stared at each other. The vibration of the cell phone of one of the executives seated at the table witnessing the intense exchange snapped Charity and Jag out of their standoff.
“The name is Charity Walker. My grandmother is Elana Marie Walker. Here’s what was her deed,” Charity spit out, ramming a sheaf of papers dead in the center of his chest. “Fix it! Or so help me God …” she raged, shaking in anger.
Jag closed the few feet between them. “Excuse me for a few moments ladies and gentlemen,” he threw over his shoulder as he manhandled Charity out of the boardroom.
Charity sputtered. “How dare you touch me! Let go of me you brute! I said let go of me!” she demanded, hitting at him with her handbag.
“You’re done giving orders and screaming accusation
s at me today, Ms. Walker.”
###
“What do you mean handcuffs?”
“I mean I will have you arrested for trespassing, assault, slander and any number of other charges I have a least a dozen witnesses to if you don’t cooperate.”
“You wouldn’t?” Charity said, unable – and unwilling – to believe that he’d do such a thing.
“Try me,” Jag said, his demeanor as tranquil as a calm sea.
Charity searched his face. “Why you ruthless son of a bitch!”
###
Charity moaned her pleasure as he nipped at her lips, her neck and made his way down to the swell of one breast. His hands traveled to her sides, past the lushness of her hips, pulling her center to his as he ground into her. He squeezed her softness, his mouth reclaiming hers as he unzipped her dress. He eased it all the way down her legs, his lips following the trail of his hands.
Charity stood before him in her three-inch, wedge hills and matching turquoise bra and panties.
Jag admired her luscious curves, his eyes almost closed as he fought to control his rising tide of desire.
"I had dreams, but they didn't do you justice. You are so much more perfect than any image my mind could conjure up. Every part of you," he ground out, freeing a breast with one hand as he slid her wet panties to one side with the other.
###
Note: Ruthless Love can be found on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Google Play and All Romance Ebooks.
END NOTES
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Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Many of the names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual organizations, events, locales or persons — living or dead — is entirely coincidental.
© 2015: Inkwell Editorial Publishing.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR / PUBLISHER
I've been a reader of romance novels since I was about 12 years old. I've read hundreds of them.
"Everybody wants to be loved."
This is the enduring theme of all romance novels. We all want to be loved and accepted for exactly who and what we are. And that's the beauty of love – it keeps the hope alive in each of us that there is someone out there, somewhere, who will love what is unique about us. This is what keeps me reading romance, after romance, after romance.
About Me
I've been a freelance writer – for businesses – since 1993. More about my businesses can be found below.
A Romance Writer Is Born
I wrote my first romance novel in 2013 (3 Weeks 'til Forever). I decided to give this type of writing a try because the title popped into my head one day and just wouldn't let go. After finishing up several more romances, I realize that I've finally found my calling. I love reading – and now writing and publishing – love stories.
In October 2014, I formed Inkwell Editorial Publishing to bring as many stories to readers like you as possible. I hope you enjoy reading these novels as much as I enjoy bringing them to you – whether they’re written by me, or by one of our ghost writers.
My Businesses
New Media Words (http://NewMediaWords.biz) is my SEO writing company.
I also publish http://InkwellEditorial.com, the leading web portal for info on how to start a successful freelance writing career. I've self-published over 50 non-fiction ebooks, mostly on the business of freelance writing, self-publishing and internet marketing. See all titles at: http://inkwelleditorial.com/start-a-freelance-writing-career.
Sincerely,
Yuwanda
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Table of 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
Hooked!: A Contemporary, Multicultural Romance Page 7