“I love you too, Tanner. I don’t know when or how, but I’ve missed you, missed your smile and your jokes, missed the way I felt when I was with you. The pain faded, hid away for a while when I was with you. I think I felt guilty about that, felt as if it were wrong for me to keep living my life, to be happy when the rest of my family couldn’t be here to experience such great emotions. I know now that’s not what they would want. I know they’d want me to be happy.”
“Yes, they would,” he said as he leaned down and captured her lips.
As he kissed her, his heart flooding with love, he noticed the clapping. Lifting his head, he looked around and saw the hall filled with people who had just witnessed his groveling. But he didn’t even care. The old Tanner would have, but he was a new man.
“Congratulations, sonny,” the nosy neighbor said, then went back into her apartment now that the show was over.
The construction workers didn’t move.
“Get back to work,” Tanner told them, trying to sound stern, but not able to pull it off, since he couldn’t get the goofy grin from his face.
“Let’s have some privacy,” Kyla said, pulling away and holding out her hand for him to take.
She didn’t have to tell him twice.
The two entered her apartment, and they didn’t emerge for several days.
If Tanner had had the energy to remember Judge Kragle, he’d probably have said he was a pretty good guy. The man had altered his life for the better, though there would be no way Tanner would admit that to the meddling old man.
He’d just think it when he finally came up for air.
See the beginning of the Anderson / Storm Saga with Lucas’s story in “The Billionaire Wins the Game,” available now.
Other Titles by Melody Anne
BILLIONAIRE BACHELORS
*The Billionaire Wins the Game
*The Billionaire’s Dance
*The Billionaire Falls
*The Billionaire’s Marriage Proposal
*Blackmailing the Billionaire
*Runaway Heiress
*The Billionaire’s Final Stand
*Holiday Treasure
*Hidden Treasure – Coming Soon
BABY FOR THE BILLIONAIRE
+The Tycoon’s Revenge
+The Tycoon’s Vacation
+The Tycoon’s Proposal
+The Tycoon’s Secret
+The Lost Tycoon – Coming Soon
RISE OF THE DARK ANGEL
-Midnight Fire – Rise of the Dark Angel – Book One
-Midnight Moon – Rise of the Dark Angel – Book Two
-Midnight Storm – Rise of the Dark Angel – Book Three
-Midnight Rising – Rise of the Dark Angel – Book Four – Coming Soon
Surrender
=Surrender – Book One
=Submit – Book Two
=Seduced – Book Three
=Scorched – Book Four
Go back to Main Menu
Dancing Beneath the Mistletoe
A Women of Power Novella
(This is a sneak peek of Chosen for Power, the first book in the Women of Power series)
Kathleen Brooks
All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale, or organizations is entirely coincidental.
An original work of Kathleen Brooks.
Dancing Beneath the Mistletoe copyright @ 2013 by Kathleen Brooks
New York Times Best Seller Kathleen Brooks's
Dancing Beneath the Mistletoe
This is an extended sneak peek into the first book of Kathleen Brooks' new Women of Power series.
Elle Simpson's days revolve around expanding the family business into a global conglomerate. Work has left her no time to find Prince Charming.
Drake Charles hosts a masquerade ball each year in hopes of finding true love. This year's event is unlike any other when a mysterious masked beauty steals his heart and ignites his passions.
Will this night of romance lead to a happily ever after?
Table of Contents for Dancing Beneath the Mistletoe
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
CHAPTER ONE
Elle Simpson tapped her bunny-slippered foot as she signed the final paper to purchase a controlling share in the Swiss bank. She put her pen down and closed the folder. The documents needed to be scanned and sent to the bank before their teleconference early the next morning.
When she closed the folder, she caught sight of a picture on the corner of her desk. It had been taken eight years ago at the lake her family visited for one week every year. Her father had his arm around Elle and her mother. Her older brother and two younger sisters stood arm in arm beside them. It was the last family picture they had taken before her father had died unexpectedly from a massive heart attack.
“Miss Simpson?” Elle looked away from her family picture to the tired face of her secretary.
“Yes, Jessica?”
“It’s nine o’clock and the last bus to my house leaves in thirty minutes. If you’re done with the papers, I can email them and be on my way.”
Elle looked at the clock and instantly felt like a grinch. She was keeping Jessica from her family at Christmas time. “I’m so sorry to keep you so late. I can take care of the email. And I don’t want you having to take the bus home so late at night. Please, take the limo. He’ll pick you up downstairs.” Elle turned in her chair and buzzed her driver, Finn, on the intercom.
“But, you need to get to the Drake Charles Foundation Ball,” Jessica protested.
“I don’t need to be there until ten and Finn will be back by then. Have a merry Christmas.” Elle stood up and walked around her desk. She hugged her secretary before handing her a card.
“What’s this?”
“Your Christmas present. Say hi to Dan and the boys for me.” Elle went over to the scanner in the corner of her downtown Atlanta office. She heard Jessica tear open the envelope and then gasp.
“But, you’ve already given us our bonuses,” Jessica stammered.
“I know. This is your Christmas present. Now, if you hurry, you may be able to stop and get those bikes your boys asked Santa for.” Elle turned from feeding the scanner and was enveloped in a tight hug.
“You’re the best. Thank you.” Jessica hugged her again and then hurried from the room only to return with an elaborate box. “The ball is a masquerade. I ordered this for you.”
Elle tried not to roll her eyes. Drake Charles was eccentric, so a masquerade ball seemed to be a perfect extension of his personality. She wondered if he would even be there. Charles had built a fortune through Smartphone technology, but he was not a front-page-of-Forbes type guy. There were rumors he was a recluse—that he was deformed, or possibly on his deathbed. Nobody seemed to know much about him. All she knew was he gave millions of dollars every year to the same children’s hospital Elle's family supported.
Elle opened the box and pulled out a beautiful gold mask with pale pink swirls. It was elegant in its simplicity. There were no feathers or elaborate designs—just simple swirls, a pink lining around the eyes, and a matching pink satin ribbon. “Thank you, Jessica. This will match my dress perfectly.”
“Remember, you have the call to the Swiss bank at two in the morning, eight their time, so they can conclude the deal and file the paperwork before they close the offices at noon. Then you need to be at your mother’s around eight. Good ni
ght, Miss Simpson. Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas.” Elle waited for Jessica to leave before she finished sending the email to the bank’s board of directors and completed the necessary paperwork for the teleconference later that night.
Elle took a tired breath and stood up to stretch as she looked out over the lights of the city. Her mind was still on her family. This deal would solidify their standing in the business world. Her family had never been wealthy, but they’d always been happy. When she was seven, her father had become a railroad worker and had traveled most of the year to work on various projects. The dangerous and back-breaking work had provided them with a larger income. Her mother had used that increased income to send the kids to private school, but they’d never moved from their small house. Her father had told them on the night before he left for one of his four-month tours that he had developed a five-year plan to change the fortune of the family. For those five years, the only extra money they had spent was on their school. Everything else was saved.
Her father had seemed to have aged three times as fast from the hard work, but they had a large nest egg. The government had deregulated the railroad industry and small tracks of railroad had been put up for sale. Her father had purchased one of the sections, cleaned it up, then charged the larger railroads for the rights to use it. When her father's new company had started turning a profit, he’d bought more sections of the railroad in addition to shares of energy companies, steel companies, and even financial services.
But then Elle's father had died eight years ago when she was just twenty-five. Her mother had been devastated and the company had floundered as Elle took charge. Her older brother had been trying to “find himself,” yet he had had no trouble finding his trust fund and had enjoyed it in Europe. Both of her younger sisters had been fresh out of college and not ready to take on that kind of responsibility. Elle had earned an MBA and had been working at a low-level job in the company when she had suddenly advanced to president and CEO.
She had immediately proven herself by fighting off a takeover attempt. Once she had gotten behind the big desk, she had decided that Simpson Operations could be bigger. She had changed the name to Simpson Global and had enlisted the help of her family—the only people willing to believe in her. Her youngest sister, Allegra, loved fashion and had begun purchasing several mid-sized fashion houses with a little help from Elle's financial holdings. Soon Allegra had become the executive vice president of Simpson Fashion.
Her other sister, Bree, had shown interest in the construction side of the company and had taken over Simpson Steel. A year later, her brother, Reid, had approached her with an idea: hotel casinos. He’d been in Monaco for several years. Instead of losing his trust fund, he had actually doubled it. He had fallen in love with the casino business. Elle had agreed to lend him enough money to start up Simpson Hotels and Casinos, including the purchase of a small casino that he had then turned into the number-two casino in all of Europe. Within five years he had opened three more casinos across the globe that were all thriving. Simpson Global was now a multi-billion-dollar international conglomerate and her father’s vision was complete.
Elle groaned as she looked down at the floppy ears of her slippers. She had forgotten to slip her heels back on when Jessica came in. Oh well, her secretary knew everything already. She had to be aware of the comical slippers hidden under Elle’s desk.
She kicked off the bunny slippers and glided over the thick carpet to her private closet. She reached in and unzipped the garment bag to pull out the pale pink haute couture gown. She had fallen in love with it when her sister had sent her a picture, suggesting she wear it to the ball. It definitely was not “her” and that was why she loved it.
Elle’s closet consisted of suits—tons and tons of fitted suits with blouses and matching heels. Then she had gowns. Boring gowns that made her feel sixty instead of thirty-three. Heaven forbid a CEO wear a slinky, sexy gown that showed some cleavage or flashed a little leg. CEOs were pillars of the business world and it was considered bad form to remind anyone you might be a woman with a sensual side. But, tonight this CEO was breaking the rules. Tonight Elle was leaving behind the boring suits and the silent rules of behavior. She was going to leap into the masquerade. She was going to do and say all the things she had longed to because no one would know who she was tonight.
Elle sat down and started the work of teasing and pinning her hair until she looked just like one of those models on a catwalk. Her hair had height, volume, and was pinned back from her mask. Her long red hair hung in sleek waves down her back. She wore only foundation on her face, but used the matching pink eye shadow to shade all around her green eyes. When her mask was on, the pink around her eyes blended and made the mask look as if it were a part of her.
Finally it was time to try on the dress. She slipped on the incredibly sexy dress that fastened at her neck with a jeweled necklace. Two lengths of beaded chiffon draped from the necklace, barely covering her full breasts before crisscrossing over her flat stomach and flowing to the floor as if made from long scarves. The full satin skirt, slit to the upper thigh, flashed just the right amount of skin whenever she walked. It was daring, naughty, and most of all, exciting. It made her feel powerful and womanly at the same time.
Her phone rang and she slipped on her heels as she went to answer it. “Miss Simpson, I’m back and waiting out front,” Finn said.
Elle grabbed her small clutch and stuffed her lip gloss and phone into it before riding the elevator down the forty-five floors. She had met Finn the night her father had had a heart attack. She had been running errands for the company while her father had spent the day with her mother. Finn had been the cab driver who had escorted a hysterical Elle to the hospital. He had shown her so much compassion that day and she’d never forgotten it. In the months following her father's death, she’d requested Finn from the cab company whenever she had needed a cab.
After Simpson Global took off, her mother had started lecturing her. “I don’t like the idea of a young woman wandering around alone. You need to be more careful.”
Elle had bought a couple cars for the business and had told Finn she’d triple his salary if he came on as head driver for Simpson Global. Even though he was a couple of years younger than her, he’d taken on a paternal and very protective role in her life. He’d looked out for her and her sisters and had been someone she could entrust with her secrets.
Finn was waiting for her when she pushed open the large glass door to the building. He stood by the limo in a white button-up shirt that fit snuggly over his large, muscular shoulders. Finn had been a first baseman in the Atlanta Braves minor league farm system before a knee injury ended his career. After all these years, he still looked as if he played. When he saw her, Finn's brown eyes widened. “Elle, is that really you?”
“I take it I accomplished my mission of being unrecognizable then,” Elle laughed as she slid onto the soft leather seats.
“Yes, ma’am. That’s for sure. Do you need me to come in and play bodyguard? You’re going to have a hard time keeping the riff-raff away tonight.”
Elle smiled—most of that riff-raff was paying twenty-five-thousand dollars a head to attend tonight. “No thanks. Although you’re probably right, much to my mother’s delight.”
“I’m surprised she’s not going to be there to casually whisper into the ears of all the single men that they should ask you to dance. Not that they’ll need any prompting. In that dress, you’ll be attracting them for reasons other than being a powerful woman. They’ll be tripping over their tongues to get to you.” Finn paused before closing the door. “Are you sure you don’t want me to go with you?”
Elle laughed, “I’m sure. Thanks, Finn. I’m looking forward to embracing my anonymity and I think having you glare at every man asking me to dance may give away my identity. But I do appreciate you looking out for me.”
Finn gave her a wink and closed the door. Elle sunk into the comfortable seat as
Finn drove toward the ball. Tonight she was going to be free.
CHAPTER TWO
Although this Christmas ball caused him pain, Drake Charles also knew firsthand how much it could help people. His family had buried his younger sister, Delilah, just one week before Drake received his college acceptance. Delilah had been diagnosed with leukemia at the age of thirteen. They had tried everything to save her. On her fifteenth birthday, Delilah had blown out her candles and had spent a wonderful day with the family in her room at Children’s Hospital. Their parents had kissed her good-bye and had gone to get the car while Drake had stayed with her.
“You’re going to get in, you know. You’re the smartest guy I know. And that’s saying a lot—look where I live. Doctors everywhere,” Delilah had teased through a coughing fit.
“I don’t know. It’ll be a bunch of trust-fund brats and me. Maybe I’ll just stay here and go to State.”
“Don’t let anything intimidate you, Drake. You’re meant for great things. More than that, you’re a good person. When you make it, you’ll change the world for the better. Now, kiss your sister goodbye and go conquer the world.”
Drake had leaned down and kissed her good night. Looking back, it had been clear she’d known she wouldn’t make it to morning. She died in her sleep three hours later.
Honoring his sister’s last wish, he’d accepted the scholarship to the small elite college in Massachusetts and had headed off to school a couple months later. Drake's mother had cried when he’d accepted the scholarship. His father had slapped him on the back and had bought a ten-dollar bottle of wine to celebrate. It’d been the first happy news his blue-collar family had received in the past two years.
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