Chasing Quinn
Copyright 2018 Monica Clayton
Published by M.E. Clayton at Smashwords
All Rights Reserved
Smashwords Edition License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your enjoyment only, then please return to Smashwords.com or your favorite retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This book is a work of fiction. The entire content is a product of the author’s imagination and all names, places, businesses and incidences are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons (living or dead), places or occurrences, is entirely coincidental
Formatting: Smashwords
Cover: Adobe Stock
Warning: This book contains sexual situations and other adult themes. Recommended for 18 years of age and over.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Dedication
Authors_Note
Prologue
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
Chapter_23
Chapter_24
Epilogue
Playlist
About_the_Author
Other_Books
Contact_Me
Acknowledgements
First and foremost I have to thank my family for their support! Nothing I accomplish is a success without their love.
Secondly, I have to thank Kamala for not laughing at me when I told her I wanted to write a book. Also for being my guinea pig and for loving the kooky group of characters that took residence in my head as much as I do! Chasing Quinn, Claiming Isabella, Conquering Kam and Capturing Happiness would never have happened if not for her encouragement and enthusiasm!
And seeing as this is my first attempt at writing (and writing a series), I want to thank everyone who took a chance on me when they bought this book! Please note that this is a completely independent project and any typos, errors or silliness falls solely on my shoulders.
Dedication
For my daughter-
Your strengths are immeasurable. Make sure the man who wins your heart is just as strong as you are. You are way more than your fears and doubts. I love you with every piece of my heart!
Author’s Note
Chasing Quinn can be read as a standalone, but you’ll want to read Catching Avery where it all began. No one wants to miss out on fake wives, West Coast Gangsta Rap, Quinn’s impression of a starfish or how it is possible to just blurt out random sexual fantasies!
Happy Reading Folks!
Prologue
The Seven Deadlies.
There's Sloth, Gluttony, Envy, Lust, Greed, Wrath and Pride.
So which is the worst?
First, there's Sloth. Being lazy and unproductive can be just as addicting as drugs or gambling. Your mind and body get used to doing nothing, to being nothing. Sloth can make you neglect responsibilities and make you lose value in yourself and others. Laziness can keep you poor, unfit and a burden on society.
Second, there's Gluttony. Over indulgence. There's a guilty feeling that comes with gluttony. We feel it when we overeat, when we over spend, etc. I think it's safe to say, we've all experienced gluttony at least once in our lives. Gluttony likes to sneak up on you. There's nothing wrong with having just one more slice of pizza...until you find yourself fifty pounds overweight one day, of course. What's the harm in having ten different purses, when you can only carry one at a time? Gluttony will have you overweight and in debt before you even know what’s hit you. The sneaky little bastard!
Then, there's Envy. Envy can keep you from making any real personal connections in life. I mean, how can you really call yourself a friend if you secretly hate whenever one of your friends find good fortune? Envy can make you detest everything you own and have worked hard for. Your car, your house, your clothes are all perfectly fine...until your neighbor gets a fancier car, bigger house and designer clothes. Envy can eat you up alive. Envy can turn your soul dark. That's no bueno...no bueno at all.
Now, let's talk about Lust.
Lust.
Lust is a motherfucker of a sin. Nations topple because of lust. Families are destroyed because of lust. People become diseased because of lust. Lust clouds the best of judgments. But to be fair, can you name one thing...just one thing...that feels better than sex? The feel of a man's hands on your body, the goose bumps you get when his lips touch your skin, the heat you feel when you know he's turned on by you, the power you feel because you know there is nothing he won't do to satisfy you, that first thrust inside you and let's not leave out the aria of the entire sexual opera...when he makes you cum. What feels better than that?
Next, there's Greed. Greed can make you shady and underhanded. It can make you so hungry for more, that you go into debt because your neighbors just bought a Lexus, but you're driving a Toyota. Greed tricks you into believing your life is always missing something. It makes you become an episode on Investigation Discovery because you poisoned your husband for his life insurance. Greed has you always feeling empty, and for some, there's almost nothing you won't do to fill that void. When you're greedy, contentment is a false achievement. You will never be satisfied. Never.
Onto Wrath. Wrath is the equivalent to temporary insanity. You can literally lose your mind when you are in a state of wrath. Wrath will have you destroying property and it can make you verbally and physically abusive. Wrath will have you looking at a life prison sentence because you've gone and murdered someone in the heat of the moment. Wrath will make you unreasonable. Wrath can make you feared by those you love and who love you. Wrath can consume your soul. It's mind numbing to all things good and peaceful. Wrath is a true monster with no rationale. Wrath can destroy everything good in your life.
Finally, we have Pride. Pride, pride, pride, pride, pride....it sure is a nasty little guy. Pride can cause an insurmountable amount of pain. It keeps you from saying sorry, when you really should. It is the largest killer of relationships around. It makes life harder because you refuse to ask for help and it kills love because you cannot bring yourself to forgive. A lot of people can forgive mistakes, but when all you can think about is how that mistake made you look stupid? Lying, infidelity, neglect, all that can be worked through...humiliation, not so much. Pride can make you walk away from the best thing that ever happened to you. It can also make you lonelier than you have ever been.
So, let me introduce myself....
My name is Quinn Tamara Erikson and this is a little story about how one of my best friend’s whirlwind romance opened the door for these seven assholes to just mosey on into my life.
Chapter 1
Sloth: Because the extra hours getting promoted demands make me want to spend my weekends in slippers.
Quinn~
My promotion has only been two weeks old and, already, I was making a mental note that I should probably sign up for charm school.
People were fucking stupid.
I honestly didn’t know w
ho was worse; people with money, or people who want money. But they were running a race, neck and neck to the finish line, in my opinion.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I like money just as much as the next gal, but my every move wasn’t motivated by the desire to make it rich. Learn how to be happy when you’ve reached that point in life where you have enough People!
It had taken forever for me to accept this promotion, mostly because I was skeptical over the offer. I wasn’t entirely sure I didn’t get this because my bosses were idiots…gorgeous, brilliant, wealthy and sexy as sin idiots…but idiots nonetheless.
I worked for SMA Global, Inc., which was one of the top financial investment firms in the world. Nick Savage was the S, Julian Moretti was the M, and Chase Alexander was the A that made up this little powerhouse. Julian was in charge of finance-making him my boss’ boss’ boss-while Nick was the investment genius, and Chase was the client manager.
Technically Nick and Chase were my bosses as well, but if any of the three were going to chew my ass, it would be Julian. I’d just have to wait until after work hours to chew it back.
See, up until a couple of months ago, I was invisible to these three men along with my best friend Avery, who also worked here. But one ridiculous, fantasy filled night, Avery, our other best friend, Isabella and I had run into those three at a new nightclub called Xavier’s.
Once Julian laid claim to Iz and Nick bulldozed Avery, we had all become BFF’s. So, when this promotion presented itself, I wasn’t sure if I got it because I was the best candidate for the job, because Julian hated people and didn’t want to bother with interviewing, because Nick was madly in love with Avery, or because Chase wanted in my panties.
Complete honesty…it wasn’t until I was handed budget reviews a couple of weeks ago that I realized no one had really been waiting on my acceptance. The job was mine whether I had wanted it or not. So my suspicions ran to Julian’s distaste of people and interviewing, because this position level would bring me in contact with the guys more so than before. I was pretty sure Julian just didn’t want to have to meet anyone new.
So, here I was… the new executive assistant to my boss Angela Jackson. Yay!
Now, Angela was awesome, but the downside was now I was subjected to sitting through so many meetings, it almost constituted as corporal punishment. For the most part, most of the people I worked with were decent, but every company had those one employees. The ones who think they’re more important than what they really are. In my personal opinion, the only important people in this office were the bosses. Never forget people, as long as someone else is signing your paychecks, you’re replaceable.
So, here I was, sitting in a pre-budget review meeting and it just so happened that there was a couple of those said employees in attendance; Marvin Bringham and Olivia Candor.
Marvin reported to Angela just as I did, but Olivia was like a liaison between the departments, so she worked directly with the guys on occasion. Marvin was a name dropper whereas Olivia was a cleavage shower. Now, while I was no stranger to glasses of wine, spending any time with these two was enough to friend request bottles of it. The clock was like a timer ticking away on hours of my life that I couldn’t ever get back.
Damn Julian (because I’m still choosing to blame him for my promotion).
The flipside to being friends with your bosses was that you put in as many hours as you needed to in order to not let them down. It didn’t matter if I wanted this promotion or not, there was no way I would let them down now that I had it. What with us being BFF’s now and all.
As much as I wanted to tune these fools out, I couldn’t. SMA was a great company to work for and so they deserved my hundred percent. The employee packages were generous and the guys were above reproach bosses…well, except for when Julian was forcing promotions, Nick was pissing on Avery and Chase was trying to bend me over…except for those times.
Although, to be fair, Julian didn’t actually force me and Nick’s pissing was more in the form of the engagement ring Avery sported on her ring finger and as for Chase…well, if I were a lesser woman, he’d have had me bent over already.
Multiple times.
The man’s just that hot.
All three of them were gorgeous as sin, though. They all reached well over six feet and were built like they could a hold a girl up against a wall for hours. Nick had dark, chocolate brown hair with deep matching eyes. Julian had black hair with intense hazel eyes and Chase had brown, mocha shade thickness with hypnotizing blue eyes. Nick was the practical one, Chase the easy-going one and Julian was scary as fuck…unless you were Isabella, of course.
They all grew up together in the poorest neighborhoods in Oakland, California and at the ripe old age of eighteen, they invested all the money they saved as kids and invested it in a stock that Nick had picked out. They put themselves through college and spent the last ten years turning everything they touched into gold.
I gotta say; it’s odd as hell to be friends with billionaires. I mean, who the fuck has billionaires for friends?
It also helped that they were all good guys. Of course, except when I was reminded that they’re the reason I’m sitting here in this meeting on a Friday afternoon with Name Dropper and The Cleavage Queen.
The torture went on for about another twenty minutes before the blessed Angela Jackson put a stop to it. “Okay, well I think that’s all for now. I’m sure everyone has an understanding of what is expected for our next meeting.” She stood up gathering her paperwork. “Everyone have a good Friday and a good weekend.”
I uncrossed my legs and stretched my back out as I gathered my paperwork as well. I really wanted to elbow my way through the throng of people like a running back with the football, but I thought that might come off as a little rude.
And then I almost said ‘fuck rudeness’ when Olivia’s nasally voice hit me. “So, Quinn, how do you like your promotion so far? I mean, it must feel pretty…uh, stress-free to know that even if you mess up you won’t get fired.” That bastard weasel Marvin snickered behind her.
I stopped everything I was doing. “Excuse me?”
She batted her eyelashes at me, and I swear to God, I almost yanked them out by their roots. “Oh, I’m sorry. I just meant that with Avery Ellis now engaged to Nicholas Savage and you being her best friend and all…” She trailed off, but her point had been made.
This bitch.
“I have no doubt H.R. wouldn’t hesitate to fire me if I turned out to be an incompetent jackass,” I replied. “However, seeing as I am not incompetent or a jackass, I’m good. Thanks for asking, Ollie.”
Ollie?…I know. But I was too exhausted to be mature right now.
She pulled her papers and folders tighter to her store bought chest. “There’s no need to get rude, Quinn. I was just making conversation.”
See…here is where people fuck up when dealing with me.
I wasn’t that girl. Don’t get me wrong…I should be that girl. There were times where I wanted to, so desperately, be that girl. But I just wasn’t.
See, ’That Girl’ is the girl who knows how to behave in public at all times. She holds her tongue and raises her head high above insults and criticism. She is the ever professional and peace maker. She believes in Karma and doesn’t lower herself to swim in the pond of ghetto sensationalized YouTube videos. She is the definition of poise and grace and she lets The Good Lord take revenge.
I’m not ‘That Girl’.
“No, Olivia, you weren’t making conversation. You were being snide, rude and insinuating that I didn’t need to earn my paycheck because my best friend is engaged to one of the bosses.” I took a step towards her, because…that ‘Other Girl’?...yeah, I’m her. “Look, Ollie, you can say what you want about me and you can think what you want about me, because frankly, your opinion doesn’t make a dent in my life. But if I ever hear of Avery’s name coming out of your mouth and it’s not being accompanied by roses, birds chirping and rainbows, I’ll hand yo
u your ass and I won’t need Nicholas Savage’s help to do it. We clear?”
I didn’t have enough hands to hold onto my paperwork and pull out my phone to take a picture of her face. “Are you threatening me, Quinn?!”
“Not at all,” I answered, and I wasn’t lying.
That was a promise.
And because I wasn’t tired enough, Marvin jumped in to rescue this bitch. “I heard everything, Quinn, and that sounded like a threat to me.”
“Well then, do you guys want to skip down the hallway to H.R. together or would you guys feel more comfortable reporting me anonymously behind my back? Either works for me.”
Marvin was opening and closing his mouth like a puffer fish while Olivia was shooting lasers at me. It’d be funny had she not mentioned Ace. Talk all the shit you want about me, but mention Avery or Iz, and that’s when shit got real.
See, here’s the part where I usually fucked myself over though. I was so focused on these two twat waffles that I completely missed Chase walking into the conference room. And that’s saying something, since the four conference rooms that made up this floor all had floor to ceiling glass walls. I blamed these two fucktards for missing the 6’2” god before I could make my escape.
Chase strolled in the room in that sexy, lazy way only he knew how. Fuck this man was hot. Even if he wasn’t so tall, his body filled out his suit like sex slithering over sinners. His eyes were so blue I often wondered if they were real. He had a straight nose that worked with his chiseled face of perfuckingfection. People shouldn’t be that beautiful…it hurt the eyes.
“Hey, Marvin, Olivia,” he shot me a slow smirk, “Quinn.”
I watched in amusement and Marvin damn near got a woody. “Oh, hello, Mr. Alexander. How are you, sir?”
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