by A. J. Wynter
About the Author
AJ Wynter has been a romance ghostwriter for years, and has finally stepped out of the shadows! Bad boys are her thing; although hers usually have a heart of gold under a rough, tough, and probably bearded, exterior.
AJ is a proud feminist and does her best to craft strong and intelligent leading lady characters to square off against these bad boys.
When she’s not writing, AJ spends her time reading and gardening at her off-grid cabin in the Canadian mountains.
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Her Christmas Bonus (Intro)
IT billionaire Johnathan Wise is ruggedly handsome, extremely successful, and a total player.
However, his company, Wise Technology, is facing ruin because of Jonathan's proclivity to exclusively hire beautiful and grossly incompetent 'assistants'.
Sassy, plus sized, and smart as a whip Sienna Smythe is hired to work alongside Mr. Wise to help save the company.
Sienna is disgusted, but able to turn a blind eye to the unsavory and very inappropriate activities that take place on the 20th floor. However, when the shocking true identity of Johnathan Wise is revealed, Sienna finds herself facing the toughest decision of her life!
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Her Christmas Bonus (Excerpt)
Jonathan Wise was grumpy; like Scrooge grumpy. The end of the year was fast arriving, and along with the snow piling up outside of his office, so was his debt.
For years, he had put his love of women and the female form above his company. In his younger days, he had thought that it was a genius idea to exclusively hire beautiful women; not just pretty girls, drop dead gorgeous model type girls.
He got around the blatant discrimination by dually registering his tech company in conjunction with a modeling agency. This strategy worked for pleasing his eyes and his cock, but it had definitely caught up with the efficaciousness of his books. These gorgeous vacuous women constantly shredded the wrong files and misplaced memos on a regular basis. Heck, ninety percent of them spent half the day taking selfies behind the executive’s desks.
And lord help the poor IT guys in the basement whose job it was to interpret the memos after they’d been transcribed into 'valley girl'. Unfortunately, they also seemed to lose the ability to speak after being approached by any of the top floor assistants.
But, they had perky hard breasts and legs for days. He smiled and felt his cock stiffen against his pants as he pictured having the new blonde’s legs wrapped around his head while he ate ‘lunch’. He sighed and adjusted himself. He knew that he needed to get rid of them; but his ego and needs dictated that he couldn’t get rid of all of them. All he needed was just one good assistant who could whip things into shape around here.
He sat back in his leather chair, steepled his fingers in front of his lips and smiled; he could still smell Jessica’s perfume on his sleeve from this morning. She had draped her arms around his neck from behind to go over his agenda for the day. Looking out the window at the snow gently falling to the street, he resigned himself to the fact that after the holidays, a lot of the girls at the office would be unemployed. And he would have an assistant that probably wore flats.
He owned an IT business that he'd built from the ground up at college, and a twenty-story building that he'd bought outright after three years of working from his dorm room. His last name, WISE, was on every side of the tower. The marquee was currently adorned in red and white Christmas lights and oversized decorations. The money had come easily to him. His timing with the market was exceptional, and he had found himself a billionaire at twenty-two.
After years of being ignored by the fairer sex, the tables had turned. He wasn’t a total geek, but if it weren’t for his money and status, he knew none of these women would’ve given him a second glance. So, he had created a work environment that made him want to come to work every day. He paid his staff well, and so they ignored the shenanigans that happened on the 20th floor. Mixing sex with business was the ideal way to keep a man happy; or so he'd convinced himself.
These days Jonathan dealt with investors who wanted a virtual IT service available around the clock. He had three shifts of techs and at least two admin manning the phones at all times. During the daytime, there were about a dozen women handling the phones, when in reality four or five competent people could’ve handled the job quite easily. He'd had to fire the last girl he had in the personal assistant position. She'd sent out an email, on his behalf, with a closing signature and an “LOL”. That's when it had really sunk in that he needed capable employees, not just eye candy.
Gazing into the sea of twinkling white Christmas lights on his personal office Christmas tree, Jonathan decided he'd hire a personal assistant who was intelligent, beautiful to look at, and could handle the job.
He jotted a quick note down and planned to speak to the head of HR personally about the urgency of the new hire. He reviewed his note, and scratched out the requirement for the new hire to qualify under his ‘modeling’ agency as well. It was time to get things under control, and if that meant he had to hire an average looking smart girl, then so be it.
Cecil, the head of HR looked at Jonathan dubiously over his glasses as he reviewed the hiring requirements.
“Seriously boss?”
“Yes, Cecil. I’d like you to have the interviews lined up for Monday of next week. And the more I think about it, the more unattractive my new assistant, the better.”
“So, flat chested, mousey hair, glasses, and brains are ok?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying Cec. I can’t believe that I’m saying it, but yes, the flatter and mousier the better”.
He turned and headed for the elevator. It was Friday night and he had a trio of D-cup blondes to take out on the town for some Christmas cheer.
"Girls, are you ready?" He grinned as he walked into the marble lobby throwing his arms around two of them.
The tallest of the blondes, Jessica, grabbed the santa hat from the lobby display and placed it on Jonathan’s head, ensuring that her cleavage brushed against his lips as she did so.
Jonathan pinched her ass and smiled at her.
"Well, Merry Christmas to you too. Your chariot awaits!" he shouted gesturing to the limo outside.
The blondes giggled in unison and the doorman rolled his eyes.
“So tell me ladies, are all three of you on Santa’s naughty list?” Johnathan continued.
This was too much for the girls and they all broke out in raunchy fake laughter. The trio were totally oblivious to the elderly doorman as he shook his head and opened the door as they teetered on past and out into the snow in their 6 inch heels.
Feeling nervous about her job interview, Sienna Smythe tucked the strand of brown hair behind her ear that had slipped out of her bun. She'd tried on most of her wardrobe and had selected a gray pencil skirt, a white silk blouse and her nicest sensible heels. She had wriggled into some extra strength spanx that had allowed her to do up her skirt. She turned to look at her reflection in the mirror and sighed. Curves were en vogue right now, but not on a five-foot three-inch girl who still needed to lose the twenty pounds she put on in college.
She needed this job. Her Father was ill and she needed to help pay for his medical bills. His insurance only covered a portion of his medical costs, leaving him with thousands of dollars that he was responsible for. His smoking had finally caught up to him and he'd developed lung cancer. They'd caught it early, and she hoped they'd cure it. She wasn't ready to lose her Dad. Especially since she'd already lost her Mom to cancer as well. She still missed her Mom, every day.
She reviewed her notes about the job description and also her research about the executive officers of the co
mpany as she slammed back a coffee and toasted a bagel. From all the information that she found online, this Johnathan Wise sounded like a first-class asshole.
She shoved the folders into her leather messenger bag, grabbed her transit pass and headed out the door only to return seconds later shivering. Her nicest coat was not going to cut it today. The roads were icy, the wind was whipping and there was no way she could make it downtown wearing heels and a dress coat. She kicked off her shoes, and put them in a plastic bag to take with her. She crammed her feet into her thick warm boots and grabbed her down bomber jacket out of the closet.
"My breakfast!"
She shuffled into the kitchen and grabbed the bagel out of the toaster, catching a glimpse of herself in the hallway mirror. Her reflection looked back at her and she looked only slightly better than homeless, but she’d be warm and not starving.
On time, Sienna trudged into the lobby of the building, kicking off the snow from her boots and shaking off her hat. The doorman smiled at her, she smiled back and walked very carefully across the slippery floor to the elevator.
The doors opened up into a gorgeous office that looked like Christmas had thrown up all over it. She stepped out into the twentieth floor and saw the most beautiful women she'd ever seen in her life. Her mouth gaped open. Jingle bell rock was playing and the receptionist was wearing a red crop top and a fur skirt – it was like a scene from a cheesy-as-hell porno. They all looked like they had just walked off the cover of Vogue, or whatever the trashier version of Vogue is these days.
The flirting, giggling, and general chaos around the room startled her. It was the most unprofessional setting she'd ever seen in her life. Wondering if she was in the right building, Sienna stared at them blankly until one of them finally noticed her and waved her over.
"You must be here for the interviews. Mr. Wise is waiting for you in his office." The girl pointed to a large glass door at the end of the hallway, without even looking up from her phone.
"Thank you." Sienna told her.
“May I take your puffy?” another blonde asked.
“Sorry, my what?”
“Your coat,” the girl smirked.
Sienna slid out of her coat and handed the damp lump over to the girl who pranced away holding it between her fingers like it was a stinky rag. Sienna sighed and sat down to change out of her winter boots.
“Shit, shit, double shit” she muttered to herself. She realized that while she was busy grabbing her bagel from the toaster she had forgotten to bring the bag she'd put her heels in. She stood up and smoothed her skirt and decided just to try to make the best of this interview. She proceeded to walk down the hallway to Mr. Wise’s office trying to avoiding the judgmental eyes that were following her every move.
“Oh my god, someone certainly loves carbs and mukluks” she overheard one of the girls titter once they thought she was out of earshot.
“Bitch,” Sienna muttered to herself, trying not to let the catty comment get to her as she reminded herself of her Father's debt. Standing tall and walking with her head held high, she knocked on the glass door of the office.
"Just a moment." Jonathan called. His high back chair was turned away from the door.
Sienna heard the chair scrape along with giggling. A few moments later a girl popped up from in front of the chair with smeared red lipstick, buttoning a low-cut blouse, which really served no point as you could see her perfect pink nipples as clear as day through her shirt. Sienna felt revolted and started to turn away in disgust.
"Come in Miss Smythe." Jonathan called. "You are my morning interview, right?"
She paused, holding her hand on the door and felt the skin on her neck prickle and her face flush. That voice. She would never forget that voice. She didn’t want to turn around to face him, but she knew that she had to. Slowly, she shuffled her heavy boots around and raised her gaze to look into the ice blue eyes of her step-brother, Johnny.
It was September 2003, and Sienna and her Mom, Janice, were sitting in Carlstown traffic in their car. It was stuffed to the roof with all of their belongings. Sienna had Christina Aguilera’s ‘Beautiful’ CD on repeat and she and her Mom had already belted out the lyrics to the song six times. Sienna was used to moving around. Her Mom and Dad had split up when she was young. Her Mom was a landscaper and had to follow the weather in order to keep working year-round.
“Are you excited to have a brother?” her Mom asked.
Sienna just shrugged her shoulders and stared at her reflection in the window. She hummed along with Christina’s words, but she certainly didn’t feel beautiful. All that she could see in the window were her braces and the line of persistent acne that ran along her jawbone.
She fidgeted with her fingers in her lap. She didn’t want to tell her Mom that she was nervous about meeting her new brother. Well, new step-brother that is. He was away at college for computer science and she had heard from her friends at school that knew him, that he was a giant nerd.
Their lights shone on the small bungalow as they pulled into the driveway. Peter, Janice’s new boyfriend, ran out of the house and grabbed her into a giant hug. He then turned and pulled Sienna into the bear hug as well. Maybe this won’t be so bad, Sienna thought. She had met Peter a few times and he always asked her questions about her school and seemed genuinely interested in getting to know her.
They wheeled the first few suitcases into the house and Peter put the kettle on to make them some tea. He had insisted that they sit down and relax before unloading the rest of the car. Sienna glanced around the living room. It was clean, but hadn’t really been updated since the 80s. She sat down on the green leather recliner and eased in, trying to relax. Her Mom had gone into the kitchen and she could hear Janice and Peter canoodling over the whistle of the teapot.
“Don’t get too comfy.” a voice whispered in her ear.
Sienna screamed and nearly jumped out of her skin.
“You’re sitting in my chair.” the voice hissed again.
Sienna turned to look into the coldest, meanest, and most gorgeous blue eyes that she had ever seen. She dug her fingers into the arm of the chair and began to slide out when Peter and her mom came back into the room.
“I see you two have met!” Peter quipped enthusiastically.
“Yeah, I was just making sure she was comfortable here” the young man, whom Sienna deduced was Jonathan, responded. He smiled at his Dad and then turned and smirked at Sienna.
Sienna got a horrible feeling deep in the pit of her stomach.
“I’m just going to go and lie down for a bit, is that ok Mom?”
“Sure honey, the bedroom at the end of the hallway is all made up and ready for you.
“Dad?” Jonathan looked at his father questioningly. “Isn’t that my computer room?”
“We’ve moved all of your tech stuff to the basement. We have to make some room for our new family members. You have a bedroom and all of your new computer gear at college. You don’t need two rooms here. Why don’t you go show Sienna her new room, and the trick for opening that sticky closet door.”
“Sure Dad, no problem.”
Sienna was puzzled by the Jekyll and Hyde game Jonathan was playing, but she followed him to the end of the hallway.
“Listen you little shit. You and your slutty Mom are going to be out of here as soon as my Dad realizes what pieces of trash he’s invited to live in our house. So, what I’m trying to say is, don’t get too comfortable.”
He tossed her suitcase onto the bed with attitude and turned and walked away. Sienna stood in the middle of the room, dumbstruck, her eyes welling up with tears.
And it didn’t get any better than that. Whenever he was home, her step-brother would smirk and snarl at her, yet be such an angel when others were around. There was no way that Sienna could tell her mom about the verbal abuse; the horrible names he called her, like pus-face. Nobody would believe her.
So, she suffered in silence, growing to hate every moment that Jo
nathan was home from school. And she always breathed a huge sigh of relief every time he picked up his giant duffel bag and headed out the door.
The Tuesday after thanksgiving, Sienna sat at school with her best friend Lindsay complaining about him.
“Why don’t you just tell him to fuck off?”
“I’m scared of him. He slams the doors in my face. He calls me names like ‘brace-faced little whore’.”
“That’s not cool, Sienna. You have to tell your Mom”
Sienna sighed and bit into her bagel. She knew that something had to change, but her mom was so happy, she didn’t want to screw things up for her.
After school Sienna walked home, thinking about what Lindsey had said and contemplating whether or not she should say something to her mom. When Jonathan was gone to school everything was so good. Maybe she should just suck it up and keep quiet when he was home?
She opened the door and her heart sank as she saw his duffel bag in the hallway. Why was he home? Her shoulders rounded forward and she kept her eyes low hoping to avoid him and get to the safety of her room.
She breathed a sigh of relief when she reached her room and closed the door. There was no sign of him. She sat down on the bed and grabbed her cookies from her backpack.
“No wonder you’re so fucking fat.”
The voice no longer shocked her.
“What do you want?”
“I want you to tell me why it was so important for me to come home today.”
“I dunno.”
“Of course you don’t know. You’re a total waste of space.” He said as he flicked a cracker at her. “Here, have this, you have to keep that penguin-like figure somehow.”
That was the last straw. She decided she had to tell her Mom what was going on. She tossed the cracker onto the floor and she marched out into the living room. Her determined march was halted when she saw the serious look on both her Mom and Peter’s faces. They were sitting on the couch together holding hands.