A summary for you on what to expect in this edition in case you want to scroll down to the interesting bits: a brief intro; Chapter Two of Don’t Move Your Desk; and the progress report with an update on my week-on-week sales and writing progress.
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Greetings from my bed! I’ve been sick the past few days - very sick - and I’m camping out here for the time being. Miraculously, though, I did manage to get a lot of work done on this serial, so it’s almost fully set up. Just like I promised myself last week, I got it done no matter what. I’ve got nothing much else to share this week for obvious reasons, but there is an upcoming freebie deal to look out for down in the progress report.
As a quick reminder: the first three chapters will always be free, but after that, everything will go behind the paywall 60 days after publication. Don’t miss the chance to read it for free - subscribe for email updates!
Okay, that’s it! On with the chapter!
Olly
“Helen?” I yelled without looking up from my papers.
There was a long pause. I finished the page I was reading and flipped it over.
Still no response.
“Helen!” I yelled again. Louder this time. Where was the damn woman…? “Hel -”
“Sir,” someone said from the door. Definitely not Helen. I looked up.
“Where’s Helen?” I asked with a frown.
Fernando winced. “You fired her two days ago.”
I looked at my desk for a moment. “She left on the spot?”
“Yes, and no one new has been hired yet,” Fernando said. “I think Ace was in one of the meeting rooms, finishing off the interviews.”
Right. The interviews I had stormed out of. All of them were useless. A waste of time when I had much bigger things to think about. Our biggest star was facing calls to retire over his age. I had to keep trying to convince sponsors and coaches that he wasn’t over the hill yet.
I sighed.
“Fine,” I said. “You. Make me a coffee.”
Something passed over Fernando’s face. Like resentment swiftly swallowed down. “Yes, sir,” he said. He vanished from my doorway.
My gaze shot from the doorway to the left side of my office. On a table against the wall was my expensive Italian coffee machine. It still appeared to be in full working order.
What was Fernando playing at? Going all the way back to his own office or the conference room to make a coffee?
Idiot.
I looked back at the contract. There was something in here that wasn’t quite right. I could sense it. I just hadn’t quite ferreted it out yet.
It was going to be a long night if I couldn’t. There was no way I was letting our best client sign this in the morning without a thorough check. Far more thorough than I could expect any of my agents to conduct.
That was just the way things worked. If I wanted something done right it then had to be me doing it.
The coffee landed softly on the edge of my desk. The cup barely even clunked against the saucer.
Was that fast? Or was I just not paying attention?
“Thanks, Fernando,” I said without looking up. He should understand easily that I was dismissing him.
“Um,” someone said.
Again.
Not Fernando.
Just what was happening around here?
I looked up with a squint. “Who are you?”
The man in front of me was not what I had expected. He didn’t look like one of the team here. He was slim and shorter than me. No muscles that I could particularly see. He didn’t look like a sportsman at all.
He was wearing a suit a size too big and tortoiseshell glasses. He had messy curls spilling over his head.
He was…
Cute.
“Um, I’m Keaton,” he said. He hesitated. “Keaton Dunbar. I’m, uh. I guess I’m your new secretary.”
I squinted at him a bit more.
Oh god.
I recognized him.
“Right,” I said. “Well. Good.”
Keaton smiled and I had to clear my throat. He had a smile like the sun coming out. Shit. Why had Ace hired him?
This was what happened when you left other people in charge instead of doing it yourself.
“Your desk is out there,” I said. I gestured towards the door.
He nodded. He half-turned towards it as if he instinctively knew I was telling him to go. He turned back at the last second. I held back a groan. Was I always going to be surrounded by incompetence?
“I just wanted to say hello,” he said. “And see if you needed anything. Other than the coffee, obviously. I saw Fernando outside and he let me know how you take it. I hope I’ve got it right.”
He seemed to be waiting for something. I had no time for pleasantries. This was getting annoying.
What was he waiting for? Approval?
I picked up the coffee and took a sip. It was far too hot.
“It’s fine,” I told him. I managed somehow not to react to my burnt tongue. I could barely even tell how it tasted. Keaton didn’t need to know that. I just needed him gone. “It’s Keaton?”
“Yes, sir,” he said with a beam.
Subtext rolled through my head. A belated thought hit me. He was very familiar with the use of Fernando’s name. The way Fernando had handed the coffee to a newcomer was also suspicious. “You know Fernando?”
He blinked as if surprised. “Um, yes. He’s the one who told me about the job opening, actually. He’s dating my sister.” A pause. Keaton flushed red. “I didn’t ask him to, you know, rig the process or anything. I didn’t even tell him I was coming in for my interview today. I promise! And I didn’t get any inside information from him or anything – I went through the process just the same as everyone else – I –”
I waved a hand. “Okay.” I didn’t need to hear his rambling explanations. He talked far too much.
What I really needed was him out of my office. He was too distracting. This contract wasn’t going to go over itself.
He also didn’t seem to remember who I was. I would be happy to keep it that way. It would be unfortunate if this was the quickest walkout in the history of the company.
Especially given that he was so cute.
There was a pause. I looked up from the contract again. Keaton was still standing in front of me. Hesitant. Expectant.
“You can go,” I clarified.
He turned to go. A second later he turned back with a question on his face.
“To your desk,” I added. “Not home.”
He nodded with a grateful smile and stalked out of the room.
I watched him walk through the doors. He paused and turned back. He must have understood the meaning of my nod as he closed them behind him.
So he wasn’t fully incompetent. At least there was that.
I waited until they were completely shut to slump back in my chair.
Keaton Dunbar. So that was his name. I’d never known it.
I couldn’t think about this right now. There was work to be done. Frivolity could wait until tonight when I got home. Or possibly the early hours of tomorrow. Whatever time I finally had a moment to my own thoughts.
The longer I sat here thinking about it, the later that would be.
I was drowning in all this paper. No doubt some lawyer on the other side had wanted this to be the case. I wasn’t going to let us be tricked by my own stubbornness. I needed another pair of eyes on this one.
I punched two buttons on my desk phone and picked up the receiver. It took only a moment to connect.
“Ace?” I said his name before he could greet me.
“How do you like your new secretary?” he asked. No ‘sir’. He had always been irreverent.
I grunted low in my throat. No need to offer any opinions just yet. Keaton was cute but that was all I knew about him. He still had the potential to turn out to be the worst secretary in the world.
“Come to my office,” I told him. I paused a moment before realizing clarification would be better. “It’s about the Angus deal.”
“On my way,” Ace said. He made his own pause. “Uh, say, this isn’t a thinly-veiled excuse to get me to your office so you can fire me for picking the wrong secretary, is it?”
The wrong secretary? Ace was that unsure about his own choice?
Well. There was a chance this could go either way. Keaton might be the best secretary in the world by pure happy accident. Somehow I had the feeling that it was more likely to head in the other direction.
Not just because I doubted his competency levels. Or because of what had happened the first time we met.
Because he was cute. And cute men standing around in my office were not entirely welcome. Not when I had important deals to focus on.
Not even if I seemed to very much enjoy looking at his face.
“No,” I said and hung up. Let Ace Park panic if he wanted to. That would teach him to talk to me like a friend instead of a boss.
He was lucky he was one of my best agents.
And one of the only people in the world to know my secret. A member of a group I could count on one hand. The inner circle.
I shot a glance at the door.
That secret was in jeopardy with cute Keaton so close by.
Maybe I should fire Ace – because I had a feeling he’d picked Keaton for that very reason.
And if that was the case… they were both going to be out of the door first thing tomorrow.
Here ends this week’s chapter! What did you think? I’d love to hear your thoughts below. I really appreciate your comments - what you like, what you don’t like, and what you’d like to see next.
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Progress Report
Don’t Move Out sales total: ebook - 726, paperback - 5, KU pages read - 284,405 (DMO = 238 pages, so the equivalent of 1,194 full-book reads) - I have scheduled a free book promotion for DMO for the last day in May… more news on that closer to the time!
Don’t Go Outside sales total: ebook - 77, paperback - 5, KU pages read - 103,169 (DGO = 222 pages, so the equivalent of 464 full-book reads)
Don’t Fly Home sales total: ebook - 45, paperback - 3, KU pages read - 63,509 (DFH = 224 pages, so the equivalent of 283 full-book reads)
Don’t Leave Town sales total: ebook - 54, paperback - 3, KU pages read - 43,326 (DLT = 299 pages, so the equivalent of 144 full-book reads)
Don’t Check Out sales total: ebook - 46, paperback - 1, KU pages read - 22,678 (DCO = 192 pages, so the equivalent of 118 full-book reads)
CC 1-5 Boxset sales total: KU pages read - 10,384 (Boxset = 1,068 pages, so the equivalent of 9 full-set reads)
Don’t Move Your Desk - written and edited fully, serialisation underway, some chapters queued up ready
Kiss The Cook announced as next book and cover revealed, loose plot created - a new entry this week as work gets underway!
(Books 7+): 9 covers, themes, and titles done, Kitchen selected to be first, release schedule announced, some prep started
Subscribers: free - 35, paid - 0 - hi new friend!
By the way, please like this post if you enjoyed it and would like to see more! This helps me decide what to do for future content.
XO Rhiannon
Absolutely love this. If I could I would be binging this whole series right now!