Been fighting an
all-day headache, the kind that kind of just hangs there and acts annoying.
Will keep the post brief because of that. L
Tonight's preview
is from another manuscript I just got started, Bikini Beach. Again, the idea came from a
prompt posted to one of my writing comms. Seriously love getting a spark from
those.
Here's the tagline:
Talia Ashe loves her
job, but she's ready to kill her partner, Hugh McVey because he's pushing hard
to get a project done and they're down to the wire. She takes a mental health
day, to keep from doing Hugh bodily harm, but he ruins it when he shows up on
her patch of beach.
And here's the
snippety peek…
6 am
breep-breep-breep-breep-breep
Talia Ashe threw her pillow to drown out the obnoxious sound of her
alarm. Flinging an arm over her eyes, she decided she couldn't face getting up
and going in to work. And considering she'd worked past midnight the night
before, she shouldn't have to.
Four hours of sleep just didn't
cut it and one day couldn't possibly hurt. The delay would piss her partner
off, but Hugh could suck donkey balls. If she had to deal with his constant
push-push-push to get the job done attitude another day she'd lose her mind.
Or run the risk of maiming him
with sharp objects.
Not his fault their client died
mid-project and his widow decided to take the reins and change everything. The
woman had no clue about production schedules, order fulfillment, or what it
took to change the packaging at the very last possible moment. Or what missing
the launch date would do to her bottom line. But she didn't have a board of
directors to worry about so she could do whatever she pleased.
Stifling a huge yawn, Talia
grabbed her phone from the bedside stand and dialed Hugh's number. Expecting
the call to go to voice mail, she got a surprise when he answered on the second
ring.
"McVey." He sounded
tired, but alert.
Shit. She'd have to scramble fast
to sound ill.
"Hugh. Ughhh…" She
hoped the feigned moan added the right touch. "I think the clam chowder
from yesterday's lunch is trying to kill me. Can you manage on your own
today?" She braced for the explosion.
"What!?" Hugh didn't
disappoint. "Dammit, Talia. Why didn't you have the cobb salad like I did
yesterday?"
She rolled her eyes. "Look,
it could've been the Thai food we ordered in for dinner. Whatever the culprit,
I'm two seconds away from heaving again, so unless you wanna watch me puke all
day, I suggest you soldier on and I'll be back in on Thursday." She firmly
tamped down the guilty kick in her stomach.
Hugh gave a terse response.
"Fine. But your timing couldn't suck worse. Deadline is next week and we
still have details to nail down." He heaved a sigh. "Do you need
anything? I can stop after I meet with Barclay's widow."
The woman had a name, Minerva,
but she and Hugh almost exclusively referred to the bane of their existence by
her grieving status. Probably because the woman rarely started a sentence that
didn't begin with 'As Paul's widow'…
"Talia, are you okay?"
The genuine concern in Hugh's
voice had remorse creeping up again.
Talia quickly answered,
"Yeah. Just needed a moment." She definitely didn't want him to stop
by…she had no intention of being home. "I don't need anything, but thanks
for the offer. See you Thursday."
She didn't wait for a response
and pressed end. The unexpected gesture from Hugh threw her a little. They
worked for a co-op and had been partnered up for this project based on their
individual skills. She'd known him by reputation for a couple of years, but after
working with him for a straight six months, he still surprised her sometimes.
The guy didn't have an 'off'
button and she could usually deal with it, but the last two weeks had put a
strain on her ability to play nice. And after listening to him snap and snarl
about everything, most of it directed toward her, she wanted a twenty-four hour
break. Hugh acted as the project head and she had more or less been following
his lead—working nonstop—but not today.
Today, Bikini Beach called and
Talia fully planned to enjoy the sun, sand, and surf, giving her brain a much
needed vacation. She'd go back to work on Thursday, fully recharged and ready
to face whatever new kind of hell the Widow Barclay could throw at them.
She grabbed her pillow and reset
her alarm for 8 am. Settling back down, her eyes fluttered shut and she drifted
back to sleep.
Hugh and Talia will
find getting out of the office can be a great thing to get the creative juices
flowing. But first…they have to clear the air a little. LOL
That's it for this
week. Happy reading!
Skylin
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