Sunday Snippet: Tell Me More

I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving, if celebrated. For my family, it's the official beginning to the holiday season and we come up with a new theme for our tree. My middle kidlet is choosing this year and he's decided to go with a sports-related color scheme. Should be interesting because we're mixing scarlet and gray; green, blue, and white; and brown and orange. I have a general idea of how to make it work, but we'll see what the final result is.

A lot of years, we've waited until December 24 to do the actual decorating, but I think we'll be getting it done earlier this season. We also have a big puppy in the house for the first time and I can't wait to see what she does around the tree. LOL

Not much on the TV front this week, but The Flash turned in a great episode. Gotham and Sleepy Hollow were pretty good, too. I'm very much looking forward to the fall finale of Walking Dead tonight. I have a feeling someone's not going to make it… but we'll see. Thankfully, I'll have Chris Hardwick's Talking Dead to soothe whatever gaping wounds I might have. J

Tonight's post is from Tell Me More, a novella where Shannon can't quite stop pushing Webber's buttons.

Here's the tagline:

Shannon Tewes and Webber Dillon work for a premiere event planner and don't always see eye to eye. Shannon has a knack for putting Webber on the hot seat whenever their boss is around and Webber has several ideas of how he'd retaliate if he ever got Shannon in a compromising position.

And a snippety peek…

"Well, thank you guys for coming up with some terrific ideas." Marjorie closed the file and turned off the projector. "Shannon, I think we'll use your design for the extended archway. I love the idea of having the guests walk through the macabre tunnel and exiting out into the lavish, sumptuous ballroom for the midnight wedding." Marjorie stood up from the conference table and directed her attention to Webber. "You'll be able to configure the steel frame, right? I do not want to see any PVC piping under the gray gauze fabric."

Oh, he could construct the frame, all right. If he didn't plan to sleep over the next seven days. And the cost would be—

Webber added the stipulation. "If the client has another three thousand in their budget, I'll get it done." And maybe duct tape Shannon to his welding bench and make her witness how many hours of work she'd just loaded onto his plate.

Marjorie tapped her pen against the file. "Hmm. I'm confident I can talk the bride into forking over the extra. She's going to go ape shit over the design change." She gathered up the file and her bag and strode from the conference room.

Shannon remained seated at the table, not speaking until the door closed. "Okay, Webber, let me have it. Tell me how much my brilliant idea is going to fuck up your life." She scooted her chair back and crossed her arms over her chest.

Any other day, he'd go off on her, giving her every detail she demanded. Today… he didn't have the luxury, not if he wanted to meet the deadline and have the monstrosity of framework welded together.

He pushed away from the table, rising from his seat. "You know what, Shannon? We've played this scenario out so many times, why don't you just insert my long, list of reasons into a tirade, mad lib style." He picked up his notebook, shoving the sketch of her design between the pages. "I've got a shit ton of work to do." He crossed the room, twisted the doorknob, and exited out into the main showroom.

Shannon followed behind him, right on his heels. "Look, Webber. I'm sorry. The idea hit me in the middle of a dead sleep and I had to include it." She grabbed his bicep. "I don't do this stuff on purpose, you know."

He snorted. "Right. Whatever you say." He pulled away from her grip. "Just once, I'd like to be in on the whole idea before the meeting." Striding through the display area, he didn't stop until he'd entered the cavernous warehouse Marjorie used for storage.

Shannon trotted along beside him, waiting patiently while he greeted Greg and George, the two guys who kept track of the inventory. What else could she possibly have to say? Webber didn't particularly care at the moment and almost wished she'd take the hint and leave.

No such luck. She trailed behind him when he left via the back door. He spotted her car parked next to his truck, which explained why she dogged his every step.

He yanked the door open and tossed the notebook onto the front seat, climbing up inside the cab.

Shannon blocked him from pulling the door closed. "Seriously, Webber? You're going to drive off in a shit storm? That's it?"

He made a garbled choking sound. "Shannon, you just made sure I'll be working non-stop for the next seven days. I'll be lucky to get the framework completed." He jammed the key in the ignition and started the truck. "What the hell else do you want?"

She opened her mouth. "I want—" She stopped, pressing her lips together in a frown. "Never mind. Not important." She stepped away and closed the door, her fingers gripping the panel through the open window for a second before she dropped her hands and strode toward her vehicle.

Webber backed out of the parking spot and gunned the engine, pulling into traffic and heading for his workshop. His lips twitched. Shannon Tewes, speechless, kind of blew his mind.

I have a feeling Webber is going to end up giving Shannon a run for her money.

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin