Sunday Snippet: Midnight Cruise

Yeesh. I'd really like Ohio weather to calm the eff down. We've had storms all week and we're getting hammered today. Severe thunderstorm warnings, tornado warnings, it's wild.

We did have a break in the yucky weather on Friday and got to attend a fun concert to benefit our local botanical garden and a local pet shelter. We had a truly great time and my extended family participated in the musical lineup.

Had a busy work week filled with some tedious little stuff and some technology problems. I did manage to get a copy edit finished up and worked on formatting a family history book that has a ton of images in it. That one is kind of challenging because the copy edit can't be done with the images in the document and I'm pulling them out and adding design tags.

Not a bad viewing week. I made it through my usual slate and started a back-burner episode. The weather kind of affected being able to finish that one. I also did another binge watch of Death in Paradise on Ovation.

Started with an episode of Marple and enjoyed it. I rather liked the cast of characters in this episode and, whew, did it have some twisty turns.

Started a new series for me with Adrian Dunbar's Coastal Ireland. I love seeing the landscape and shorelines of the country. It's so beautiful.

Caught an episode of Beyond Paradise and I'm so bummed that Humphrey has to reduce his staff by one. I hope it ends up working out by the end of the season. I also wish I understood more about why Esther doesn't want to be happy with Archie. Maybe they'll delve into that a little more.

Watched an episode of Poirot and truly enjoyed it. Always nice to see old friends and the behind-the-scenes machinations were interesting.

Elementary had a great opening to its sixth season. Sherlock's struggle post-concussion adds an interesting layer of conflict and I'm happy with Joan's response.

Caught an episode of Young Justice and enjoyed it. Great to see the team pull together and also nice to see the Justice League's trust in their ability.

Enjoyed the season opener of Star Trek Lower Decks season five. Very fun to see a mirror of the crew and how different things could turn out.

Watched The Thin Man again because I was in the mood for something fun. I need to find the other Nick and Nora movies somewhere, because they're so enjoyable.

Started an episode of Peak Practice but the thunderstorms put a halt to finishing it. I'll maybe get to it later this week.

That's it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from Midnight Cruise, a New Year's Eve holiday novella.

Here's the miniblurb:

Once upon a time, Bessie Marshall met Cesar Wright, and they had a glorious fling for the week of spring break during their senior year of college. Fast forward five years and Cesar is back in his hometown to launch a new business venture, and he wants his friends to help him make a test run on New Year's Eve. Imagine his shock when he bumps into Bessie—who moved to the riverfront city two years after graduation—and she wants nothing to do with him, which shouldn't surprise him considering he left her without so much as a good-bye.

And a snippety peek…

Cesar mentally pumped his fist in the air. He had her … or at least her professional interest. The rest could come later. He hoped.

He gave her a verbal nudge. "Bessie? Can you work with me?" His dad would wonder how Cesar could cede control by asking that question.

Because she didn't play parry and feint conversational games. She'd blast him with both barrels straight between the eyes. He really hoped she wouldn't leave him dead with brain matter leaking from his head.

Bessie pressed her lips together and inhaled deeply through her nose. "Can I? Yes, I'm sure I can." She paused. "A better question to ask is will I work with you. Because the answer to that one is more complicated." Leaning back, she crossed her arms over her chest.

Cesar frowned. "What can I do to simplify things?" He really wanted her, specifically, to help him get the riverboat project off the ground.

And mainly because her skill could make it happen. The secondary reason … yeah … he needed to unpack that a little more before he could articulate what he hoped for there. But he couldn't do either if she said no.

Bessie sighed. "Honestly? You could explain why this means so much." Her fingers curled into her palms. "Why is it important to have me run this launch when you couldn't be bothered to send a text or leave a note or even…" Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Say anything five years ago?" Her gaze dipped briefly to her hands before she pushed up out of the chair and shook her head. "No, actually, forget what I just said." She pinned him with a fierce glare. "Double my project fee and I'll put the launch campaign together for your stupid boat." Turning, she dashed from the room and the click-clack of her heels echoed in the hall.

Cesar sat in stunned silence for several moments before the magnitude of her exit crashed into him. Damn. He never realized how his emergency call and hastily arranged flight played out on her end. He didn't have time to do anything more than dress in the clothes he'd had on the day before and meet the driver waiting for him under the portico to take him to the airport. He literally flew to Europe with his phone and passport. By the time he landed, he had another driver waiting—with a change of clothes in the car—to whisk him off to put out the raging inferno his older brother Carrick set aflame when he mangled a merger negotiation then cut out and basically disappeared for a while.

Cesar closed his eyes. "I didn't think about Bessie until four days later … after I cleaned up Carrick's mess." At that point, sending a text seemed too impersonal after being in her personal space for so many days.

And the thousands of miles between them meant he couldn't exactly make any kind of promises to her.

His head hit the cushioned backrest. "Still could've handled things better." Hindsight being a rank bitch didn't really help. "I definitely have some amends to make."

Too bad he had no idea where to even start.

This one is in the very beginning stages, but I love what the sages are feeding me. Cesar will definitely be groveling at some point.

 

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin

Sunday Snippet: Midnight Cruise

Our fall-like weather remained with us … to the point we had record lows. I have to laugh a little because it's like a yoyo swinging up and down with record temperatures in both directions. It's nuts.

Had a very solid work week. Possible new projects that I'm excited about and finishing up a big one, which feels really good.

Not a bad week for viewing television. I didn't make it through two times like last week but had almost a full rotation of the shows I normally watch.

Enjoyed another Agatha Raisin episode. I'm settling in with this cast of characters and I love the village vibe. Looking forward to more episodes.

Started a new Silent Witness two-parter and I'm really interested in where this one goes and what's going on at the Lyle. The second half should be terrific.

Caught the finale for season two of Death in Paradise. I'm a little sad because the season three opener is obviously the loss of one of the main characters. But I'm excited to start in with a new character.

Watched another Fantasy Island episode and thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm also happy to report Roark and Javier seem to be on better footing and the angst factor did not get amped to ten or above. A pleasant surprise. The whole deal with Ruby should be interesting to watch unfold. Not sure how I want things to go there.

Enjoyed another episode of The Batman. This one featured Firefly and I kind of loved the Bruce and Alfred banter in this episode.

Caught another episode of Classic Rugrats and loved it. One part had the babies journeying to the basement ala Indiana Jones style. The second one had the full set of McNultys for a birthday party. So much fun.

Started another episode of VIP but didn't make it all the way through. Too many interruptions to finish, but I hope to get the rest watched today.

That's pretty much it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from Midnight Cruise, a holiday-themed novella for New Year's Eve.

Here's the miniblurb:

Once upon a time, Bessie Marshall met Cesar Wright and they had a glorious fling for the week of spring break their senior year of college. Fast forward five years and Cesar is back in his hometown to launch a new business venture and he wants his friends to help him make a test run on New Year's Eve. Imagine his shock when he bumps into Bessie—who moved to the riverfront city two years after graduation—and she wants nothing to do with him, which shouldn't surprise him considering he left her without so much as a good-bye.

And a snippety peek…

Bessie tilted her head to one side. "You bought a riverboat?" Why not lease until he knew if his idea would work?

Cesar shrugged. "Well, yeah. I can't create a floating dinner club without one." He settled across from her at the conference table.

Bessie huffed out a breath and shook her head. "Okay, true. But most normal people don't have the cash on hand to just buy a boat. Seriously. And you drop, what?" She did a quick mental calculation. "Seven figures? Like it's nothing." She really had no clue what that would even be like.

Cesar frowned. "No, not like it's nothing. It's an investment. One I'll make pay off within two years if all goes to plan." He straightened. "What's your problem with this?"

Bessie wet her lower lip, stalling for time. Because she didn't know how to answer. She knew nothing about Cesar Wright. Not really. And her brain struggled to mesh the low-key flip-flop and board shorts guy she'd spent the most incredible week of her life with and the mega-wealthy, impeccably dressed man sitting across from her. But she failed spectacularly because the incredible things they'd done together kept flashing through her mind.

Exhaling slowly, she finally responded. "Nothing really. Your idea is something I could market in my sleep, but I'm not sure working with you is a good plan. There's no guarantee we'd work well together. What makes you think we would?" She truly had no clue.

Cesar blinked. "Tell me you're not serious. Have you forgotten we spent a week together? What makes you think we'd have any trouble getting this project off the ground?" He folded his arms over his chest.

Bessie made a garbled choking sound. "I don't know, Cesar. Possibly because you don't know the first thing about me on a professional level. And it may be because this project has nothing to do with fucking each other, which is basically all we did for the duration of our time together." Okay, not completely true, but geez, seven days of sun, sand, and sex—with occasional meal breaks—didn't exactly qualify him to judge her work ethic or her anything five years later.

The man had no idea what her life looked like … or how badly he'd bruised her heart.

Cesar's lips twisted in a wry grin. "You still shoot straight and speak your mind. That hasn't changed." He relaxed his stance, leaning forward and placing his forearms on the table. "But you've made your point. So, let's come at this from a strictly professional perspective. Your work speaks for itself. You've managed to land a third of your team's new clients in the three years you've been with Thrust Marketing. Better still, you've worked with five difficult, ready-to-run accounts and retained four. The fifth wasn't worth the time and effort, but the company has nothing but great things to say about you." He sat back. "And that's why you're perfect for this project. I won't believe our personal history will keep you from being the consummate professional I know you are." He met and held her gaze. "Am I wrong?"

Bessie opened her mouth then slowly closed it because he'd done his homework. And, well, he'd pretty much rendered her speechless.

This story is in the beginning stages, but I'm so pleased with how it's coming together. Bessie is a fun character and Cesar is going to learn the art of groveling.

 

That's it for this week. Happy reading!

Skylin