WooHoo! I have a
new roof on my garage and both porches. Our back porch actually includes our
bathroom and laundry room and we’ve had leaks for the past five years. Here’s
to not having those anymore! We went with a blue metal and it looks terrific
with the slate roof of the house. I’m thrilled the job took, I’m not kidding, a
day and a half. I figured it would take a week to get it all done. Glad I was
wrong.
Busy week on the
work front. Finished up a project and started two more. I did get some
television viewing in but had a light week.
I caught an episode
of Riverdale and enjoyed getting back
to the regular timeline. I’m completely creeped out with Cheryl’s weird deal
with her corpse brother but I love the battle of wills she’s having with the
new principal. Loved having some story with Reggie. Also liked seeing Mad Dog
join the group. I want Kevin and Betty to get back to their usual friendship and
I’m happy to see him kind of wake up to the evils of the farmies. Here’s hoping
Fangs comes back to the fold.
I watched The Will, a Passionflix original movie,
and thoroughly enjoyed it! The casting ended up being spot-on and I had fun watching
this one. I’ll be looking forward to the next release Passionflix puts out.
Caught another
episode of Danger Man aka Secret Agent. I forever have The Prisoner in my mind when I watch
these episodes even if they’re not technically related. Probably because I
watched The Prisoner first.
Watched the third
episode of Midsomer Murders. Enjoyed
it a lot. It had some good twists and turns I didn’t expect.
Viewed another
first season episode of Peak Practice.
I’m not quite sure what I’m supposed to think about Will. The character is, I
think, the only one who remained for all twelve series. Right now, he’s kind of
a petulant, whiny child most of the time and I don’t know if I’m supposed to
like him or not. Since it’s only four episodes so far, I’ll reserve judgment.
Finished up Classic Who season ten with Three and
the end of Jo’s tenure as a companion. The Green Death episodes were a pretty
interesting arc and I like how Jo ended her time with the doctor. Looking
forward to starting season eleven.
Strike Back is back, as noted in last week’s post. I’m
currently watching the first episode of the season and, wow, Coltrane
definitely has a big-ass chip on his shoulder. He kind of acts like he didn’t
have his ass saved by his team not so long ago. That said, I’m not all the way
through the first episode yet so I’ll reserve judgment.
And that’s pretty
much it for television this week. Tonight’s post is from Zootropolis, a
contemporary novella that got a start with a writing community prompt.
Here’s the
mini-blurb:
Mackenna Sycks is looking to raise money for a wildlife
refuge in Africa. When Walton Conley offers to back her project, she balks,
thinking the hot shot playboy has ulterior motives. He does, but he's also a
whiz with fundraisers and surprises Mackenna with gala affair dubbed
Zootropolis.
And a snippety peek…
Mackenna stopped by
the zoo and completed her exit interview. Normally, she had a uniform to fall
back on, but she'd turned hers in when she arrived. Which meant her street
clothes were now covered in muck and dung after the director asked her to check
on a gazelle trying to deliver a newborn.
Mackenna slid behind
the wheel of her jeep. "Nothing like a little free labor for a laboring
cow." At least the mama and fawn were doing fine.
By the time she'd
helped the vet with the distressed animal, accepted her eternal gratitude, and
put down new bedding for the pair, she had less than ten minutes to get to
Walton's office for the initial fundraising meeting.
Starting the engine,
she shook her head. "Of all the days to not have a spare outfit."
Mess didn't begin to describe her current appearance, but she didn't want to
miss the meeting.
A quick call to let
the office know she'd be a little late went to voice mail. Mackenna made the
cross-town drive in record time and took an extra five minutes to clean up as
much as possible. She traded her rugged tennis shoes—covered with things not really
fit for the general public not to mention an office—for a pair of flip-flops,
but she couldn't do much to remove the fluid stains from her cotton blouse. She
shucked it off, choosing to go with only her camisole. Her loose-fitting pants
were worse for the wear and she couldn't escape the clinging aroma of, well,
animal, but Walton would understand. After all, he'd witnessed firsthand what
her job entailed.
Swallowing down
discomfort, she squared her shoulders. "It's just the two of us. If he
wants to reschedule, at least I made the effort to be here." Strolling up
to the main doors, she exhaled slowly and put a wide smile on her face.
A wasted effort
because Walton got one look at her when the receptionist showed her into the
conference room—where at least twenty people sat around the huge table—and
nearly blew a gasket.
Pissed off but trying
to hide it, he dismissed the group. "Uh, ladies and gentlemen, I believe
we've had a breakdown in communication. Let's break this up and I'll schedule a
time we can regroup." He shot Mackenna a scathing glance.
She hunched her
shoulders and blinked rapidly. Who the hell were all these people? Carrie said
Mackenna and Walton would still be discussing how to organize and plan the
benefit. When did two become almost two dozen?
When the door closed,
Walton whirled around. "Are you trying to shoot yourself in the foot? Look
at you? What the hell happened?" He stalked back and forth, anger rippling
off him in waves.
Mackenna's ire rose.
"I didn't know people would here. Carrie didn't mention it. She assured me
this was supposed to be you and me only." She planted her hands on her
hips. "As to what happened. I helped deliver a gazelle fawn as part of my
exit interview. Something I didn't expect, clearly, and instead of being a raging
asshole, you might consider I at least showed up instead of ditching what I
thought was a simple information exchange." And she did call … but not his
cell phone as he'd requested … she left a message on the company voice mail.
Because she didn't
quite know what to do with Walton yet. The attraction for him threw her off and
she didn't want to cross into his personal sphere. Only, right now, the urge to
smash him into the wall ranked well above what his looks did to her.
Walton frowned.
"Carrie was supposed to let you know I pulled together a group of
donors—the largest one I've ever accomplished, I might add—who'd be willing to
foot the entire bill for the gala so all the proceeds would go to the rescue
foundation." His brows furrowed. "Did she not pass that along?"
A surge of guilt rose
because Carrie had called several times and Mackenna ignored each one. Her best
friend liked to pry and cajole Mackenna into leaving her comfort zone. Putting
her firmly in Walton's orbit would be a very Carrie thing to do. And Mackenna
didn't need the help. She couldn't get him out of her mind without Carrie's
added assistance.
Mackenna met Walton's
gaze. "She might have tried calling but I've, uh, been a little busy. I
don't know why she didn't just text me the update." Okay, a total lie, but
Walton didn't need to know Carrie liked to play matchmaker. "And I left a
voice mail on your main office line." Weak, so weak.
Walton's eyebrows
shot up. "Did you lose my personal number?"
She couldn't meet his
gaze. "No. But I had a rough morning and dialed the first number listed
for you, which is the office." She shrugged. "I didn't mean to wreck
your plans or make a scene in front of a bunch of donors." Turning away
from him, she started an apology. "I'm truly sor—" The words died in
her throat when she got a look at a fully realized mock-up of his plan for the
gala event. "Holy… Wow." She spun back around with her mouth hanging
open.
Walton's shoulder
twitched. "I spent the past few days between phone calls putting that
together. Sometimes, when an idea hits, I can't stop the flow." He moved
forward and picked up one of the pieces, a paper-mache elephant.
Mackenna blinked,
guilt surging upward again. "You … made the whole display?" It took
up most of the credenza, full of animals, habitats, people, tables, chairs, and
she had zero problem picturing what it would look like in her head full to
scale.
He'd definitely gone
above and beyond. And, dammit, the man really had a knack, which she had to
acknowledge.
She huffed out a
breath. "Damn, you obviously know what you're doing when it comes to
pulling off the impossible."
I like the vibe
between Mackenna and Walton. They’re willing to admit the attraction but
neither will jump into anything with the other. It’s so much fun to write.
That’s it for this
week. Happy reading!
Skylin
