About Me
- Katie Ashley
- Atlanta, GA, United States
- I am the New York Times, USA Today, and Amazon Best Selling author of The Proposition, Proposal, Music of the Heart, and Nets and Lies. I am represented by Jane Dystel of Dystel and Goderich for all books except for Proposition and Proposal.
The Proposition
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Sloooow Teaser of Chapter One #2
TGIF PEEPS!! As a HS teacher, you better believe I am a fan of Friday's and weekends!!
So, I left you hanging right before we meet Mr. Hotstuff....and here he is!!
***
So, I left you hanging right before we meet Mr. Hotstuff....and here he is!!
***
Aidan Fitzgerald rubbed his blurring blue eyes. He
peeked through his fingers at the clock on the computer screen. Damn, it was already
after seven. Even if he wanted to finish the project, his brain was too fried. He
could barely make out the words in front of him. He turned off his computer,
secure in the thought that his newly elevated promotion of Vice President of
marketing meant he could wait until the morning and not have someone bitch at
him for slacking off.
With a groan, Aidan rose out of his chair
and stretched his arms over his head. He grabbed up his bag and headed to the
door. As he flipped off his office lights, his stomach rumbled. There was
probably nothing at the house to eat, so he’d need to pick up
something on the way. For a brief instant, he wished there was a woman waiting
on him with a home-cooked meal. He quickly shrugged the thought away. A couple
of meals weren’t worth the hassle of long-term relationships. In the end, he
was much happier with begging dinners off one of his married sisters. At least
until they launched into one of their tirades about how he couldn’t be a
bachelor for the rest of his life, and at thirty-two, it was time for him to
settle down and have a family.
“Bullshit,” he muttered under his breath
at the thought. The attractive cleaning lady down the hall raised her head.
She then gave him an alluring smile.
“Goodnight Mr. Fitzgerald.”
“Goodnight Paula,” he replied. He smacked
the button for the elevator, fighting the urge to close the gap between them
and strike up a conversation. He raked a hand through his sandy blond hair and
shook his head. Talking to Paula would most likely lead to some tryst in the
storeroom closet, and as much as he would enjoy that, he was getting a little
old for those kinds of hook-ups.
The elevator jolted him down to the first
floor. Heated voices met Aidan the moment he stepped off, causing him to grunt
in frustration. Damn, the last thing he needed after working late and being
cock-teased by the cleaning lady was to come up on some domestic dispute. And
from the tone of both a man and woman’s voice, that’s exactly what it was.
“Connor,
I can’t believe you cornered me here at work!” a woman hissed.
“What
was I supposed to do? You won’t answer my calls or emails. I had to see if you
were all right.”
“I
told you to leave me alone, and I meant it!”
“But
I love you, Em. I don’t want to lose you.”
At
the sound of scuffling, the woman’s voice raised an octave. “Stop! Don’t you dare touch me!”
The
protective side of Aidan stirred at the woman’s tone, sending him barreling around
the corner. “Hey! Get your damn hands
off her!” he bellowed.
The
couple startled at the sight of him. The woman’s tear stained face flushed
crimson, and she ducked her head to avoid Aidan’s intense gaze. Immediately, he
recognized her—Emma Harrison, 4th floor advertising, and the woman
he’d tried unsuccessfully to take home from the company’s Christmas Party. From
the way she refused to meet his eye, he knew she recognized him as well.
Aidan
turned his attention to the guy, Connor, whose eyes were wide with fear. He
hastily dropped his hands from Emma’s shoulders and took several steps back. Connor
looked like he was ready to bolt out the nearest exit. Aidan then realized how
intimidating he must appear with his fists clenched at his side, his jaw hard
set. He tried relaxing his stance, but his blood still pumped so hard in his
ears he couldn’t.
Connor held up his hands in surrender. “I’m
not sure what you think was going on, but we were just talking.”
Aidan narrowed his eyes. “I think from the
way she was crying and begging you to stop touching her, it was a lot more than
talking.” He started to ask Emma if
she was all right, but she blew past him and escaped into the restroom. He
glared at Connor.
“Look man, you’ve got it all wrong. I—”
“What’s
not to get? You obviously can’t let your ex-girlfriend or ex-wife or whatever she
is go, even though she can’t even stand for you to touch her!”
Nervous
laughter erupted from Connor. He silenced it the minute Aidan cocked his
eyebrows at him and took a step forward. “Trust me, you’re so very, very wrong.
Emma’s not my ex.”
“Then what’s the deal?”
Connor cleared his throat. “Fine, you want
the truth? Here it is. I’m gay, and Emma’s been my best friend since middle
school.”
Aidan’s
mouth dropped open. “Seriously?”
“Yep.”
“Huh…then
I stand corrected. Sorry about that.”
Connor
shrugged. “It’s okay. I probably would’ve done the same thing if I thought some
asshole was hassling a woman. Well, I probably wouldn’t if he was twice my size
like you.” He glanced past Aidan to the bathroom and grimaced. “Dammit, I hate
when she’s mad at me. I don’t think she’s ever been so angry and so hurt. I
just don’t know what to do to make it right, ya know?”
Aidan
shifted on his feet, sensing the conversation was headed into emotional
territory, which was somewhere he tried avoiding at all costs. He held one hand
up. “Hey man, it’s really none of my business.” But the moment the words left
his lips, he was sure they had fallen on deaf ears. The anguished expression on
Connor’s face told him he wouldn’t be getting away without hearing the full,
dramatic story, unless he literally tried to out run him.
With
a sigh, Connor ran his hand through his dark hair. In a low voice, he said,
“She’s crazy about kids, and her biological clock is all in a snit to have baby
for like the last two years. Loving her the way I do, I’d promised her I’d be
the father and donate to the cause.”
Okay,
so maybe that wasn’t the story Aidan had expected. “Don’t tell me. You
chickened out when it came down to doing the deed?”
Connor
scowled at him. “Ha, ha, asshole, real funny. For your information, it was
going to be done in a clinic.”
“Where’s
the fun in that?” Aidan mused, with a sly smile.
“Dude,
gay, remember?”
“Sorry.” For reasons he couldn’t possibly
fathom, Aidan was so intrigued by the story he felt the need to prompt Connor
to continue. “So what happened?”
“My
partner isn’t ready to have children. I promised him that Emma didn’t
necessarily want me involved, but he won’t budge. It’s been hell choosing
between the man I love and my best friend.”
“Why
can’t she just go to a sperm bank or something?”
Connor
chuckled. “Emma has it in her mind there will be this horrible mix-up where her
choice of a prime donor’s sample was swapped with some serial killer’s.”
Aidan
grinned. “I guess I can see her point.”
A
buzz went off in Connor’s pocket. He dug it out and then groaned at the ID.
“Shit, it’s Jeff. He’ll have my ass for coming here and trying to talk to Emma.
I really, really have to go.” His
gaze once again went to the bathroom. “I hate to leave her though…”
“You
go on. I’ll see she gets to her car okay.”
“Really?
That would be awesome.” He thrust out his hand. “It was nice meeting you…”
“Aidan. Aidan Fitzgerald.”
“Connor Montgomery .”
After they shook hands, Connor smiled. “Thanks for all your help and for totally
misreading the entire situation.”
Aidan laughed. “It was a pleasure almost
kicking your ass.”
“Hey now,” Connor replied. When his phone
rang, he winced and gave a short wave before bringing it to his ear. “Babe,
yeah, sorry I missed your texts. I’m on my way home now.” He pushed through the
glass doors and disappeared into the night.
With a shake of his head, Aidan started
across the lobby to the bathroom. He rapped on the door. In a shrill voice,
Emma shouted, “Go away, Connor! I have nothing else to say to you! Not to
mention, you just embarrassed the hell out of me in front of one of the biggest
assholes in the company!”
“Biggest asshole, huh?” he murmured under
his breath. Not exactly a title he was proud of, especially coming from a
woman. He was used to hearing much more
flattering descriptions of himself from them. Well, at least in the beginning
before he walked away. After that, things usually took a nasty turn.
“I’m not leaving this bathroom until I
know you’re gone!”
Aidan sighed. She was a determined one
that was for sure not to mention stubborn as hell. His mind flashed back to how
beautiful and sexy she’d looked at the Christmas party—how the slinky green
dress she’d worn flowed over her curves making her irresistible. When he’d seen
her across the room with some girlfriends, he had been determined to spend the
night with her. Her shy smiles and glances up at him through her eyelashes had
spurned him on to close the small space between them. Of course, by the time
he’d arrived at her side, her interfering friends had already informed her of
his dubious reputation as a heartbreaker and serial womanizer.
“Women,”
he muttered under his breath as he pushed through the bathroom door. Emma sprawled
out on the tapestry settee with a wet paper towel over her eyes. On one side,
her skirt was jacked halfway up her hip, giving him a fabulous view of legs and
thighs. At the sound of footsteps, she gave a frustrated grunt. She stabbed the
air in front of her with her index finger. “I swear if you don’t leave me
alone, I’m going to kick you so hard in the balls there will no longer be any
question about whether you can father my children!”
Aidan chuckled. Her deep auburn hair so
foretold her fiery personality—one she’d showed him at the Christmas party. All
her bashfulness had evaporated in an instant when she told him in no uncertain
terms that she had no desires to be one of his conquests or one night stands.
“Actually, it isn’t Connor.”
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