Black Heart

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I have started a new short story series called “Black Heart.”  The first one has been released and can be purchased here. The second one will be released shortly.  Here is what it is about:

Ellie spends the weekend with some friends in a cabin. She discovers that the man her friends want to set her up with is actually her very handsome art history professor, Luke Black. They can’t fight their attraction to each other, so Ellie and Luke make a deal to allow themselves a weekend fling- no strings attached. All too soon, they realize that this is much more than a fling.

A Billion Reasons -Chapter 1

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A Billion Reasons is being released on February 18th.  Here is the first chapter:

A Billion Reasons

Chapter 1

I tapped my pen against the corner of my desk and checked the clock for the twentieth time in the last five minutes.  He was late- fifteen minutes late.  That meant he was not coming.  Sighing, I pulled out Kate’s file and dialed the phone number written on the registration form.

“Jason Kavanagh’s office,” a cheery voice answered.

“I’m Emily Michael’s.  I am Kate Peter’s teacher.  Mr. Kavanagh was supposed to be here for a parent/teacher conference at four o’clock,” I said.

“Mr. Kavanagh is in a meeting,” she informed me.

“Can I reschedule?” I asked.

“Please hold,” she said.  After a few minutes, she returned.  “I’m sorry.  Mr. Kavanagh does not have any time to talk with you.”

“All I really need is two minutes and a signature,” I said.  “I can come down and meet with him after his meeting today. I promise it won’t take long.”

The secretary sighed. “If you stopped by within the hour, I would let him know that you are here, but I cannot make any promises.”

“Thank you, so much,” I said.

She gave me the address and hung up.  Quickly, I grabbed my things and headed for the bus stop.  The address she gave me was downtown.  With traffic, the bus would take a half hour to get there.  I should arrive before this Jason Kavanagh would leave for the day.

The bus dropped me off at the corner, so I walked quickly to the building.  It was large and intimidating.  I didn’t want to have to go up to the top of it.

Entering the lobby, I immediately felt out of place.  Everyone was dressed in expensive clothes and they looked so much more put together than I did.

“Can I help you?” The receptionist asked.  She sat behind a large, polished stone desk in the middle of the lobby.

“I’m Emily Michaels.  I’m here to see Jason Kavanagh,” I said, suddenly nervous.

She looked me up and down before calling his office.  Once I was confirmed, she handed me a visitor’s pass. “Take the elevator to the forty-fifth floor.”

That was just great.  With a sigh, I pressed the elevator button.  I hated elevators, but this was something that I had to do.

When it arrived, I stepped in, pressed the button, and closed my eyes.

“Please, don’t get stuck.  Please, don’t get suck,” I whispered over and over again.  Luckily, no one was in the elevator with me.

After what seemed like an eternity, but was probably less than a minute, the elevator dinged, announcing its arrival on the 45th floor.  I stepped of the elevator and looked around.  It was the same clean, marble, modern décor as the lobby.  Two blonde women who were about my age were stationed at a large slate desk direction in front of me.  Behind them, a large sign read Kavanagh Corporations.

“May I help you?” asked one of them.

“I’m here to see Mr. Kavanagh,” I said.

“I see,” she said, typing into the computer.  Her brow furrowed.  “Do you have an appointment, Miss…”

“Miss Michaels,” I said.  “No I don’t.”

“I’ll handle this, Angela,” said the other who stood up at the sound of my name.  “Miss Michaels, I’m sorry, but Mr. Kavanagh is very busy and won’t be able to see you today.  If you wish, I will call you to make an appointment.”

She stepped around the desk and gently grabbed my elbow as she started leading me to the elevators.  I dug my heels into the floor and shook my arm free from her grasp.

“But you said…” I started.

“Yes, well plans change,” she said.

I didn’t come all this way only to turn back around.

“Well, Mr. Kavanagh must be free sometime.  I can wait.  It won’t take more than a minute.  I could talk to him in the elevator on his way out.” I smiled and sat down in the waiting area.  I hoped that I wouldn’t have to talk to him in the elevator, but I would do what I had to do.

I ignored the secretary’s scowl because I wasn’t backing down.  I had an appointment with him and he didn’t show up.  That was rude.  I came all the way down here, and I need to get him to sign some papers.

I looked around at the office.  Clearly, whatever Kavanagh Corporation did was profitable.  It couldn’t be accounting like I previously thought.  It had to be something else.  I needed to Google it when I got home.

I glanced over at the secretaries.  She was still scowling while she was on the phone speaking quietly, but quickly.  She looked like she was getting yelled at by whoever was on the other end.  She noticed me staring and glared back at me.

I turned away.  I didn’t want to annoy her; I just wanted to do my job.  I could hear her hang up the phone.  Her heels clicked on the floor as she purposely strode over to me.

“Mr. Kavanagh is unable to speak to you today,” she said roughly.  “I can make an appointment for you.  He has an opening a week from Monday at 4:30.”

“I really can wait,” I said.

I knew if I took that appointment, she was going to cancel it.  I could see it in her eyes.  I was already here and I didn’t care if I was being a pain.  I just wanted to get this over with.

She looked at me and nodded before she walked back to her desk.  She picked up the phone again.  She was obviously talking to Mr. Kavanagh and, judging from her face, he was not happy.  I didn’t know why he wouldn’t want to talk to me.  He didn’t even know me.  I just wanted to talk to him about Kate, who should be important to him.

I was still waiting when several well-dressed men exited a meeting room and waited for the elevators.  They were all laughing at a joke except one extremely handsome man who seemed to be looking at me.  Our eyes locked.  Something about him made me not want to look away.

I forced myself to break eye contact. I couldn’t be distracted by this handsome, dark haired businessman.  I was waiting for Mr. Kavanagh.  I could still feel the man’s gaze as the elevator dinged.  As the doors closed, I finally let out the breath I didn’t know I was holding in.

A minute later, the secretary walked over to me.  I took a deep breath to steel myself for whatever she had to say to me.

“Miss Michaels,” she said with a smirk.  “I regret to inform you that Mr. Kavanagh has left for the day.  It’s time for the office to close.  But I still have that appointment available a week from Monday if you would like that.”

“That’s fine,” I said bitterly.

“I’ll pencil you in,” she said, walking back to her desk.

I stood up and walked over to the elevators.  Mr. Kavanagh must have slipped out in that group of people from the meeting room.  I probably missed him while staring at that ridiculously good looking man.  Dammit.  I had missed my chance.

Defeated, I went into the elevator.  I have wasted so much time and all I had to show for it was nausea from being on the 45th floor.  As the elevator descended, it stopped at almost every floor.  Even when it was full, we still continued to make stops.  The constant stopping and starting of the elevator made my stomach flop.  As we jerked from floor to floor, I prayed that I would not throw up in an elevator full of designer shoes.  I would die of embarrassment if I threw up on a pair of Italian dress shoe that cost more than I make in a month.

As the elevator stopped and the people exited, I was in a hurry.  I rushed to the bathroom next to the elevators and threw up.  The mixture between heights, nerves, and failure had gotten the best of me.  I rinsed my mouth out, splashed water on my face, and headed home.

The next day went by slowly.  It was the kind of day that made me grateful wine existed.  Jake, one of the boys in my class threw up all over the hallway after PE. It was so disgusting that I was praying that I wouldn’t throw up too.  The science experiment I had my class do didn’t work right.  It was supposed to fizz and bubble up, but nothing happened.  Finally, my class turned in their history projects and I had to get them graded before grades were due on Friday.

At 4:30, I was still at school.  I had kicked off my high heels and stood by the bulletin board in my stocking feet.  I had taken my hair out of its ponytail, so that long, brown curls went down my back.  The stress from the day was making my hair hurt.

As I stood on my tiptoes stapling letters to the bulletin board, there was a knock at my door.  I turned around and saw the most gorgeous man I had ever seen standing in the doorway.  My mouth dropped open as I looked at him.  Thick, black hair stuck out like he had just gotten out of bed.  His three piece suit was finely tailored.  A blue tie matched his bright blue eyes.   Clearly, he worked out a lot from his physique.

I just stood there amazed.  How did the man from yesterday find me?  I was not complaining.  I was just stunned.

“Miss Michaels?” the man said.

He strode into my classroom like he owned it.

“Yes,” I managed to say.

“I’m Jason Kavanagh,” he said as he stuck out his hand. “My secretary said that you wanted to meet with me.”

I would have never guessed that the gorgeous man who stared at me yesterday was Jason Kavanagh.  Then, it hit me.  He stared at me because he knew who I was and had been avoiding me yesterday.  If he purposely avoided me, why was he here?

“Yes,” I said, shaking my head and hoping to get myself together.  “She said that she would schedule an appointment for a week from Monday at your office.  I wasn’t expecting you.”

“I was in the neighborhood and decided to stop by,” he said.

I noticed he did not apologize for coming unannounced or for missing his appointment yesterday.  He certainly was sure of himself.

“Have a seat,” I said.

He looked around the room.  When he discovered that the only chairs in the room were student chairs, he sighed and sat down at a desk.  I grabbed Kate’s folder and sat down at the desk in front of him after turning the chair around to face him.

“Because she came in the middle of December, Kate has only been in my class for a couple of weeks,” I started.  I tried not to look at Jason.  He was making me nervous.  “In that time, I have some concerns.”

“Such as?” he asked.

I looked up at him.  Damn.  I forgot what I was going to say.  His eyes bore into mine.

“Umm,” I said trying to find my words.

“Well, if you don’t know, I don’t want to waste my time,” he said, standing up.

“Sit back down,” I said, finding my voice.

He looked at me, shocked.  Then, he sat back down as if he wasn’t sure why he was doing it.

“You have my attention, Miss Michaels,” he said rubbing his chin.

“Kate has been arguing with other students and causing fights,” I said.  I had thought about this so much I had the next couple of sentences memorized.  “Kate’s fights have become increasingly physical.  Mr. Priestly, the principal, has warned her that the next time there is a problem Kate will be suspended.  If she continues on the path that she is on, she will be expelled.  I don’t want this to happen to her.   I wanted to talk to you to try and come up with a plan so she doesn’t get expelled.”

As I talked, he didn’t take his eyes off of me.

“I see,” he said, leaning back in his small chair.

He looked so out of place sitting at such a small desk.  Jason Kavanagh looked like he belonged behind a large, dark wooden desk in a massive office with modern furniture.

“I looked through her file and it seems that she didn’t have any trouble at her previous school.  I was wondering if…” I started.

“Have you thought that maybe she just doesn’t like you?” he asked seriously.  “You have a difficult personality.”

I gasped and stared wide-eyed at him.  Did he just say that?  That was rude.  I couldn’t believe he said that.  What the hell?  I noticed that my hands were clenched on the desk in front of me.  I slowly opened them and placed them in my lap where he couldn’t see my fists.

“I don’t think I’m the problem,” I said after I calmed down.

“I see,” he said.  “And what do you think the problem is?”

He raised an eyebrow at me.

“I would like your permission to have her talk to the school psychologist,” I said.  “It’s obvious that Kate needs to talk to someone about the recent changes in her life.  She’s started a new school in the middle of the year.  I’m sure that takes a bit of adjustment.  Are there any other changes you can think of?”

“She doesn’t need to talk to a school psychologist,” he said gruffly.  “I can have a real psychologist talk to her.”

“I assure you that the school psychologist is just as qualified and can help her during school hours,” I said, pulling a piece of paper from the file and handing it to him.  “If you would sign here, I can have Kate talk to her tomorrow.”

“She can’t be too good if she is just a school psychologist.  I can take care of it on my own,” he said standing.

His eyes were blazing.  It was obvious that he was no to be messed with.  Jason had made his decision and he was not changing his mind.

I stood up and walked quickly behind him.

“I didn’t mean anything by that.  If you want to have her talk to a different psychologist, then by all means, do so. Kate is your daughter.  It’s your decision,” I said quickly.

He turned around and looked at me.

“Kate is not my daughter,” he said as he walked into the hall.

“I’m sorry,” I said.  “I just assumed.”

He looked at me with a pained look.  Then, he turned around and walked away.  I knew not to follow him. I walked into my classroom and started getting my things together to go home.  I couldn’t stay and work any longer tonight.  I wanted to go home and relax.

Jason Kavanagh was draining.  He was stern and rude.  He seemed to think that he had the right to say anything that popped into his head even if it was completely offensive.  If Kate wasn’t his daughter, how were they related?  Were they related?  The more I found out about Kate, the more questions I had.

It was raining now and, just my luck; I had forgotten my umbrella at home.  I ducked my head and clutched my tote closer to my body as I walked as fast as I could in heels to the bus stop.

I had to get a car soon.  As soon as I paid off my student loans, I had to buy one.  I kept repeating those thoughts as I waited underneath the awning of a convenience store.

While I was dreaming about the type of car I was going to buy (something with heated seats I thought as I shivered from the rain), a black sports car pulled up next to the bus stop.  The passenger door opened.

“Get in,” Mr. Kavanagh said.

New Book

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Hi,

I wanted to let you know that my new collection of short stories is available on Amazon.  It’s called “Five Nights.”  People have been asking me to put my short stories into a collection, so I did it.  If you like my short stories, you will like this collection.