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“I’m not going to move back home after all. Ryan here saved my job and that of everyone else at work. I’m back to being a production assistant for a movie studio.”
The silence in the backyard is deafening. Even the birds stop chirping.
“Are you sure that’s what you want, honey?” Mr. Pierce asks, looking at his daughter.
“It is.”
“Not quite, is it?” I ask, turning to look at Elana.
“What do you mean?” She looks confused. It’s a theme with us today.
“You told me what you really want to do is act.” I watch her face carefully. I hadn’t planned to break the news to her in public. The words had spilled out, and it was too late to take them back.
“I do. Eventually,” she says, cautiously.
“I hope next month works. We’re auditioning for a new show that Mrs. Witmore ordered, and I think you’d be perfect for one of the roles.” It wasn’t the lead, but the character was perfect for Elana.
“You want me to audition?” she asks.
“I’d hire you today, but it’s customary to hold open auditions. People might start talking if I hire the woman I love for my new pet project.” I grin at her expression of utter disbelief that resolves into pure joy.
“You love me?”
Several people around us gasp. I’m pretty sure Elana’s mother is one of them, but I only have eyes for her. “I do.”
I hold my hand out for her, and she takes it, closing the distance between us.
“I love you too, Ryan Matthews,” she says before lifting herself up on her toes and wrapping her arms around my neck.
I lower my head and kiss her senseless. The laughing and cheering from the crowd around us is nothing but background noise. This is what I wanted, what I needed, and what I had thought about as I made my way back to the woman I plan on spending the rest of my life with.
About the Author
Susanne Ash writes sweet contemporary romance. When she’s not busy putting pen to paper, she loves to cook, knit, and head out exploring with her husband and daughter. She leaves close to the beach in beautiful South Carolina. You’ll find that her setting is often a fictionalized version of her surroundings and the places she’s visiting with her family.
Visit www.SusanneAsh.com to read more of her books.
Fake Dating My Grumpy Billionaire Boss
Taryn Daniels
Chapter One
Pam
My heels slip and slide on the polished marble floors of the Jeffries’ sky-rise entrance. Stupidly, I’m wearing heels that are more appropriate for a cocktail party than running late to work. The halls are empty despite the fact it’s ten past eight in the morning, so I nod at security and make my way toward the lift at a brisk pace. My heels click like high-pitched whispers as I mumble about the stupid traffic jam that made me late.
I fumble to get my ID card from my purse to swipe for the lift, but coffee sloshes out of the paper cup. I lick the spill from my hand. Despite the lack of sugar, I’m tempted to drink my boss’s coffee after three hours of sleep. I’ve had two cups already, but the caffeine isn’t working.
I resist as I need the sucking-up ammunition to compensate for the twenty minutes of lateness. Dalton has been super supportive of my needing time off to care for Rex, but now that I’ve used up all my sick leave, I can’t take another day off to recover from an emergency trip to the hospital.
I punch a button for the top floor, willing the lift to rocket me to Dalton’s office.
When the doors slide open, I tiptoe down the short hallway decorated with extravagant art, practicing my lines, “Sorry, I’m late. Traffic was awful this morning.”
Through an open door, Dalton’s voice is low and calm, interspersed by his mother’s sharp tones. A chill runs down my spine as Mrs. Jeffries’s words leak from the room. “You should fire her for chronic lateness.”
“Her boy has been sick. Have some compassion, Mother.”
