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Chapter 1
Perie
Ihuffed in frustration as the author’s access page was once again not allowing access to my books. I loved being an independent author and wished I could just write every day. Unfortunately, being independent meant I dealt with publishing and marketing.
I’d even been approached by several publishing companies, including my mother’s but I’ve turned them all away. I didn’t like the control they demanded, or the loss of royalties. To avoid that, I worked hard to create a successful schedule and as a result, I was living comfortably on my royalties.
Then hiccups occurred and threw my schedule out the window for that day. I already woke up cranky because it was Valentine’s Day. February fourteenth was the worst in every way possible, especially if you were a single romance author. With a growl, I called the customer service line. Not being able to access my author page had me entirely too frustrated. I had a deadline that was quickly approaching.
I tapped my fingers in irritation as I waited on hold. Their music made me cringe as the tinniness grated on my nerves in the worst of ways. I held the phone away from my ear as I closed my eyes, my irritation level continuing to rise.
“Thank you for calling Authors Plus Customer Service. My name is Alastair, how can I help you today?”
The voice pulled me out of my thoughts leaving me so stunned I didn’t reply. His voice, his accent was panty-melting and a sudden change from the horrid music. With a quick shake of my head, I stumbled over my response. “Uh… um… hi. Yeah, um, I need help.”
I felt myself blush as I heard his chuckle. I was so glad he couldn’t see my embarrassment. I really needed to learn to speak properly, though. “Okay, how about we start with your name and email address and go from there?”
“I can do that. Perie Winters and [email protected]. I can’t access my dashboard and I have a book that must be uploaded or I’ll lose my preorders.” I tried to inject calm and maturity into my voice along with a healthy dose of irritation.
“Let’s see what’s happening.” His response was exactly what you would expect, but his accent made me want to giggle like a schoolgirl.
At twenty-four I didn't give off a worldly author vibe. When men found out I wrote romance books they expected that I’d have firsthand experience in the sex department. That couldn’t be further from the truth. I just had a terrific imagination and a rather large porn collection to draw from.
“Alastair, you have a really nice accent. It’s calming, unlike your hold music. That stuff was horrible.”
“Thank you. I was born in London but I’ve lived in the US since I was a kid. I just can’t seem to get rid of it though. What don’t you like about our music?”
I didn’t even have to think about my answer before I responded, “I love classical music and it’s the perfect genre as on-hold music, but the version playing on your system is very tinny and sounds like nails on a chalkboard for me.”
“That explains why we’ve dealt with such angry customers as of late. I’ll pass that on. Well, Ms. Winters, the system says that your account has been locked down for prohibited content. I’m going to take a look and see what specifically was flagged.”
I tapped my fingers so hard I wouldn’t be surprised if he heard them as I took a deep breath to try and calm myself. Prohibited content, my ass. “The last manuscript I uploaded was two months ago. So I can’t imagine what would be flagged.”
“We’ve had a series of glitches with the latest server update. Since I’m not finding a single flag on your account I’m guessing it may be the culprit. Let me get your account unlocked for you.”
“Thank you, Alastair. I appreciate your help. I hate waiting until the last minute to upload my books but this one was especially hard to write for whatever reason.”
“I see you have quite the library. I’ve always loved books but can’t put two words together to save my life.”
I couldn’t stop the giggle that escaped. Wait, I was giggling while talking to customer service? That seemed so wrong. “I’ve always loved to read and write. Writing was a way to take control when so much of my life has always been out of control.”
“That makes a lot of sense. Can you try accessing your account, Ms. Winters? It should be fixed now.”
Finally logging in, I squealed happily. “Oh, thank you, thank you. Do you mind staying on while I upload my manuscript to make sure it loads okay?”
*****
Alastair
The woman on the other end of the line had the sweetest voice. It caressed my skin like soft music. Most would be surprised to know that the CEO and owner of Authors Plus was answering customer service calls. After seeing the idea on a television show, I decided that periodically I would do different jobs to get a feel for them and how we can make the company better.
A prime example was talking to this woman. Who knew how long we’d been having hold-music issues? As silly as that seemed, it could make a big difference in customer service quality. It also pissed me off to find out the glitches were worse than I’d been led to believe.
Those were all things I’d deal with once I finished helping Ms. Winters. I found myself enjoying our chat. Something about her just filled me with a joy that I hadn’t felt in a long time.
After watching my friends with their women, I realized I was lonely. It shouldn’t have surprised me but it did. I got married recently, but it wasn’t a love match. It was simply the easiest way to merge our companies. Candace was a cold, harsh woman and I was glad we would end the marriage as soon as everything was finalized.
What surprised me most was that I wanted a woman to love with my whole heart and soul. I wanted my soulmate. I wanted a woman who would love me for me and not for who I was or for my company.
