Exclusive Excerpt; The Assignment
Title: The Assignment
Author: S. Nelson
Release: May 20, 2019
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Pre-Order: https://books2read.com/u/bOGD5N
Wallowing in grief for too long can be hazardous. It’s why I allowed my brother to talk me into accepting a new client.
Our security firm needed the money, and the endorsement from a famous director could steer our company to new heights.
Then his daughter walked in, the woman I’d be assigned to, and I knew I’d made a huge mistake.
She was a spoiled socialite who only cared about herself.
She pushed every button I had, frayed every last nerve.
I said things I wasn’t proud of.
I pushed the boundaries of propriety.
But how else was I supposed to protect her from the threats against her family when she insisted on being reckless?
Excerpt
“What are you doing?” he asked, shifting and leaning closer to the window. The champagne provided me with a bit of liquid courage, or maybe it was seeing Ford in such a sour mood that prompted me to take that seat.
“Don’t worry. I won’t bite.” My tone was light and casual, lacking the typical snippiness of many of our prior and short conversations. “Would you please take off your sunglasses?”
“Why?” He continued to lean away from me, an action which I found delightful. He’d just proved I made him uneasy, much like he did to me.
“Because I’d like to have a conversation with you where I can see your face.”
“You can see my face just fine,” he retorted, taking a deep breath while continuing to keep his distance.
“You know what I mean.” Five drawn-out seconds passed before he lifted his hand to his face and removed his shades, placing them in his lap, his agreeability surprising me.
“Happy?”
“Yes.” I wasn’t sure if it was the soft tone in which I used to answer, or the fact my hand was so close to his on the armrest,but he turned to look at me. His eyes roved over my face, his brows creating a deep crease in between. He seemed confused by the interaction. I couldn’t say I blamed him.
“Well?”
“Well, what?” My frown mirrored his, but my body language was different. Where his was standoffish, mine was to be perceived as engaging. I’d gotten nowhere with him acting like myself, so I decided to kill him with kindness, so to speak. Or, at the very least, not be so damn bitchy.
“What did you want to talk to me about?” Oh yeah, I wanted to have a conversation. Initially, I planned to ask him about his thoughts on Owen and Emily, but the more I became mesmerized with his eyes and all the secrets he hid behind them, the more I wanted to talk about him.
“I figured it was time for us to get to know each other a little better.” I took a small sip of my drink, intently studying him.
“I know everything I need to. But thanks.” His response was curt.
“You think you know me, but you don’t. Most people don’t,” I offered, shocked with my comeback. I drained the rest of my champagne and snapped my fingers at the flight attendant.
“Typical,” Ford grumbled.
“What is?”
“Your attitude.” Baffled, I urged him to continue, surprised he hadn’t stood and sat somewhere else.
“Do tell.” Normally, I would’ve blown him off and drank myself into a stupor, but my inner voice told me to stay put and make him talk to me. Or attempt as best I could. I doubted anyone could make Ford do anything.
“You’re fully aware of how you act. You don’t need me to break it down for you.” The corners of his mouth curved up, but he wasn’t smiling. His expression was more of a snarky grin. I pushed him to talk, and now it seemed he wasn’t going to hold back. He shifted his body to face me and leaned uncomfortably close, his eyes searching mine for something. Anything I assumed. “What happened to you?” Gone was my fascination with getting him to open up about himself, his question knocking the air from my lungs.
“Wh-what do you mean?” No one had caused me to stutter in ages. My tongue poked into the side of my cheek, and I drew a long breath before responding. “Nothing happened to me,” I barked, drawing the attention of my sister, who turned in her seat to look at me. She mouthed, “You okay?” to which I nodded.
“Well, something did,” Ford countered. “Otherwise, you’d act more like Emily.” Comparing me to my sister was a common occurrence. My parents had been doing it for years, and I’d learned to accept it. But something about the way Ford said it insulted me, like he was implying I wasn’t entitled to have my own personality apart from my sister.
“Just because we’re twins doesn’t mean we’re the same person.” My reply sounded defensive, but he’d flustered me to the point I couldn’t think straight. I didn’t know if it was that damn piercing gaze of his or his accusatory tone that had me unnerved. It wasn’t until Ford looked away that my heartbeat slowed, the thumping of my pulse regulating back to normal. Even though I’d been the one to push him into conversation, it was he who ended it with his simple probing question. A question that hit deeper than I could’ve ever anticipated.
About The Author
S. Nelson grew up with a love of reading and a very active imagination, never putting pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard until 2013. Her passion to create was overwhelming and within a few months she’d written her first novel, Stolen Fate. When she isn’t engrossed in creating one of the many stories rattling around inside her head, she loves to read and travel as much as she can. She lives in the Northeast with her husband and two dogs, enjoying the ever changing seasons.
Author Links :
Website: www.snelsonauthor.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorSNelson/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/authorsnelson1?lang=en | @authorsnelson1
IG: https://www.instagram.com/snelsonauthor/?hl=en | @snelsonauthor
Amazon Author Page: http://amzn.to/2G5It3z
Newsletter: https://bit.ly/2qS5npr
Bookbub: http://bit.ly/2lcD1UW
Street Team: https://www.facebook.com/groups/430975187065799/
Master List: http://bit.ly/2fb2Mjf
Comments
Post a Comment