My Hot New Year

MY HOT NEW YEAR

By Kate Crown

Published by CMH Publishing

Copyright 2013 Kate Crown

Kindle Edition

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 1: Fighting Fear
 

Chapter 2: Reality
 

Chapter 3: Decision Time
 

Chapter 4: The Surprise
 

Chapter 1: Fighting Fear
 

“This is ridiculous.”

I glance over at the driver’s seat.  My 65-year old mother grips the steering wheel with textbook 10:00 and 2:00 symmetry, while she drives me to work on my first day back from Christmas break.

She shakes her head.  “No, it’s not!”

Deep breaths…don’t panic!  I’m 37 years old, and my mom is behind the wheel of
my
Toyota.  It’s only temporary.  It’s just one day.  I can handle it.

“I love you, honey, and I’m not going to let some rich CEO get the best of my daughter.”

I raise an eyebrow.  “Did you pack my lunch for me, too?  You know PB & J is my favorite, right?”

“I’m just saying, Jillian, that you have to expect the worst.  I saw how you looked at Christmas breakfast, and I don’t ever want see you in that kind of shape again.  Until the kids come home, I’m going to watch over you.“

She’s right.  I am pathetic.  The thing is that she doesn’t even know the half of it!

If the divorce 19 months ago wasn’t bad enough, then Christmas Eve was surely the clincher.  I had the best sex of my life with a perfect stranger and then 5 minutes past afterglow, I discovered
Mr. Tall Dark and Handsome
was about to be my new boss.

Welcome to 2013, Jillian Reece!

Okay…A little explanation.  After that escapade, I showed up the next morning for Christmas breakfast at my parents’ house crying and drunk.  It’s also quite possible I said a few things to Aunt Lucy that I should have kept to myself, but geez!  Give me a break!  Her fourth husband was gay, and everyone knew it but her.  I was just restating the obvious.

Anyway, back to me.

I tell myself I’m going to be fine for the thousandth time.  I’m not emotionally unstable, am I?  I know exactly how much I can handle.

Well, sort of.

Once I get back in the office and discover that I’m not about to be fired by, the first man to give me repeat orgasms on the very first try, everything will be just fine.  I know it.  Mom doesn’t know about that part, though.  No wonder she thinks I’m crazy.

“Mom, you really don’t need to worry about me.  I’ll be fine.  I know you need to get back to Oyster Cove soon.  Dad needs you, too.”

I’ll admit it has been nice having her with me for the past week, but this has gone on long enough.  I need to put on my big girl pants and move on.  There will be no more thongs around this tush for a long, long time.  
Mr. Tall Dark and Handsome
has definitely closed my shop for a while.

Mom would pass out cold if she had any idea that I invited a drunk (albeit gorgeous and rich) stranger to my cabin on Christmas Eve and let him have his way with me.  I know.  It’s not my finest moment.  All seemed to be going just splendid, until I discovered that mere minutes after Jake merged with me, he merged with my company.  I guess that’s why you get to know people before let them seduce you in a book store or tie your wrists to bed posts.

Here’s the REAL reason I am about to lose my grip on my panties.  Jake has no idea that the woman he unwrapped like a Christmas gift and left glowing like Rudolph is NOW his employee.  I’m one of 50 copy editors at Wil
shire Publishing who may be on the chopping block with the takeover.

“You can just drop me at the side door,” I beg Mom.

Lord knows I don’t want
Mr. Tall Dark & Handsome
to see me with my “Mommy.”

Oh, no.  I feel the nausea surging back.  What is Jake going to do when he sees me?  What if he thinks I slept with him just to keep my job?  Gosh, this is such a mess.  Just then the wheels come to a stop, and I realize it’s time to face this disaster head on.  I just hope the wreckage isn’t as bad as I imagine.

“Sweetheart, I’m here for you.  You call me, and I’ll be waiting at the curb.  I will even help you clean out your desk!”

I roll my eyes.

“Thanks for that boost of confidence, Mom!  You  really expect me to get fired, don’t you?”

“Well…you said something during your…umm…breakdown that would lead one to believe you might lose your job…”

“Oh yeah, what was that?”

She could be right.  I don’t exactly remember EVERY detail of that morning.  Thank God my two precious children weren’t there to see it all unfold.  This is one rare occasion when I’m happy that they were with their father and his new, young (and I mean REALLY young) new wife.  GAG!

“Well, honey, you ran through the house screaming, ‘Oh My God I’m going to get fired!’ She says it in the gentlest tone only a mother could deliver.

I almost feel faint as I stare at her and her perfectly coiffed French twist.  I wonder how she can get her hair to do that so perfectly every single morning.  FOCUS!

“Ahhhh…well, I suppose there are many things I said that morning that I don’t quite recall.”  I look down and reach for my purse and smartphone.  Then, it hits me.  What IF I told all the gray hairs at Christmas breakfast about my night of passion?  You know, being tied to the bed posts and all those Os aren’t something I would have been able to suppress!

“Mom, what exactly did I tell everyone about my new boss?”  My chest tightens as I scan her face and wait for her to answer.

“Honey, you were very, very confused.  There was a lot of nonsense that none of us could quite make out.”

Well, that’s a relief!  Count being drunk as the one and only thing I’m grateful for that day.

“Except, you DID say something about…”  She pauses and looks down through squinted eyes.

Oh no.  Here we go.

“Something about three proclamations of satisfaction…  You kept saying it OVER AND OVER again.  Does that mean you got an award at work, honey?”  She asks looking hopeful.

NO!  Not an award at work!  Oh MY GAWD!  I DID tell them about my O’s!

“No, Mom.  My new boss did not give me any professional achievement awards,” I answer glancing over my shoulder scanning the crowd heading into the office.

Then the visions hit me, like a transmission being forced from neutral to second gear.

His mouth.

His lips.

His…

The memory of his touch rumbled through me, sending blood rushing to my face.

“Jillian?”

“Oh yes, sorry.  I’m just nervous,“ I snap.  My heart is thumping like a rabbit’s foot.  This is awful.  What am I going to do?

She looks down at the clock in the dashboard.

“You’d better get inside.  Doesn’t your big meeting start in five minutes?

“Yes, yes, it does.”

I take a deep breath and close my eyes before reaching for the door handle.

“Thanks, Mom.  I’ll be just fine.  I really am glad you are here,” I admit.

That is almost true.  I just wish I could tell her everything that’s swirling through my complicated brain.  I mean, if she only knew how ridiculous this situation really is, her hair would spring from that perfect little French twist of hers.

Four steps from the car, my phone rings and I don’t even look down to see who it is.  Mom can’t even let me get into the building before calling me again.

“Yes?”  I say absently.  “I have my lunchbox, too, Mom!”

Has she taken the smothering problem to a whole new level, or what?

“Excuse me?”

Oh, shit!  The deep voice vibrates through my body like an earthquake.  It’s him!  I’m so stunned that I drop the phone to the ground with a clatter and have to scramble to pick it up.  All the while, my heart is pumping out of control.

“Oh, sorry about that!”  I pause and wait for the familiar voice to rattle me again.

This is awful.  What am I going to do?  What am I going to say?

“I thought maybe you forgot about me,” he says sternly.

“Ahhh...Jake…I can assure you, I have not forgotten about you.“

I catch the corners of my mouth lifting and my mind drifting back to the cabin.

“So, when do I get to see you again?”

“Oh,” I say, blushing a little.  “Well, it might be sooner than…”

“Can you hold just a second?”

“Sure...” I respond.

“Don’t panic!”  I yell to myself.  The key is to stay calm and to focus on something -- anything!  God, it’s cold out here!  I set my purse down and find a tree near the entrance to lean against.  I can’t go inside now!  What if he sees me?  What on God’s green earth am I going to say to him?  Tick Tock.  Why does this man get so far under my skin?  It’s only as I’m waiting silently for his return that I begin to wonder whether he’s figured out that I am a Wilshire employee.  Oh gosh!  What will I say?  Okay.  I will say that I’m so happy he’s called because I just figured this out myself and I wanted to give him a heads up before the big meeting.  That sounds convincing enough.  Then, he’s back without even a second to breathe, he is ready to end the conversation.

Wait…is that even considered a conversation when one person does all the talking?

“I’m sorry -- I’m going to have to call you back.  My meeting is about to start.  We’ll talk later.”

“Right,” I say, trying to sound calm.  Then I realize there’s no need.  With a click, he is gone.

My heart starts to pound in a panic.  That’s MY meeting!  I know I’ve had a tendency to go off the deep end a little with my obsession with Jake, but I need to talk to him.  He can’t just hang up just like that.

With shaky legs I walk toward the entrance, not looking right or left.  This is my nightmare.  I just have to go in there and face reality.  What if I bump into him, as I head into the elevator?  Oh my, the very thought makes me feel sick.

I exit the elevator and begin to walk to my cubicle in the far corner, looking away from anyone coming into my peripheral vision.  I absolutely can’t make eye contact with these people.  I pause to put my purse down when behind me, somebody sighs loudly.  I can feel my face growing hotter and hotter.  I don’t dare look back.  I don’t dare move.

Okay, I’m safe.  It’s just Jim, my boss.  Wait...why is my boss greeting me at my cubicle moments before the big staff meeting?  Rats.  Just because it’s not Jake, that doesn’t mean I’m off the hook.

“Oh dear,” I say as I swing around.

“I didn’t mean to interrupt you,” Jim says, after taking a swig of his coffee.  I can come back when you get settled.  I do need to speak with you.”  His tone is serious.

Here we go.  My eyes dance across my desk in search of anything and everything I will need to dump into a cardboard box before I am escorted out of the building.

“Would you like to speak now?”  I ask politely, thinking at least I could get this over with before the meeting.

“Sure, follow me,” Jim says as he walks toward his office.  As I focus on avoiding hyperventilation, I recognize my boss looks uncharacteristically put together.  His typical disheveled salt and pepper hair is combed, and he smells of expensive cologne.  Yep, it’s a sure sign: the new bosses are in town.

“Have a seat,” he murmurs, gesturing to the leather chair in front of his mahogany desk.  Then he meets my eye.  You only get fired once in your life Jillian; you better make the most of it.

“Well, I’ll make this easy on you, Jim. I know what’s coming,” I confess.

“You do?”  He raises an eyebrow.

“Yes, I am grateful for all the time I’ve had here at Wilshire, but I recognize it must come to an end.  The writing has been on the wall,” I say.

“It has?”  He questions me again.

“Yes, I’ve heard the rumors, and I realize that you have no choice in this.”  I look down at my shoes waiting for his unfortunate agreement.

"Actually, Jillian, that’s not why I called you in here,” he admits.

“It’s not?”

Shit!  What NOW?  What ELSE could there possibly be?  Just when I’d sworn off alcohol...

“We are quite proud of your achievements here, and we’d like to offer you a new opportunity,” Jim says.

Well, blow me down, I cannot believe my ears. I thought I was getting fired, and I’m actually getting promoted instead?  This may be one of the best days of my life!