Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 75289 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 376(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75289 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 376(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
After an untimely firing caused by what could only be the best donkey meme ever created, I find myself back in my snowy hometown of Blushing, Colorado. And as beautiful as it is, there’s one big reason why I haven’t been home in six years.
Nicholas Stone—Blushing’s most eligible bachelor and the love of my life.
I have one goal and one goal only—get in and out of Blushing before Nick realizes I’m here. Only avoiding him is much harder than I could have anticipated.
Nick wants answers . . . or revenge, and not even a burning Christmas tree or a flying vibrator is going to keep him from getting exactly what he wants.
The Naughty List is a small town, second chance Christmas romantic comedy, featuring a grumpy/sunshine couple. It contains explicit sexual content, coarse language, and loss of a loved-one.
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
1
BLAIR
“FIRED?” I screech, my jaw hanging open in shock as I gape at my boss. “What the hell, Dwayne? I thought I was coming in here to accept a promotion. You know, the one you’ve been promising me for the past two years. The one I more than deserve.”
“A promotion?” Dwayne grunts, gaping right back. “Be serious, Blair. How could you possibly think you were going to get that promotion? You sent a meme of a donkey getting fucked to the whole company with the caption, ‘When life gets you down, find an ass to fuck.’ And as if that wasn't enough, you had to include our entire client list as well. Do you have any idea how many people are on that mailing list?”
I resist the urge to roll my eyes, almost certain that at this point, there’s really not much I could say to save what’s left of my career. “That meme was hilarious,” I deadpan, watching as the corner of his mustache-covered lip twitches with irritation. But what’s new? Dwayne and I have had a love-hate relationship since the day I started at SC Corporate Management almost six years ago. “Everybody loved it. Besides, management has everyone walking on eggshells. Our clients and our team needed a good laugh and a reminder that not all of us here have our heads shoved so far up our asses that all we can smell is the foul stench of our own shit.”
He gives me a blank stare. “It was inappropriate.”
“Inappropriate is trying to match a striped peach tie with a salmon button-down, but you don’t see me trying to have you fired over it,” I mutter, arching a brow and trying to resist the urge to drop to my knees and sob. But hell, if I’m going to go down, I might as well go down swinging.
“Start packing your things, Blair,” Dwayne says, striding around his oversized desk and putting an end to our conversation. “You have fifteen minutes to get yourself sorted out, and if you can’t do that, I’ll have no choice but to have security escort you out.”
“Security?” I blanch. “Is that really necessary?”
Dwayne makes a show of gazing down at his watch. “Make that fourteen minutes.”
Fuck me. If I didn’t like these heels so much, I would have shoved one up his scrawny ass by now. Assuming there’s enough space with his head already up there.
Knowing damn well that Dwayne will follow through on his threat, just for the purpose of getting to humiliate me in front of my colleagues one final time, I clench my jaw and turn on my heel, stalking out of his office.
This isn’t exactly the first time I’ve been fired, and not even the first time I’ve been fired for sending inappropriate memes, but it’s certainly the first time he’s been such an ass about it. Truth be told, I’m one of the best publicists here, and the second our clientele finds out I’ve been kicked to the curb, there’s going to be heat on Dwayne’s ass to do the right thing and bring me back.
Dwayne might be my boss, but the clients we work for look to me for guidance. They barely tolerate Dwayne, and it’s easy to see why. Hell, he probably only fired me so that he doesn’t have to give me my Christmas bonus, and being only two weeks before Christmas, I could have really used the cash.
This time though, I’m not sure I’ll be coming back, even after Dwayne pulls his head out of his ass and comes begging. Working for SC Corporate Management has always been a dream of mine, and the day I got the call that my application had been successful, I gave up my whole world to fly halfway across the country and start this new life here in New York. I got myself a cute apartment and made it my own, figured out where all the best coffee shops are, met some amazing friends, and of course, adopted one of the best nail technicians in the city.
Work was insane, but it was exactly what I was searching for. I flourished in my position and quickly worked my way up the food chain to become one of the crucial members of this incredible company. Only now, the thrill I used to get every morning I walked through the doors doesn’t quite seem so bright anymore.
Maybe it’s time for a change and Dwayne’s bullshit is actually a blessing in disguise. Hell, maybe it’s time to start my own PR firm. I’ve always thought about it but never had the balls to take such a big step. I’m only twenty-eight, and though there’s still plenty for me to learn about this insane business, I have the connections. There are plenty of clients who will happily follow and support me.