Titolo: Connectivity
Autore: Aven Ellis
Genere: New adult contemporaneo romance
Trama: Overachiever Mary-Kate Grant (who is indeed named after an Olsen Twin) has followed every rule to the letter to pursue her dream of working in TV programming. Ripping a page from the “hard work pays off” playbook, she takes an assistant level job at a Chicago sports network to break into the industry.
Trama: Overachiever Mary-Kate Grant (who is indeed named after an Olsen Twin) has followed every rule to the letter to pursue her dream of working in TV programming. Ripping a page from the “hard work pays off” playbook, she takes an assistant level job at a Chicago sports network to break into the industry.
MK has no time or desire for a relationship right now—she is totally focused on her career and being independent, unlike the other women in her family.
But MK’s plans are run through the shredder when she finds herself working for William Cumberland, a British media mogul who made his fortune with Connectivity, a social media site. William blows into Chicago just like the winds off Lake Michigan and purchases the group of networks MK works for—and makes her his personal assistant in the process.
Suddenly MK finds her career plans in jeopardy. William makes her question everything she has ever thought and has the uncanny ability to see right through her. And for the first time in her life, MK finds herself not only questioning what she wants for her career but for her personal life as well…
Aven Ellis has been writing fiction since she was sixteen. She studied communications at a large Midwestern university, and after graduation, Aven worked as a reporter for a community newspaper, followed by a stint at a public relations agency.
But writing about city council meetings and restaurant franchises was not as much fun as writing for young women trying to figure out their careers and potential boyfriends. So Aven got herself a job in television that allowed her to write at night. Connectivity is Aven’s debut novel; Waiting For Prince Harry and Chronicles of a Lincoln Park Fashionista (New Adult romantic comedy) will be published next year.
Aven lives in Dallas with her family. When she is not writing, Aven enjoys shopping, cooking, connecting with friends on social media, and watching any show that features Gordon Ramsay.
#1
We arrive at the hotel, one of the most expensive and sleekest in Chicago. William escorts me to the bar, which is gorgeous and sophisticated and just perfect for a glass of wine.
We grab a spot near the open fireplace, and William helps me take off his coat. I sink down into a cozy chair breathe an appreciative sigh.
“This is so much better,” I say gratefully. “Thank you for the rescue, William.”
He studies me for a moment as he sinks down into the chair across from me. “You’re an old soul, aren’t you?” he asks slowly.
I watch as the light from the fireplace flickers across William’s amazing cheekbones. “Just like you.”
William stares back at me, but I already know what he is thinking. That I get him like nobody else does. I can’t explain it, but it is a feeling I have, one that is so strong and so powerful I know I’m right.
And he understands me better than anyone ever has, too.
“Welcome back, Mr. Cumberland,” the waitress says, dropping down two cocktail napkins on the coffee table in-between us and interrupting my thoughts. “The usual?”
“No.” William looks at me. “What would you like to drink, Mary-Kate?”
“A glass of pinot noir sounds really nice,” I say.
“Then I would like a bottle of your best pinot noir please,” he says.
The waitress nods and then leaves.
“Hmmm. ‘Welcome Back?’” I say slowly. “Do you regularly bring the ladies to this bar, William?”
Jesus did I just ask him that?
William studies me. “Would you like to know, Mary-Kate?”
“Only if you care to answer, William,” I say, matching him.
And my pulse jumps again as I wait for his reply. Here we go. We say we are employee/boss. But we don’t speak to each other like employee/boss. And now there is this damn undercurrent of attraction, of sexual tension that I like way too much, and I feel like my whole career, my dreams, and my future could go up in flames because I am playing with a match here.
But at this moment, in this bar, I don’t care.
#2
William takes off his suit jacket and tosses it onto the back of the desk chair. We look at each other for a moment, and I wonder if his pulse is racing like mine is right now.
He sinks down onto the couch next to me and I can’t help but think I am the luckiest girl in the world right at this moment.
“William, thank you so much for tonight,” I say, staring at him. “I feel incredibly lucky.”
“Lucky?” William asks, his eyes searching mine.
I nod. “That I got to have this amazing experience in London,” I say softly. “I had the dining experience of a lifetime. I got to sit in this gorgeous restaurant and have this incredible conversation and meal. But most of all, I’m lucky because I got to share this experience with you. I wouldn’t want this experience with anyone else, William.”
I watch as his blue eyes take in my words. Then I see it.
The intensity is there as he looks at me.
And I know the moment has come.
William leans in closer to me.
I can’t breathe. My heart is racing faster than it ever has in my life.
“Mary-Kate,” William whispers, “I know it is probably most inappropriate for a boss to kiss his assistant.”
“Yes,” I whisper back, my eyes never leaving his, “It probably is.”
I watch as William lifts his hand. He hesitates for a moment, and then ever so slowly, brushes a finger against the side of my face. Every nerve I have jumps the second his warm skin makes contact with mine.
“With that being said,” William whispers sexily, his eyes searching mine, “I am asking if I can kiss you.”
#3
As I step into the workroom, I face my nemesis.
The binding machine.
I give it the evil eye as I begin running the original through the copy machine. This machine is an old piece of crap that sticks, jams, and tears. It takes forever to make a set of bound copies.
And in all my television classes at Northwestern University, this was somehow never covered in the curriculum.
With warm copies in my hand, I take a deep breath and unscrew the buttons. I meticulously line up the copies and began punching them.But as I go to punch one of the last sets, the lever jams.
I jerk it back and forth and hear the paper tearing. Shit! Now the lever won’t budge and I’m pulling as hard as I can.
I reach across so both hands are on the lever and suddenly it jerks open and the teeth of the machine are grabbing my black cashmere cardigan, snatching it in a death grip.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I blurt out, my arm stuck.
“Are you seriously fucking kidding me?”
“So, please do tell,” a deep British voice says from behind. “Does this particular piece of equipment always elicit an expletive as a response?”
I freeze. My heart drops into my stomach. Slowly I turn my head and see none other than William Cumberland staring right at me.
Holy crap! What he is doing here? Cumberland isn’t supposed to be here! There was no memo about him coming, nothing in the papers.
And now he’s staring at me. With my arm stuck in a binder machine.
My face begins flaming and I know the color matches my copper red hair.
“Um,” I say, completely stunned. “It’s just that…It is really old…” I am fumbling, just fumbling, as I look at him.
He walks closer. His light blue eyes dart instantly to my arm. “Quite a quandary you are in this morning,” he says, shifting his eyes back to my face.
I pause for a moment. He really is unique looking with strong cheekbones and a firm jaw. Tall and thin, he has dark, wavy hair that looks like he has to fight to keep under control.
But his eyes are his most interesting feature. They are very intense. Observant. And right now they are zeroed in on me.
Nessun commento:
Posta un commento