Business Not As Usual - Softcover

Cooper, Sharon C.

 
9780593335253: Business Not As Usual
Softcover
ISBN 10: 0593335252 ISBN 13: 9780593335253
Verlag: Penguin Publishing Group, 2022

Inhaltsangabe

A woman learns the hard way about mixing business with pleasure in this hilarious new romantic comedy by USA Today bestselling author Sharon C. Cooper.

I am beautiful. I am confident. I am lovable. I am a lottery winner.

This is the mantra that will get Dreamy Daniels through each day until she makes it big. So what if she lives in a seedy part of Los Angeles in a house that’s one earthquake away from crumbling, or works an unfulfilling secretarial job while struggling to finish her bachelor’s degree? All Dreamy needs to do is win the lottery, which she’s been entering in as a weekly tradition with her grandfather. When she catches the attention of her boss’s potential investor, Dreamy has to remind herself to focus on her career goals so she can be her own boss. Who cares if he has the social grace of the Duke of Sussex and the suaveness of Idris Elba? No distractions allowed.

Growing up with a father who is an A-list actor and a socialite mother, venture capitalist Karter Redford lives in the world of the rich and famous. Instead of attending movie premieres, however, he prefers spending his time helping the less fortunate, backing start-up companies and investing in cutting edge ideas. Karter is used to his life revolving around work, but when he decides he wants someone to share it with, he falls for someone his mother would never approve of: hilarious, quirky Dreamy, who has goals of her own…but also isn’t a wealthy, upper-crust socialite. Though it’s clear they’re from different worlds, their relationship might just be his greatest investment yet.

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Award-winning and USA Today bestselling author Sharon C. Cooper loves anything that involves romance with a happily-ever-after, whether in books, movies, or real life. Sharon writes contemporary romance, as well as romantic suspense and enjoys rainy days, carpet picnics, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. She’s been nominated for numerous awards and is the recipient of Romance Slam Jam Emma Awards for Author of the Year 2019, Favorite Hero 2019 (Indebted), Romantic Suspense of the Year 2015 (Truth or Consequences), Interracial Romance of the Year 2015 (All You'll Ever Need), and BRAB Award-Breakout Author of the Year 2014, to name a few. When Sharon isn’t writing, she’s hanging out with her amazing husband, doing volunteer work or reading a good book (a romance of course). To read more about Sharon and her novels, visit www.sharoncooper.net.

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Chapter One

One, two, three . . .

Dreamy Daniels closed her eyes and counted to keep from exploding as Gordon Mathison, her helicopter boss, paced the narrow space behind her desk. She should be used to his peeking over her shoulder while she worked and questioning everything she did, but not today. Today she wanted to hog-tie him to his desk chair, in his office, and stuff a pair of his boring black socks into his mouth.

But she wouldn't.

Why? Because he couldn't help himself. Gordon was an anxious genius with horrible people skills who drove her and anyone else in his orbit absolutely batty most days.

Dreamy opened her eyes and gripped the edge of her file-laden desk, then blew out a long, cleansing breath, willing herself to think before she spoke. Once she was sure her professional demeanor was securely in place and there was no chance of saying what she really wanted to-like Get the hell away from my desk-she leaned back in her seat. Slowly swiveling her gray tweed chair around to face her boss, she waited until he realized she was watching him.

Gordon stopped pacing, and eagerness bounced off him in waves. "You're done?" he asked, excitement lacing his words as his green eyes gleamed like those of a child who'd just received his desired Christmas present.

"Of course I'm not done!" she growled through clenched teeth. Frustration seeped out with every word. So much for maintaining professionalism. "Gordon, you gave me the assignment five minutes ago. I can't just fold my arms, blink my eyes, and nod my head like a genie and expect the report to magically appear, especially with you hovering behind me. Don't you have some fancy tech idea to work on?"

At around five nine with a slim build and olive skin, he appeared younger than his thirty years. His thick, dark hair stood up and out every which way, looking as if he had run his fingers through it one too many times. Add that to the dark rings under his eyes, and it was safe to say he hadn't been sleeping well. Dreamy could understand why he might've been on edge. He had a lot riding on his upcoming meeting.

He huffed out a breath and ran his left hand through his hair and shoved his other hand into the front pocket of his navy-blue dress pants. Normally, his attire consisted of jeans and a button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to reveal his forearms. But today he wore his navy-blue suit, the only suit he owned, along with a white dress shirt. Since arriving in the office an hour ago, he had shed the jacket, and the boring blue-and-white-striped tie was askew. Obviously, he'd been tugging on it.

"Yeah, yeah, I have plenty to work on, but I need this information. Karter Redford will be here later this afternoon," Gordon said of the venture capitalist he planned to hit up for money for a new product idea he had created. "Are you going to be able to get that report to me in time?"

"Don't I always?"

"Yes, but this one is really important."

"Aren't they all?"

"Well, yeah, but . . ."

For the last few months, Dreamy had gotten to know Gordon better than most. His need to be involved in every detail, his lack of delegating skills, and his inability to trust his staff to do their jobs was enough for Mother Teresa to consider him a lost cause.

Dreamy rubbed her temples. The man might be a tech genius, but in the real world, he worked her last nerve. "Gordon, I'll email the information to you once I'm done."

"You do that. I'll just go back to my office." He turned on his heel and Dreamy swiveled her chair back around and watched as he marched down the short hallway toward his office.

She leaned forward and banged her head on top of the desk a few times. Not enough to cause damage, but enough to work out the irritation drumming through her body. She'd had just about enough of Gordon's micromanaging, but she needed her job. He was lucky her one-week gig down at the Purple Pony Strip Club hadn't worked out. If only she could've walked in those five-inch heels without stumbling every few feet. It also probably would've helped if she could've stayed upright on that slippery pole. Who knew the damn thing spun?

"Hey, chica! Clearly you have forgotten that your walls are made of glass. What are you trying to do, knock some sense into your head?"

Dreamy lifted her head as Mariana strolled into the office suite grinning.

"Ha. Ha. Ha. I see you've got jokes. I was just letting off a little steam."

Stylishly dressed in a red wrap dress that accentuated her curves, Mariana dropped down in the chair next to the desk. Her tawny brown skin with minimal makeup glowed under the fluorescent lights, but the grin she'd had moments ago slid from her pretty face.

"What's wrong? I'm used to your bright smile greeting me whenever I stop by. What's got you banging your head on the desk? Wait, let me guess. Mr. Man is being his usual pain-in-the-butt self."

Dreamy nodded, determined not to let Gordon get to her any more than he already had. The only reason she had survived working for him over the last eight months was because she maintained a positive attitude. She refused to let him run her out of the office the way she'd heard he'd done with his last three assistants. Three assistants in six months? Not a good record.

Dreamy told her friend about the short conversation. "I should be used to him standing over me, waiting for whatever project he's thrown my way. But some days, like today, it bugs the heck out of me. I've talked to him about the hovering, but it's like talking to a steel beam. At least the beam is doing some of the heavy lifting. Mr. M just makes everything heavier. He's stressing me the hell out."

"Mr. M?"

"M is for Micromanager," Dreamy explained.

"You mean Micromaniac?"

Dreamy laughed at the title that fit Gordon to a tee.

"But seriously, I feel for you. I'm just glad he's not my boss. Otherwise, I probably would've strangled him by now. Okay, enough about Mr. Micromaniac. Are you feeling lucky? I heard Powerball is at one hundred twenty million dollars."

Dreamy rubbed her palms together. "Yes. I know I've said that before, but for real this time. This is going to be my big break."

Most people who knew she was banking on winning the lottery thought she was delusional, but not Mariana. She knew Dreamy played the lottery faithfully, and not once did she tell her she was crazy or that she was just wasting her money. Her exact words were anything is possible if you believe.

"Okay, just remember your girl when you hit it big." Mariana didn't play the lottery for religious reasons, but she'd already made it clear that she wouldn't turn down a gift from someone who did win.

"You know I got you."

Dreamy had already identified people she planned to give gifts to once she won, and Mariana topped the list. They met years ago at a homeless shelter where they had volunteered to feed the hungry on Thanksgiving Day. They'd been friends ever since. She knew Mariana was one of the kindest, most giving people when she spied her scooping extra mashed potatoes onto every plate.

If it hadn't been for her, Dreamy wouldn't have landed the job with Gordon. After Dreamy had been laid off for months and was settling for any type of work, like the strip club gig, Mariana had told her about the secretarial position. It had come right on time, because Dreamy had been down to her last hundred dollars.

Now it was time for her to start thinking bigger, because her ultimate goal was to be a badass boss lady.

Thanks to her small-business class and the assignment to create a business plan, she had already begun pulling ideas together. The nonprofit she wanted to start one day would cater to women looking to become entrepreneurs.

...

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Verlag
Penguin Publishing Group
Erscheinungsdatum
2022
Sprache
Englisch
ISBN 10 
0593335252
ISBN 13 
9780593335253
Einband
Taschenbuch
Anzahl der Seiten
321
Kontakt zum Hersteller
Nicht verfügbar
Verantwortliche Person
gpsr@libri.de
gpsr@libri.de

Europaallee 1
Bad Hersfeld
36244
Deutschland

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Softcover