Indecent Proposal

By Jean Maxwell

When a hard-working professional girl gets overloaded with projects she tends to go a little crazy. Add in a hot, hunky company newcomer that she must work late into the night with and the stage is set for a workplace gone wild!!

Workaholic PR Manager Carlin Cates is asked to drop everything to help out a new recruit in completing a bid proposal with tight deadlines. She’s not crazy about putting in the extra time until the newcomer, Thatcher Banks, turns out to be the hottest Project Manager in the business!

Sex on the job was only a fantasy for Carlin until Thatcher Banks came along, but just as events in the back room heat up, Banks disappears without explanation. Feeling used and manipulated, more than the proposal seems indecent as Carlin tries to heal her wounded pride and discover the truth about her mysterious co-worker.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Evernight Publishing
• Release date: Jan 14, 2014
• ISBN: 9781771306874

Jean Maxwell

Jean Maxwell was born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada at the tail-end of the baby boomer era, which she says makes her a "late-boomer". It's a lot like her writing, which she didn't start until many decades later. But Jean was always an artist at heart, having practically come out of the womb with pencil in hand and blessed with (as the fictional John Hammond put it) a 'deplorable excess' of creativity. A graphic designer as well as a musician, the muses clearly have had their way with her and aren't done yet. To date, she has 5 published novels to her credit and more than a dozen ghostwritten works. To keep a pulse on the public's literary tastes, she also reviews books for a popular romance review website. She still resides in her home town and enjoys things 'the Canadian way', which means having the outdoors as a best friend, apologizing for no real reason, bemoaning an overtaxed and over-governed society but remaining blissfully unconcerned about politics, religion or gender issues. We think it's the weed.... :)

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Published by Evernight Publishing at Smashwords

www.evernightpublishing.com

Copyright© 2014 Jean Maxwell

ISBN: 978-1-77130-687-4

Cover Artist: Sour Cherry Designs

Editor: Melissa Hosack

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

DEDICATION

For working professionals everywhere:

May you find that elusive work-life-love balance

and take romance with you wherever you go.

And for DRH,

who taught me that life is short,

and to always take the good things.

INDECENT PROPOSAL

Workplace Gone Wild, 1

Jean Maxwell

Copyright © 2014

Chapter One

It's due when? Carlin asked her boss, hoping she hadn't heard him correctly.

The proposal for Red Lake has to be submitted by Friday at four p.m. We'll need your help again, I'm afraid.

Carlin nodded, but would rather have thrown something at Raymond's bald head. She'd had enough late nights battling printer jams and patching together electronic documents that resembled a canine's breakfast just to crank out these crazy bids.

Understood, she said, knowing better than to voice these frustrations. When do we start?

Raymond leaned against the doorframe of her office and looked at his watch. Now would be good.

Carlin rolled her eyes and tossed her pen onto the desktop in disgust. Naturally, she replied, sorry that she'd even asked the question. I need a coffee.

By all means, Raymond said. Take an early dinner break, come back in an hour. The files should be in your inbox by then.

Carlin stood. I can hardly wait.

You'll be working with our new Project Manager, Thatcher Banks. I expect he'll be the one emailing the files and any instructions to you.

What kind of name is Thatcher, Carlin mused, raising one eyebrow in detached curiosity. Sounds like a total nerd.

I've not met him, Raymond said. But he comes highly recommended. Has a lot of field experience, and a great reputation for getting things done.

She shrugged. If you say so. What's it going to involve?

Raymond sauntered to his own office a few doors down. Similar to the Vitamara proposal we did last month. I'm sure you'll find out when Mr. Banks gets here in the morning.

Carlin grabbed her coat on the way out. Damn crazy engineers. Couldn't they ever select these RFPs, Requests for Proposals, with a little more notice? By the time the documents filtered down to her, there might be less than twenty-four hours to respond to them. Hardly enough time to fill out the basic info, let alone put enough lipstick on them to present a winning bid.

She sighed as she sank into the driver’s seat of her vintage '68 Mustang. The engine roared to life with a comforting rumble. She'd named her Martha, after Martha Stewart. She wished she could be as tough as the real Martha.