Working With Temptation

By Nixie Gray

Talia hasn't had the best luck in the love department. After a giant misunderstanding with the guy she thought was 'the one' she's sworn off men for the last five years and is focusing on her career as a computer programmer. But when her dream job sends her to consult for a company that just happens to be owned by her ex it's all she can do to keep it together as she tries not to fall for Ethan Maston, again. Of course, not falling for a guy who hates her guts shouldn't be to hard. Right?

Working With Temptation is the 2nd romance novella in the Unclaimed series.
**All titles part of the unclaimed series are stand alone stories**

(Disclaimer: This novel contains content that may not be suitable for those under age 18 or anyone not comfortable with sexual content and some crude language.)

• Language: English
• Publisher: Nixie Gray
• Release date: May 31, 2016
• ISBN: 9781310229763

Nixie Gray

Nixie Gray is a healthcare professional turned romance author who lives on the West Coast with her husband, daughter, and two dachshunds. Born and raised in the small Central Coast community of California, she moved to Southern California in her late teens and after meeting her husband decided to make the move permanent. Now a full time writer and stay at home mom, she escapes the notorious sweltering SoCal temperatures in her work, which of course is done in a heavily air-conditioned interior. Her debut Novella, Paying With Innocence, is now available for purchase and will be shortly joined by her upcoming works; two other Novellas within the same series (The Unclaimed Novellas) and her first full length Novel of the Black Shadows Series (Paranormal Romance) by early 2016. Nixie's recipe for 'getting it all on the page' is reading more then anything, writing just as much, and doing so everyday without fail, with a cup of English Breakfast tea at her side. In her free time (like that ever happens), she of course reads avidly, plays piano, watches hockey (loudly, much to her family and friend's dismay), hangs out at her local Barnes and Noble, and has amazing adventures with her two year old little girl (which may or may not include copious amounts of shopping and frequent trips to Disneyland, which her husband indulges in with a good natured eye roll).

Book preview

No matter what may have happened in the past.

Just like that, he slammed the reality of their association back into place and she jerked backward, stumbling in her borrowed heels. Talia windmilled and would have ended up on the ground if Ethan hadn’t reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her in the opposite direction. The momentum sent her crashing into him, so they were flush against each other from hip to chest. She couldn’t help it; the sudden intimate contact dissipated her anger, replacing it with heated lust. She gasped and looked up at Ethan, wide eyed. Her lust must have been written all over her face, given the way his eyes dilated. One of his hands rose and grasped her neck, leaving her momentarily wondering if he was going to pull her close or shove her away, until he lowered his head and crushed his lips to hers.

Also by Nixie Gray

Paying With Innocence

(The Unclaimed Novellas #1)

Working

With

Temptation

Nixie Gray

~ Dedication ~

For my tribe

Without you I wouldn’t make it through anything, let alone publish that drivel that constantly spills from my mind.

~ Chapter One ~

Talia Havery sat cross-legged on her bed, staring absently out the window at the beat up neighborhood surrounding her apartment. Her best friend Kayla’s voice came through the cell phone she had pressed against her ear.

So how’s the job hunt going? Kayla asked.

Now that’s a loaded question, Talia thought, as the white IKEA™ curtains framing the open window fluttered in the breeze (something that was only safe considering she lived on the third floor).

"It’s going." Going terrible. I have an interview tomorrow. The last interview on my list of applied companies. Since graduating with her degree in computer programming, Talia had applied everywhere she could think of. But even though she had a pair of impressive internships under her belt, no one wanted to hire a new grad to design programs for them or any other company they might have as a client.

Where is your interview tomorrow?

Magden Projects.

Oh wow, that’s great!

Yeah. Yeah, as in there was no way they were going to hire her.

Magden projects had just been featured in Forbes. The company was the leading program designer specializing in business related interests, but they had several gaming departments as well. It was a dream company to work for in her field, and they were even located in Southern California only a short distance from her current, albeit dilapidated, living situation. She was beyond surprised when, instead of the now all-too-usual automated reply to her application saying thank you for the interest but sorry they weren’t interested in her, Talia had received a call from their HR department requesting an interview tomorrow morning at ten AM. Since it was a dream job, though, that’s likely all it would ever be for her: just a dream. Just one more item she could cross off her That-Would-Be-Amazing-If-It-Actually-Happened list, right under winning the lotto and owning a private jet.

Well, I bet they’ll hire you. Kayla’s enthusiasm and constant belief in her was infecting, and for the moment she allowed her friend’s words to fill her with hope. After all, there was plenty of time to be upset and panic over not finding a job after they turned her down.

I miss you living here, Talia replied honestly. Until just recently, Kayla had lived in the apartment with her, her buoyant attitude bringing vibrancy to the less than drab space. After things had become serious with her boyfriend Adam, driving forty five minutes to Pasadena everyday to work at her dad’s company no longer made sense, since Adam lived so much closer. Therefore, after long heartfelt conversations and several tearful moments of goodbye, Kayla had loaded up Adam’s white pickup with her things and moved in with him, leaving Talia alone in their two-bedroom apartment.

Talia was thrilled for her friend. Adam was a great guy and she was so happy that Kayla had found someone to love. It was just hard being alone in their once shared space; she’d never lived alone before, since they’d moved out together as soon as they both graduated and started college. Of course Kayla had finished much sooner, since she hadn’t decided she wanted a career change as soon as she earned her degree like Talia had. Kayla now headed up the entire public relations department of her father’s giant graphic design company, whereas Talia had just graduated with her second chosen degree and career choice. The first had been nursing, which just hadn’t quite fit, even though she was very good at it.

I know. I miss you too, Kayla said a little sadly. It’s just so much more convenient since I’m at the company almost six days a week now.

Kayla had become quite the businesswoman, and Talia was more than a little proud of the successful powerhouse that the petit brunette embodied.

I know it definitely makes sense for you. Plus now you get to spend all the time not at the office with your man candy. She laughed at her nickname for Adam that stemmed from his one time stint as an underwear model for his friend’s fashion design firm, something that greatly embarrassed the now successful businessman. Not that Adam had anything to be ashamed of; the man had a body to die for.

Ha-ha yeah, too true. I do love waking up next to those abs.

Who wouldn’t? Talia replied, causing them both to laugh.

Poor man, Talia inwardly giggled, we’ll never let him live that down.

Talia had introduced Kayla to Adam after meeting him during a business class she’d taken as an elective course to satisfy her first degree’s requirements, and just as she thought they might, the two caught fire and began dating before she hardly had had a chance to blink.

Well, we’ll have to get together as soon as you get a job to celebrate, her friend decreed. I know that will be soon!

I hope so. I’ll definitely be calling you first! she responded with a smile.

You better! Well, I have to go; Adam will be home in a few and I promised him we’d go get sushi, and my hair is still wrapped in a towel.

Yeah, you better fix that, or you might scare the small children at the restaurant.

My curls aren’t that bad, Kayla huffed in mock indignation.

Right, so that time you knocked someone over with your hair was just coincidence, Talia laughed.

That was one time! She was drunk, and it wasn’t my fault. The idiot who planned that party thought filling the ceiling with balloons was a good idea. Stupid static. She muttered the last bit and Talia dissolved into laugher, shortly joined by Kayla until they were both sucking in breaths and Talia was clutching her side as she used her other hand to wipe her eyes.

I really should go though, Kayla stated sadly after they could both breath again.

I know. You go do your hair. I’ll call you after the interview.

Okay, love you chica.

Love you, too, and tell your man hi for me.

Will do. Bye.

Bye. Talia pressed the end call button on her cell and tossed the phone down on the bed.

She sat there a long time, listening to the sirens flying past her half empty and mostly depressing apartment. After more time than she’d like to admit, Talia set about getting her portfolio and clothing ready for her interview the next morning. Kayla believed in her and she’d do her best to live up to the bar her friend always believed she could reach or even surpass. She hoped the other woman was right and she would actually manage to land the job of a lifetime. If she didn’t find something soon, she was going to be applying for a spot at the local homeless shelter. At this point even McDonalds looked fantastic, let alone Magden Projects.

Magden Projects’ lobby was cool and the cream leather chair Talia sat in didn’t offer much warmth. She struggled not to shiver due to the temperature, or perhaps it was her nerves over the interview.

Miss Havery, the tall platinum haired receptionist called as she stepped around her desk. Talia quickly stood up, gathering her briefcase as she did so. Mr. Thorn will see you now. This way please. She motioned for Talia to follow.

Mr. Thorn was the head of human resources and turned out to be an older heavyset man with blonde graying hair. Once he had dismissed the receptionist and called for his assistant to bring him a cup of coffee, he turned his small watery blue eyes to Talia with a serious but pleasant expression.

Now Miss Havery, let’s get to it, shall we? I see you graduated with honors, very impressive, and you worked as a programmer during an internship with Frission Media. You were also a web designer for Poulson Design during a second internship.

Yes, I didn’t seek out a job with either company as it was a condition of my internships that I couldn’t apply for at least a year after graduation, but I do have recommendations from both of them. He nodded at this and continued the interview with questions regarding her knowledge of certain programs and techniques, all of which Talia was pretty confident she had answered to his satisfaction.

She was fairly certain the interview was concluding when he asked, As we are currently receiving far more clients because of the recent article about the company that ran in Forbes, it’s imperative that we quickly hire more staff. But since that means we will have several new employees, we will have to begin with trial positions. In other words, we’ll assign you a client, and assuming you do a satisfactory job with their programming job, you’ll be hired, but if not we’ll be forced to let you go. We don’t have time to hold anyone’s hand while they learn the ropes since we’re barely keeping up with clients at three months out right now. If we decide to move forward with your application, is this acceptable to you?

Was it? Unorthodox sure, but then again anything was better than Kinkos, which currently was her only other option.

Definitely, she responded, hoping she didn’t sound too overly eager. After all, she wanted the job, but she didn’t want to sound desperate, even if that was in fact what she was.

Alright then, I’ll be in touch by the end of the week, one way or another.

They shook hands and then the interview was over.

Talia made her way home in her old battered Nissan Sentra. Once there she pulled off her cheap black heels from Target that had definitely seen better days, and dashed off a quick text message to Kayla letting her know the interview went okay and that she’d know if they were hiring her by the end of the week.

She decided on a long bath and spent the remainder of the afternoon soaking and thumbing through Facebook on her smart phone.

A comment on a friend’s profile made her frown a bit, not the comment per say — it was innocent enough; Way to go! could hardly be seen as a dire message — but it was the all too familiar person who’d sent it. Jake. Pushing back the tide of emotions, she reminded herself that it was all in the past, and getting herself worked up over the situation surrounding her one time now estranged friend wasn’t going to alter that. In an effort to distract her wayward thoughts, Talia dried off and called her mom. She reheated some leftover Chinese food, and by the time she fell into bed after an evening jog, she’d forgotten all about the comment... mostly.

Three days later Talia found herself back in Mr. Thorn’s office, signing her acceptance of a job offer; it wasn’t the most generous offer she could imagine, but it definitely beat Kinko’s by a long shot. It would also go a long way to helping her save for a house and get rid of Lola (as she had christened her red Nissan). Not to mention, the company was at the top of their enterprise and would make any tech designer envious. As she left the building with her welcome packet and new official Magden Projects ID badge she called Kayla. She hoped that she wasn’t interrupting her, but was too excited to text and not really caring if she did interrupt her either. 

So did you get the job? Kayla’s voice was full of impatience and Talia considered dragging out telling her just for fun. But in the end she was too excited to wait.

Yes, Talia squealed, sliding into Lola’s driver seat.

I knew it! Now we get to celebrate, when do you start?

I know, I can hardly believe it! I start tomorrow!

Well damn, I guess we’ll have to wait until tomorrow night to celebrate then. Can’t have you showing up hung over the first day.

Yeah probably not the best idea, but I’ll text you later. I have to drive home and I forgot my Bluetooth.

Okay Chica, drive safe.

I will, she replied before hitting ‘end’ and tossing the phone on the passenger seat as she pulled out of the parking garage.

Her first day on the job consisted of being shown around and introduced to various people. Then she was shown to her temporary desk, handed the file of her assigned trial client, and left alone to go over the documents and prepare for her face-to-face meeting with the client company at the end of the next week.

It’ll just be a preliminary meeting, her boss Sharon had told her. "Just to explain to you what they want. You’ll most

Reviews for Working With Temptation

[Nixie Gray · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A steaming second chance romance. I loved this book and can’t wait to read more by this author.