The Ex-Factor

By Vera Roberts

Rekindling the flame or just keeping each other company?

Scott Reed embodies everything it means to be a Kappa – business, life, and relationships. As he joins his fellow Nupes at their annual meeting, he has a chance to check in on his former lover and current employee working on an account for his advertising firm. His only problem is if he could keep it strictly business between them.
Mariana Harlow must’ve been a fool to go back working for her ex but she decided it was possible to keep business just that and have personal issues stay aside. When Scott checks in on her, it only proves there is unfinished business between them.

Will the former lovers finally get past their issues and rekindle their romance? Or will it be business as usual?

The Ex-Factor is a supplement standalone title to the Scott & Mariana series. It is a contemporary erotic romance.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Vera Roberts
• Release date: Jul 5, 2016
• ISBN: 9781310905230

Vera Roberts

Vera is the bestselling author of the number one D'amato Brothers series, the Scott & Mariana serial, and the Breakaway series.She loves chocolate, has a Netflix addiction, and seeing the Maury show in person is currently on her bucket list. She's also a member of both the BeyHive and RihNavy.Vera currently resides in Los Angeles with her husband, Maks, son Bear, and cat Sushi.

Book preview

The Ex-Factor

by Vera Roberts

Copyright

For BESM.

Smashwords Edition

© 2016 Vera Roberts, All Rights Reserved

This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient.

This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination, or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales, is entirely coincidental.

Other Titles by Vera Roberts

THE JACKSON AND LIANE SERIES:

DADDY’S ANGEL

FIRE WE MAKE

WHEN LOVE CALLS

STANDALONE NOVELS:

I KNEW YOU WERE TROUBLE

WAIT FOR LOVE

THE D’AMATO BROTHERS/S&M CROSSOVER (BDSM):

ANTICIPATION

YES, MASTER

I NEED YOU

THE BREAKAWAY SERIES:

BREAKAWAY

GAME MISCONDUCT

FACE-OFF

POWER PLAY

THE D’AMATO BROTHERS SERIES:

THE NANNY

TO LOVE AND OBEY (BDSM)

WHERE I WANNA BE

ALL I’VE EVER WANTED

LOVE

THE SCOTT & MARIANA SERIAL (BDSM):

S&M

S&M II

DISCIPLINE

S&M III, VOL. I

S&M III, VOL. II

S&M IV, PART 1

SHORT STORIES:

BLOW BY BLOW: DIARY OF A CALL GIRL #1

BLOW BY BLOW: DIARY OF A CALL GIRL #2

DEAR DIARY

GETTIN' IT

HOT LIKE FIRE (SWEET AND CLEAN ROMANCE)

THE TRAIN RIDE (FREE ON SMASHWORDS.COM)

THE EROTIC INTOXICATION, VOL. I: BAD GIRLS

THE PAINTER

TIL TOMORROW

To Contact Vera

FACEBOOK PAGE:

WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/MS.VERA.ROBERTS

BLOG:

WWW.VERAROBERTS.COM

EROTICAMISTRESS.TUMBLR.COM

Blurb

Rekindling the flame or just keeping each other company?

Scott Reed embodies everything it means to be a Kappa – business, life, and relationships. As he joins his fellow Nupes at their annual meeting, he has a chance to check in on his former lover and current employee working on an account for his advertising firm. His only problem is if he could keep it strictly business between them.

Mariana Harlow must’ve been a fool to go back working for her ex but she decided it was possible to keep business just that and have personal issues stay aside. When Scott checks in on her, it only proves there is unfinished business between them.

Will the former lovers finally get past their issues and rekindle their romance? Or will it be business as usual?

The Ex-Factor is a supplement standalone title to the Scott & Mariana series. It is a contemporary erotic romance.

A soul mate is a, well it’s like a best friend, but more. It’s the one person in the whole world that knows you better than you know yourself. It’s someone who makes you a better person. Well, actually, they don’t make you a better person. You do that yourself, because they inspire you. A soul mate is someone who you carry with you forever. It is the one person who knew you but yet, still accepted you & believed in you, before anyone else did, or when no one else would. And no matter what happens, you’ll always love them.

- Anonymous

Book I – Unbridled Love

Some nights I wish I could go back in life. Not to change shit, just to feel a couple things twice.

- Drake

The End

Being successful was going to be the ultimate fuck you to him.

All of the long hours working on a campaign that could be scrapped at a moment’s notice was going to pay off. He would be forced to take notice of her as a valuable employee and not some puppet he could dangle on a string. No, it was a different game and he was on her turf.

She was focused, staying on her grind so her bank account could be full of commas and decimals. She had to admit the goal was a superficial one at best and it didn’t enlighten her in any way, but it gave her a smile when she paid for something at the register and her card wasn’t declined.

She freed her mind and the rest did follow.

As she stepped off the plane and headed towards baggage claim at Hartsfield-Jackson airport, she wished she ate something a bit more filling than just a bagel and cream cheese washed down by a too-hot espresso that morning.

Her nerves were all over the place.

Working for the prestigious McCormick, Reed, and Sheppard advertising agency, Mariana Harlow had a lot to prove. It was a world-renowned agency with offices in Tokyo, New York, and main headquarters in Los Angeles. Averaging over 18 billion in yearly revenue, some of their name-brand clients included Cheetos, Buick, Cheerios, StubHub, and several A-list celebrity clients. They were considered the best of the best and what every ad agency aspired to be.

It was Mariana’s first big business trip by herself. Not with Chris, her supervisor. And not by her ex, who was her current boss. It was a chance for Mariana to prove not only to them, but to herself, she could handle everything.

The pressure was monstrous.

She was one of the youngest employees and was still considered wet behind the ears in many areas. No one at work cared about the title or reputation of MRS when it came to Mariana, though. There were still snickers and whispers about her return and the change in attitude whenever they were ever around each other.

They as in Mariana and her boss.

They maintained a cordial front as ex-lovers should act in professional setting. It still didn’t stop the rumbling resentment and regret whenever she had to meet with him privately. A thick stain of sexual and emotional tension remained between the pair but they both remained professional toward one another. No sexual innuendos. No flirting. No too long stares.

Discussions were over just as quickly as they started. If he hounded her about a presentation or an idea, it was because he was trying to bring the best out of her, and not humiliate her. At least that’s the lie she told herself, for sometimes he was impossibly difficult to read.

Still, it didn’t stop the feelings whenever she saw his eyes as he drilled her, a slight smile were behind them. It was as if a part of him relished in humiliating her in front of the other employees, wanting to prove a point to the other employees, no one was safe; not even his ex. It was then Mariana realized one of the most toxic things she’d ever done was ignore the bad because she loved him at one point.

They kept it cute and mute.

Mariana exhaled a deep breath and pushed back her straightened newly brown hair. Her signature Louboutins click-clacked across the airport floor, almost in step with the sway of her hips. She smiled at the men who turned to take a second look at her, some very handsome, but Mariana was on a mission.

Food. A lot of it.

Once she grabbed her luggage, she hailed a taxi to her Westin hotel. She settled in, eyeballed the overpriced room service menu, and found exactly what she’d been craving: the juiciest, thickest, high-calorie cheeseburger she could find with fries fried in a vat of oil and grease. Oh, and a diabetes-infused large Coke to go with it.

Yeah, that was a definite fuck you to Mr. Fitness with the Six-Pack.

She quickly ordered her food, topping it with a heavenly slice of chocolate cake that her thighs had already decided she’ll pay for in numerous squats, and settled in on the plush bed. She made a phone call to her parents and caught up with some juicy gossip online. She kicked off her heels, wiggled her painted toes, and exhaled a large sigh.

Now, Mariana could finally relax.

She received a text message from her brother. Are you here?

Mariana began to text her brother back. As a new Kappa Alpha Psi pledge, he was attending his first Conclave. The timing was a coincidence, but Mariana was happy to see her brother whenever she had a chance. With her new career, it left family time just on the weekends. Yeah, just arrived.

I’ll keep an eye for you. I don’t want any Brothers messing with my sis.

I think I can handle it on my own.

I’ll still look out for you. You’re my sister.

Thank you for that but I got it. I have meetings for the next couple of days so I’ll hope to see you before I check out in a few days. Maybe we’ll grab lunch or something.

Sounds good, sis. TTYL.

TTYL. Love you.

Love you back.

Mariana tossed her phone aside and exhaled a deep breath. She would worry about the major account later. Caffeinated coffee shop was a chain own jointly by Ryan Jeffers and Aaron Jacobs and they were going to expand throughout the nation. It was Mariana’s job to ensure their publicity campaign ran smoothly and it was her first major account.

After all, it was the sole reason why she was on an extended business trip for a few days. Really, the trip was only for a couple of days but she decided to take an extra few days off to relax and enjoy herself. She wanted to do a little shopping and celebrate her new pay raise upon passing her 90-day probation for her new promotion.

She also wanted to decompress a little and forget all about him.

A slow smirk appeared at the left corner of her lips as she shook her head. Forget about him? Impossible. Not while he was her boss. Not when he made a permanent and unforgettable mark on her heart. They would be connected forever, a thought that she’d never forgotten but he seemingly had.

It was bad her heart still wanted him but it was downright awful her body still craved him. She missed digging her nails into his back as he drove into her. She missed him cupping her ass she bent over and bounced on his cock. She could still feel his tongue as he lapped up her clit like it would be the last time he would ever taste it.

And as Mariana Harlow answered her door to let food service in, she was quickly reminded why she would never forget Scott Reed – he was standing behind the food cart.

Two

The moment he stepped foot in Atlanta, Scott Reed already felt the energy of his Brothers.

Being a Nupe wasn’t just a title or a pledge. It was a lifestyle. Being a Nupe was more than just a bow tie and doing a shimmy. It was Brotherhood. It was leadership. It was giving back to the community via numerous ways and time.

It was home to Scott.

He pledged Kappa Alpha Psi during his freshman year at USC, along with one of his best friends, Jeff Miller. While the Brothers did their fair share of grunt work, Scott would always remember the beautiful times – the loyalty, family, and spirit of belonging to one of the nation’s most prestigious Greek fraternities.

His line name was Frank White/K.O.L.A. and it had a double meaning. Not only was Scott honest and White, he had a tendency to run shit like the character from King of New York, except Scott was King of Los Angeles. His leadership was evident when he was an undergrad and a fateful trip to Italy