Corporate Merger

By Elisabeth Roseland

The cure for terminal nerdiness...three drops of dark chocolate Cupid.

Ebony Nights, Book 3

Amy Connelly has gotten used to the taste of shoe leather. Every time she opens her mouth to talk to gorgeous co-worker Eric Lewis, she puts her foot right in it.

Tired of the painful sight of her turning into a hopeless motor mouth or tongue-tied fool at Darren’s approach, Amy’s friends take steps to remedy the problem. Her thirtieth birthday present is three desensitization dates with Derrick Vaughn, an Ebony Nights escort and an Eric look-a-like.

It’s magic. Communicating with Derrick is easy, especially when it’s their bodies doing the talking. He’s even helped her rediscover the kinky side she’s repressed for so long.

Eric? That’s a different story. She’s failed miserably at two of Derrick’s three assignments for her—asking Eric to lunch to dinner—thanks to a meddling, flirty co-worker who’s suddenly vying for Eric’s attention. If shy, awkward Amy is to have a chance, she’ll have to kick it up a notch...or three.

Warning: This book contains an awkward motormouth heroine, a painfully shy hero, and a sexy male escort who knows how to set them on the course of true love.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Elisabeth Roseland
• Release date: May 18, 2017
• ISBN: 9781941732045

Elisabeth Roseland

Elisabeth Roseland spends her days dreaming up ways to throw sexy heroes and strong heroines together. Her characters explore the wonderful, agonizing, joyful, heartbreaking and complicated human experiences that are sex and love, with a little fantasy thrown in for good measure. She also hopes to inspire readers to grab the nearest consenting adult and do something fun. She lives in Chicago with her very own Happily Ever After.

Book preview

Corporate Merger

Elisabeth Roseland

Dedication

To my wonderful friends, who have humbled me with their enthusiastic support. And, as always, to the two Cs in my life. Thank you both for everything.

Chapter One

"You are going to love, love, love your birthday present." Pia’s head popped up over the top of the cubicle.

Amy groaned and glanced up from the diagnostic program she was running. Stop reminding me it’s my birthday.

Pia’s lips were pursed, as if a secret struggled to come out. Amy couldn’t help herself. Okay. All right. What is it?

I can’t tell you. Pia squealed and immediately clasped her hand over her mouth. Words continued to burst through her fingers. "But you’re going to love it."

Hey. Craig’s round head made an appearance a few cubicles down. What’s going on over there?

Nothing, Amy and Pia said in unison.

Yeah, well… Craig readjusted his oversized glasses, "…no having fun without me. If someone is having fun, I need to be there. Because fun is my middle name." He snapped his fingers, shot at them both with an imaginary gun and slowly sank back down out of view.

Pia giggled nervously and brushed an errant hair off her forehead. Craig, do you mind? We’re trying to have a private conversation over here. Anyway… she looked back down at Amy, …I am so excited about your present, you don’t even know. The enthusiasm was bubbling so high she looked like she was about to burst. It was infectious.

Amy pushed back from the laptop she was working on and stood up. Okay, you’ve got to tell me.

I can’t.

Well, can I guess?

You can guess, but you will never, ever in a million years guess right.

Okay, but if I do guess right, will you tell me?

Pia shook her head slowly. Denise would kill me. As in ‘chop my body up into little pieces and toss my remains into Lake Michigan’ kill me.

Amy paused. Denise did, quite frequently, dabble in hyperbole, but this threat was a bit much, even for her. Amy’s curiosity was piqued. Okay, okay. She draped her arms over the divider. Just tell me if I’m hot or cold.

Pia opened her mouth to protest, but Amy raised her hand to cut her off. Just say hot or cold. I want a couple of hints.

Okay, but you’ll never gue—

It’s something electronic.

Cold.

Huh. Amy frowned. Electronics were always the standard gift in the IT department. For the past four years, her coworkers had pooled their money and gotten her the newest gadget for her birthday, and she had always loved it. "Oh, I got it. It’s High Alert VI: Zombies vs. Werewolves."

Cold. It’s not a video game.

Oh. Amy tried to hide her disappointment. "Um…oh. I know. It’s the completely remastered collector’s edition of the entire Star Trek: The Original Series on Blu-ray."

Cold. Although, that would be a cool gift.

Right? And I finally got my Blu-ray player hooked up. I used my home network to connect it wirelessly to my laptop, so now I can stream Blu-ray videos through my computer to the TV. And I can control the player through my laptop as well, which is great because I’m always losing my remotes.

Well, you have like fifty of them anyway.

"I know. But now I’ve got my TV, Blu-ray player, DVD player, Xbox and iPod dock all networked using James’s router. He forgot it when he moved out, but I think he took my VisionQuest II, so I figure we’re even."

He was an idiot. I never liked him anyway. Hey, can you come over and hook mine up?

Sure. Anytime. Okay. Amy took a deep breath. I’m going to figure this out. Is it a—

A sharp rap on the door to the IT suite echoed through the room. Pia’s face lit up. There’s Denise. Saved by the bell…uh…knock. Whatever. She skirted around the divider and made her way through the cubicle maze to the door and opened it.

When are you all going to let me have the code to this thing? Denise jabbed ineffectively at the door’s keypad.

Never. It’s a secret passcode only IT people can have. Pia stepped aside to let her into the room.

What? You gotta have an IQ of at least 130 in order to get in here?

One hundred fifty. Craig’s voice floated into the air.

Yeah, then why’d they let you have it? Denise said as she walked around to Amy’s cubicle. What’s up, girl? Are you ready for lunch?

Sure. This program needs another half hour to run anyway. Amy looked over at the progress bar slowly creeping its way across the screen before grabbing her purse, which was slung over the back of her chair.

Craig? Pia’s voice sounded hopeful. Do you want to join us?

Nope. I brought my lunch today.

Oh, okay. Pia gathered her things. We’ll see you later then.

Okay.

My present, Amy said as the three of them headed toward the door. What is it?

Denise turned to face Pia. You didn’t say anything, did you?

N-no, nothing.

Good… Denise snapped back around, opened the door and kept walking toward the elevators, …because if you spoil it, your mother will never find your body. She’ll be all, ‘Oh, Denise, I don’t know what happened to my poor Pia’. And I’ll say, ‘I don’t know Mrs. Shankar. Sometimes people disappear without a trace. It’s very sad. But if I were you, I’d talk to Craig. He might know something. They were close, you know’.

Hey! Pia punched Denise on the arm.

Ow. Violent nature. You really should see someone about that before—

My present… Amy pressed on as they headed for the cafeteria, …what is it?

We’re not telling you. Denise smirked and picked up a tray. You’ll find out tonight.

But I can’t wait. Amy shook the excess water off her tray before setting it down on the railing. I’ve never been good at waiting. I need to know now. Besides, what if I hate it?

You won’t. You’re going to love it. Trust me. Denise turned to the man behind the counter. A turkey sandwich. Lettuce, mustard, tomato. No mayo. He nodded and began preparing her lunch.

The usual for me, Henry.

You got it, Amy.

She reached for a bag of chips and put them on her tray.

Why do you always get the same thing? Denise took her sandwich from Henry. Every day, the same thing. A ham sandwich.

I like ham sandwiches.

Denise nodded toward her tray. And every day the same old bag of plain potato chips.

I like plain potato chips.

Yeah, I do too, but do you have to have them every day?

No. But I want to. Amy reached for a cup and began to fill it with ice and Diet Coke.

Denise shook her head.

What?

So predictable. She shook her head again before heading to the cashier to pay.

The three of them gathered the rest of their lunches and sat down at a table. Amy picked up her sandwich and took a big bite. So where exactly are we going again tonight?

Mixmasters.

It’s supposed to be the coolest new nightclub, Pia said as she bit into her roast beef on wheat. "I read about it in the Reader."

Yeah? And who else is coming?

Just us, Annette and Jill. And… Denise paused dramatically, …your present.

You’re bringing my present to the nightclub?

No. Denise took a sip of her drink. "Your present is coming to the nightclub."

Huh? Amy raised her eyebrows. My present is coming to the nightclub? As in, my present has legs?

Perhaps… Denise let the statement hang in the air. Amy looked over at Pia, who again looked like she was about to burst open with excitement.

Amy shook her head slowly. I don’t under—

Ooo, girl, here comes your boyfriend. Denise’s eyes focused squarely over Amy’s shoulder.

What? Where? She went to turn around and then caught herself. Denise, stop looking. Stop it. She kept her eyes glued on her lunch. "Stop looking at him. Wait. What is he wearing? Does he