I Know What's Real: A Contemporary Online Romance

By Maggie Kane

Kinsey never realized she had become isolated, living half her life in her head and through her keyboard. When her virtual world is suddenly infiltrated with a sexy stand in for her supervisor, she feels more alive than she has in a long, long time. A bit of flirting, some sexy stories, never hurt anyone. Besides, it is only a bit of online fun.

Alec is the new boss at Arrow Industries, but no one knows it yet. He's there to save the company from a slow spiral into obsolete oblivion. He didn't bargain on picking up the duties of managing the content writer after her supervisor is injured in a car wreck. He didn't bargain that she would be sexy, smart and utterly intoxicating. He knows he is playing with fire, but what's the harm with a little online playing?

Kinsey never meant for a little online flirting to go anywhere. Alec never meant to find himself enthralled with a woman he's never seen. When what started with innuendo builds to an inferno of lust, passion, and even possibly love, can Alec and Kinsey find a way to make it work? 

Find out what happens when you throw caution to the wind, when desire and lust call the shots, and when the virtual world seeps into reality. Can you tell what's real?

A stand-alone novella with an HEA and no cliffhanger, this contemporary romance promises a fun story with plenty of heat! Be prepared to steam up the windows because this will rev your engine to its limit! Remember- protect your upholstery and yourself...

• Language: English
• Publisher: R&C Publishing
• Release date: May 17, 2018

Book preview

Epilogue

Chapter 1

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Working from home sounds like a dream job. And, honestly, it’s pretty awesome overall.  You can’t beat the commute, and my daily uniform is leggings and a t-shirt- when I bother to get out of my jammies. But, there is a downside.  I didn’t notice at first, but when my most meaningful interactions with other living things became the conversations I had with my dog and my houseplants, I realized I was becoming a little unbalanced.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not a hermit. I don’t live in my parent’s basement lost in a virtual reality game, unable to discern reality from imagination. I shower every day and even do my hair- well at least comb it. I have a handful of friends, mainly Steve and Stephan, the couple that lives on the corner. Our Friday ritual of margaritas at the local Mexican joint is a weekly highlight but pretty much entails my entire social life. I don’t mind though. It’s been my experience that the virtual world is far preferable to the one that revolves outside my door. Besides, I have none of those ‘real’ world distractions to interfere with my creative flow. At least that’s what I tell my mom when she laments my lack of potential grandchild generating boyfriends.

Still, it can be a bit lonely from time to time. To combat the neurosis of making up voices for my plants and moving them around every day so they don’t get bored, I make a point to go to the gym and drag my lazy-as-sin mutt of unknown variety, Max, to the park every day. Probably the most important part of my sanity is Larry. He is the one human I talk to every day.  By ‘talk to’- I mean email, but that still counts as talking these days. 

Armed with my usual mega-mug of coffee and feeling quite proud of myself for going to the gym this morning, I sign in with anticipation of talking to Larry. I stare stupidly at the screen looking for my usual email with its happy ‘Good morning, Sunshine.’  It isn’t there. He must be running late.  I smile, thinking for once I can send the first email of the day.

Hey Sexy,

What do you have planned for me today? Will I be on my knees begging for more or are you going to bend me over and give me all I can take?

Did you sleep late this morning? Probably a good idea.  You’re going to need all the energy you can get to keep up with me today ☺

XOXO- K

I hit send, giggling a little bit.  That will get his attention. He knows that writing press releases is my least favorite thing in the world. Last week, he gave me an inbox full of that crap to write. In my world, that equates to being royally screwed. I’m the content writer for the Arrow Industries, and Larry is my supervisor. He gives out the assignments- tech manuals, press releases, pamphlets, even the newsletter from the CEO of the company.  I write it all. It’s not the sexy side of writing, but it pays the bills until I can get my foot in the door with a publisher. It’s a tough nut to crack, but I’ve dreamed of nothing else since I realized I could write something that could touch someone else’s life. I will get there one day.

Today is not that day, unfortunately. I sip my coffee and start in on a manual that I have been working on for about a week. It needs to get finished up. Larry wants it by tomorrow. I can’t concentrate, though. Something feels off about Larry not being at his desk by now. He is never late, and my emails are always answered within minutes of sending. This virtual silence is unnerving.

When the computer dings a few minutes later, I immediately click over to read what Larry wrote back. I frown as I read.

Good morning Kinsey,

I regret to inform you that Larry has been in a car accident and will not be into work for the foreseeable future. When I spoke to him this morning, he told me to tell you that he will be back to torment you as soon as he is able.

In the meantime, I will be handling your assignments. While having you on your knees or bent over are equally intriguing prospects, I propose we get to know each other a bit first. Please update me on the status of your current projects, including tech manual 1432. All of Larry’s emails are being forwarded to me, but I do not yet have access to his files. I will rely on you to fill me in and carry on. I do hope you will not require excessive hand-holding.

I look forward to working with you.

Alec

And Kinsey- never worry about my energy levels.

I never thought I could blush so much just reading an email. Who the hell is Alec? I have been with Arrow Industries for just over a year and have never crossed paths with anyone named Alec before. I chew my lip and think for a few moments.

Hello Alec,

Good to know you’ll be able to keep up. Stamina is very important in a man.

I will let you hold my hand on the first date, but you’re not getting past second base. I’m not that kind of girl.

You’ll find my current projects and their status in the attached document. If you have any questions, I will be happy to help, but I do trust that you are capable of independent work. Most men know all about taking the situation in hand and working it until it all comes out in the end. Do take care not to make a mess.

K

I hit send before I can think better of it. I follow it quickly with a short note for Larry and ask Alec to forward it to him. I sit back and wonder about this new guy. Larry called me ‘sunshine’ and ‘sweetie’. He teased and flirted a bit, but never with any seriousness. Alec, though, just in one email has conveyed an undertone of serious masculinity and power. It crosses my mind that I might be playing with fire.

Even as I think it, I decide that it has been too long in my life without any heat. I don’t exactly know when my life slipped into a world of my own making that largely exists only in my head. I never meant to isolate myself. It just happened. I might get burned if I play with Alec, but at least I would feel something. I realize anything is preferable to frozen numbness of monotony that makes up my life. It’s time to turn up the heat.

Chapter 2

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I rock back in my chair and reread Kinsey’s reply. She’s a fiery one. I’ve been with the company for a grand total of 72 hours. Most people don’t know I exist yet. We’ve been intentionally vague as to who I am and what I’m doing at Arrow Industries. I want to be invisible for a while to get a feel for the people- before they find out I’m going to be their new boss. I’ve been kicking around the office and the production floor for the last couple of days. When Larry’s position needed to be covered, I was the only guy not doing anything. Covering for him is going to cut down on my time and ability for anonymous exploring, but I think I just found the silver lining to the situation.

I consider for a moment before answering Kinsey. I really shouldn’t keep going down this path. HR is only one slip of the tongue or poorly worded email away. One of my steadfast rules of business is never flirt with coworkers. Kinsey isn’t really my coworker, though. She isn’t even at the office, and she started it after all. It doesn’t seem likely that she would blow the whistle to HR. I rationalize it all