Personal Spy (Book 1 of "The Consortium")

By Blair Erotica

Tara's private investigation business is failing. Bobby, an ex-cop she worked with when she was a cop, seems to be successful. He wants her, both as a woman, and to work for him — become his personal spy in an industrial espionage case. Taking the job, she finds that the target of her investigation is suspiciously unsuspicious... and deliciously sexy. Something isn't right.

~~~~~ PG Excerpt ~~~~~

Taking a hard look at the spreadsheet on her desk for what must have been the fortieth time that afternoon, Tara felt the last traces of optimism go out of her. She sighed, put her elbows on the table, and dropped her head in her hands.

She was no accountant, but no matter how she twisted the figures around, the message was all too clear. Her private investigation business was in deep trouble.

Having too little work and too many bills was a common enough song for a small business, but that didn't make it sound any sweeter. According to her calculations, Tara's business was in deep shit.

The facts were harsh: With her current cash flow she had about two months left before she was broke. The idea of spending two months treading water before she was sucked under and drowned was not an appealing prospect.

The question was what to do about it.

She sighed. Although she didn't have formal business training, it shocked her how quickly things had gone wrong. She'd probably made a lot of rookie mistakes and they'd piled up. In retrospect it was clear that she had kept her secretary on too long—well after it was clear that the business wouldn't support the two of them, but the woman had needed the job. Letting her go had been painful for both of them.

Besides... according to the evil numbers on the page in front of her, her biggest mistake had been the office. What a fool she'd been to sign a long-term lease.

Sure, a lease kept the rent from going up, but that assumed you had some business and could use the office. Now, when she didn't need so much space, if any at all, she was still on the hook for the monthly rent on it.

Without the lease, she could have cut costs by working out of her apartment. That would have made a huge difference. It would have given her breathing room to run down some new business.

Hindsight sucked. The lease had seemed like a great idea at the time. Positive affirmations about success had made her want to lock the rent in, and now it had her locked in a downward spiral.

Her landlord had not been receptive to negotiating a lower amount while she got through the slump either. A deal, in his opinion, was a deal. He didn't care if it meant she'd go belly up. She was stuck with owing him a monthly payment—until bankruptcy do them part, apparently.

It came as a welcome relief when her phone began playing some song she had downloaded a few months ago. The tune had struck her as catchy and optimistic at the time; now that most of her calls were about overdue bills, she'd come to hate it.

Still, it interrupted her angsty thoughts. She had to have hope. She had put in bids in for some surveillance and security jobs; there was always a chance she'd score one. They'd be tedious and boring but paid regularly. To actually get the job, you had to answer the damn phone even when you didn’t want to.

"Tara?" The voice was a deep male voice that she found very sexy. It also sounded familiar.

"Bobby Bly?" At the sound of his voice a picture of him popped into her head, and the picture that it found was one from a pleasant fantasy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Boruma Publishing, LLC
• Release date: Oct 18, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463252956

Book preview

PERSONAL SPY

The Consortium

Book One

Blair Erotica

copyright 2014 by Blair Erotica

all rights reserved

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

Consortium: an association of two or more individuals, companies or organizations with the intention of achieving a common goal.

Finances and Dreams

Taking a hard look at the spreadsheet on her desk for what must have been the fortieth time that afternoon, Tara felt the last traces of optimism go out of her. She sighed, put her elbows on the table, and dropped her head in her hands.

She was no accountant, but no matter how she twisted the figures around, the message was all too clear. Her private investigation business was in deep trouble.

Having too little work and too many bills was a common enough song for a small business, but that didn't make it sound any sweeter. According to her calculations, Tara's business was in deep shit.

The facts were harsh: With her current cash flow she had about two months left before she was broke. The idea of spending two months treading water before she was sucked under and drowned was not an appealing prospect.

The question was what to do about it.

She sighed. Although she didn't have formal business training, it shocked her how quickly things had gone wrong. She'd probably made a lot of rookie mistakes and they'd piled up. In retrospect it was clear that she had kept her secretary on too long—well after it was clear that the business wouldn't support the two of them, but the woman had needed the job. Letting her go had been painful for both of them.

Besides… according to the evil numbers on the page in front of her, her biggest mistake had been the office. What a fool she'd been to sign a long-term lease.

Sure, a lease kept the rent from going up, but that assumed you had some business and could use the office. Now, when she didn't need so much space, if any at all, she was still on the hook for the monthly rent on it.

Without the lease, she could have cut costs by working out of her apartment. That would have made a huge difference. It would have given her breathing room to run down some new business.

Hindsight sucked. The lease had seemed like a great idea at the time. Positive affirmations about success had made her want to lock the rent in, and now it had her locked in a downward spiral.

Her landlord had not been receptive to negotiating a lower amount while she got through the slump either. A deal, in his opinion, was a deal. He didn't care if it meant she'd go belly up. She was stuck with owing him a monthly payment—until bankruptcy do them part, apparently.

It came as a welcome relief when her phone began playing some song she had downloaded a few months ago. The tune had struck her as catchy and optimistic at the time; now that most of her calls were about overdue bills, she'd come to hate it.

Still, it interrupted her angsty thoughts. She had to have hope. She had put in bids in for some surveillance and security jobs; there was always a chance she'd score one. They'd be tedious and boring but paid regularly. To actually get the job, you had to answer the fucking phone.

Tara? The voice was a deep male voice that she found very sexy. It also sounded familiar.

Bobby Bly? At the sound of his voice a picture of him popped into her head, and the picture that it found was one from a pleasant fantasy.

Bobby was a handsome cop; they had been cops together back when she had thought it fun to be a cop. She hadn't known him well, never worked directly with him, but she had definitely noticed him.

She always intended to get to know him better, but somehow it just never happened. Most of the time she'd been on the force he seemed to be with one girl or another, but she had to admit that part of the reason nothing happened was that when she seemed to have an opportunity, she had hesitated too often and too long.

Bobby struck her as both good looking and smart—a combination really turned her on. He flirted with her and that was as far as they got before she quit the force, or was quit, depending on whose version of the story you heard.

Hey Bobby, it's nice to hear from you. It's been a while. She tried not to sound too surprised or too pleased.

Yeah. I've meant to call you for quite some time. He sounded embarrassed. She liked that. It gave her the upper hand for whatever was going down. I've thought about you, he said, but it just never...

Well, you are calling now. What're two years more or less? How are things in the cop shop?

I'm not on the force anymore, either.

She chuckled. I'm not surprised. You didn't have the… what do they call it? The aptitude, for paperwork any more than I did.

Well, unlike some people, most of the time I did actually try to fill out the forms they asked for. I didn't find it any more interesting than you did, however. Ultimately, I guess I just never got behind seeing that as a career. So, when something better came along, I went for it.

She laughed. That was the opportunist she remembered.

So now you are calling up to tell me you are off the force. Did you want to organize a celebration?

He laughed. In a way. Can I come up and talk about it?

Come up?

I'm downstairs in the lobby of your building.

She suddenly wished she was a little better made up. She hadn't expected to see anyone. Without any appointments on her schedule the day hadn't seemed to call for anything fancier than blue jeans, sneakers and a tee-shirt. Of course, you can. I'd love to see you.

Five minutes later she was opening the door for him and noting that he looked as good as she remembered. He had a strong face with a smile that had a knowing edge in it. He still wore his black hair cut short and his grey eyes jumped about, missing nothing.

She imagined that he could probably draw her room from memory after seeing it once, and she could feel his eyes taking the measure of her. It gave her a nice tingle when she caught him giving her body a second look.

Nice suit, she said, whistling. That was the biggest difference she saw in him—his clothes. No cop she knew could afford to dress in such an expensive suit. Seeing how nicely he dressed and looking sharp made her feel even more like a slob. Of course, the tee-shirt was an asset at the moment, since she hadn't worn a bra.

He smiled as she touched the silk sleeve