The Vexing of Millie Magnus

By Ryan Barbera

Millie Magnus has meticulously schemed her way to relevance. By undergoing dastardly deeds and mastering the art of manipulation, she has achieved her dream of fame and fortune. As the story jumps from past to present, Millie's prowess proves effective in both love and intentional loss. Her primary target is a charming billionaire, Roger Glancey, whom she uses to climb the ranks of society. When that relationship meets a dead-end, Millie takes things into her own hands to keep the spotlight on herself. However, things get sloppy, and Millie must accept the consequences of her own actions as things spiral out of control for the entire world to see.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Jan 31, 2020
• ISBN: 9781645750277

Ryan Barbera

Ryan Barbera resides in Chandler, Arizona, with his partner James. The Vexing of Millie Magnus is inspired by Ryan's love of literary fiction, suspense, and pop culture. Ryan writes part-time and works in marketing full-time. From childhood to today, Ryan has been writing privately and never pursued the opportunity to publish his work. The Vexing of Millie Magnus is a new shift in his writing style and genre that he decided to share with others, after previously writing countless works of science fiction. He has plans and ideas to continue writing and hopes to publish more in the future.

Book preview

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About the Author

Ryan Barbera resides in Chandler, Arizona, with his partner James. The Vexing of Millie Magnus is inspired by Ryan’s love of literary fiction, suspense, and pop culture. Ryan writes part-time and works in marketing full-time. From childhood to today, Ryan has been writing privately and never pursued the opportunity to publish his work.

The Vexing of Millie Magnus is a new shift in his writing style and genre that he decided to share with others, after previously writing countless works of science fiction. He has plans and ideas to continue writing and hopes to publish more in the future.

Dedication

To James

Copyright Information ©

Ryan Barbera (2020)

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher.

Any person who commits any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

Ordering Information:

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Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication data

Barbera, Ryan

The Vexing of Millie Magnus

ISBN 9781645750246 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781645750253 (Hardback)

ISBN 9781645750277 (ePub e-book)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020900305

www.austinmacauley.com/us

First Published (2020)

Austin Macauley Publishers LLC

40 Wall Street, 28th Floor

New York, NY 10005

USA

[e-mail]

[phone]

You’re perfect, absolutely flawless. Another successful procedure, Millie. The doctor stepped back from his patient and gazed at the beauty he had constructed. Plastic surgery at its finest, afforded only by the rich and envied by everyone else. The sleek operating room with curved white walls and soft glowing lights put patients at ease as the doctor administered his craft with state-of-the-art surgical tools. Millie Magnus sat up from the table and grazed her face with a long, milky white finger after Dr. Tragoski removed the last bandage. He handed her a circular metallic hand mirror. She brought it up to her face and smiled at the new nose he had given her. Gone were the days of staring at the unsightly bulge that plagued her self-image.

It’s absolutely perfect, Dr. Tragoski. This is exactly what I need, Millie squealed. Dr. Tragoski smiled and took the mirror from her.

Fabulous! It will certainly aid in your career as Channel 9’s newest anchor, Dr. Tragoski said.

I certainly hope so. My first paycheck has yet to hit my bank account, Millie said jokingly, fully understanding the doctor assumed she had millions in the bank. He smiled and smoothed his coat.

Yes. By the way, I’m sorry about your husband passing, what a loss, Dr. Tragoski uttered.

Millie ignored him, stood up, and grabbed her purse.

Until next time! Millie said childishly, she lightly touched the end of her nose and giggled. She hugged Dr. Tragoski excitedly and exited the room.

Before stepping into her expensive vehicle, she pressed a button on her cell phone and the top came down. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, and she was only heading home, her hair could withstand a little drama. She also liked to be seen driving down Sunset Boulevard.

She pulled a long floral scarf out of her purse and tied her hair up, applied a layer of crimson lipstick, and donned a large pair of sunglasses, then entered the vehicle. She adjusted the mirror, mostly to check her makeup, and catch another glimpse of her new symmetrical face.

Millie was an aging 32-year-old woman being held together by a generous amount of makeup, designer clothes, botox, and the tenacity of twenty women in one. She prided herself on her personal success gained by utilizing her resources to get what she wanted.

Although life had not always been easy for Millie, she was certainly living her best life now—rich in beauty, wealth, and social media followers. Recently single and ready to take on the world.

She sped off and headed toward her house on the hill, switching gears effortlessly as the engine purred like a kitten. She had learned all about vehicles from her recently deceased husband. Not only was he a billionaire business investor and politician but also a famous racecar driver, one who was loved by not only regular race fans but also those who watched his charming on-air interviews.

Much like the rest of the world, she had fawned over his every word, not in the same fan-girl way as the masses, but more in an opportunistic manner. With Roger she saw a path to luxury, riches, fame, and possibly even love.

Three Years Ago

Millie stood in front of a dirty mirror in the news station’s RV bathroom and pushed the nozzle on a cheap can of hairspray, swathing her ridiculously bleached blonde hair. She then pulled back the skin on her eye and applied a flawless cat-eye wing. Suddenly, someone knocked on her door.

Millie, the race is about to end. Roger only has a few minutes for press, he’ll be in the press room, Cho said confidently. Cho was one of the station’s assistants. The reporters shared her and used her for whatever they needed. She had a habit of mixing up reporters’ schedules, often times reporters would be sent to locations they had no idea they’d be reporting on. They were forced to make up the details of a story on the scene once the cameras went live. This had led to countless phone calls to the station with complaints due to inaccuracies, but for some reason the issue never resulted in Cho’s firing.

Because of this mix-up, Millie now knew where famously hunky Roger Glancey would be for a press conference so she could make her way toward him. Originally, she was scheduled to collect interviews from the redneck race audience. Now she could ditch that and interview Roger instead.

Thanks, Cho, you’re the best! Millie said after considering her