A Not-So-Indecent Proposal

By L. D. Blakeley

Bram Wilson has snagged his ideal internship at an exciting new app development company. The only downside? It’s unpaid. And like any recent graduate, he’s in debt up to his eyeballs.

Spencer Kemp, CEO of AppMedica, is thrilled to have just scored his first viral sensation. Not-so-thrilling is the extra cash he needs to find to keep developing his popular game while it’s hot. Of course, there’s always the money his grandmother willed him as a wedding gift. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have a boyfriend, never mind a husband.

Surely a solution can’t be that hard to find.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Evernight
• Release date: Aug 13, 2021
• ISBN: 9780369504029

Book preview

Published by EVERNIGHT PUBLISHING ® at Smashwords

www.evernightpublishing.com

Copyright© 2021 L.D. Blakeley

ISBN: 978-0-3695-0402-9

Cover Artist: Jay Aheer

Editor: Jessica Ruth

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

DEDICATION

For everyone who's ever felt the albatross of a student loan.

A NOT-SO-INDECENT

PROPOSAL

Romance on the Go ®

L.D. Blakeley

Copyright © 2021

Chapter One

Fuck, that’s nasty!

Engrossed in yet another spreadsheet, Bram Wilson had reached for his coffee cup, expecting happy, caffeinated sustenance only to be greeted with ice-cold disappointment. Which he might have anticipated had he noticed the time at all over the past four hours.

It was the third time in as many days he’d been stuck at his desk long after everyone else in his department had gone for the day. Although he would bet good money the programmers were still downstairs in their so-called dungeon, where they’d likely be into the wee hours. From what he’d seen of it, though, dungeon wasn’t the word he’d have used to describe the comfortable suite of offices that had its own lounge, kitchen, and games room.

I can’t be paying you enough to be here this late, a voice boomed from several cubicles over.

You don’t actually pay me at all, Bram answered without looking up or missing a beat. Then quickly realized who he was talking to as the man walked toward him. Mr. Kemp, he stammered. Sorry, sir. I didn’t realize— He forgot what he was about to say as an unexpected deep, rich chuckle rose from Spencer Kemp, his de facto boss and the man who could fire his ass and quash any of his career aspirations with little more than a text.

While he didn’t report to the man directly, Bram was well aware of who he was. It was hard not to when the CEO of the company looked as good as Spencer Kemp. The man could rock a suit and tie better than most runway models. Today he was equally impressive in jeans and a crisp button-up. He was tall and lean, with an unruly head of dark curls that had ever-so-slightly started to silver at the temples. His eyes were what Bram had first noticed about him, though. They were of the darkest blue, fading to a dazzling inner ring of silver. And the slight crinkle when he smiled only added to what Bram thought of as his sexy devil appearance. The man was a puzzle to all the singles at AppMedica who tried their damnedest—at least once, anyway—to put themselves in the man’s line of sight. There was no shortage of those who tried. But none managed to get any further than a polite rebuff. And as far as Kemp’s personal life went, that was a shrouded mystery.

No, no, Kemp said, holding up one hand. Don’t apologize. If anyone should be apologizing, it’s me, he added. You’re the only one left here most nights when I head out. So why, exactly, do I pay you nothing?

Intern, Bram said flatly. And I have student loans so far up my ass it’s hard to sit some days. So I’m hoping to make a decent enough impression I’ll get a job offer at the end of it.

And before Bram’s brain caught up to his mouth and had a chance to freak out over his casual turn of phrase, Kemp laughed again. This time with the bonus of a dazzling smile.

I’ll see if I can put in a good word, Kemp said. We seriously don’t pay interns? That can’t be right, he added, brows drawn together.

Unless someone else has been cashing paychecks in my name, I’m afraid it is. Bram felt emboldened by the conversation’s casual tone and figured go big or go home.

Kemp smiled again, then asked, Which would be?

Wilson. Sir. Bram Wilson.

Parents fans of literature, were they?

They were, actually. Well, my mom. She was a professor at U of T.

Well, Bram. What are you working on that has you here after hours?

"Status report on the Infernal Voyage downloads for this week. It’s doing insane numbers."

Define insane.

It’s outperforming everything else in our stable, Bram answered. By a lot.

Well, I’ll be damned. Kemp nodded in approval.

Is it true the Hoard Warriors built it as part of the twenty percent project? One of the things that had drawn Bram to AppMedica was their implementation of the initiative allowing employees to use a percentage of their paid work time on personal projects. It seemed like a dream work environment.

Hoard Warriors. Kemp raised an eyebrow. Is that what they call themselves?

I noticed a few people with nameplates on their desks, Bram explained.

I like it. Kemp took a step back and stretched his neck from left to right. "And yeah, they did. I mean,