Perfectly Designed: A Prequel Novella: Against All Odds

By C.D. Gill

She craves the thrill rebellion brings.

Gia Carter works at the one of the top architecture firms in the country, has an adult relationship, and a family who loves her. After a lifetime of protection, she kinda likes the dangerous world her boyfriend has exposed her to.

Until it almost gets her killed.

 

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• Language: English
• Publisher: C.D. Gill
• Release date: Sep 8, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201054236

Book preview

Perfectly Designed

A Prequel Novella

By

C.D. Gill

Copyright © 2021 C.D. Gill

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means without written permission from the author, except by reviewers who may quote brief passages in a review.

The characters in this book are inventions of the author’s imagination. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

All places and events mentioned in this work are used fictitiously.

Chapter 1

The cars’ engines revved in a deafening chorus. Their power drowned out the thumping of her wildly beating heart. The noise set Gia Carter on edge just like it did every time Bronc, her boyfriend of four months, got behind the wheel of his street racer. This time, thankfully, the race was sanctioned and happening on a drag strip, not on the New Orleans’ back roads.

It only lessened her anxiety slightly.

He still had a lead foot and a flaming-red competitive nature twice the length of Texas. Losing was never an option. If he didn’t win, they wouldn’t talk for a couple of days sometimes while he got his head on straight. Most male twenty-somethings she knew were hotheads and, if she was honest, his willingness to participate in something as illegal and public as street racing excited her.

Her upbringing as the only daughter of a very visible power couple had made a rule follower out of her. Bronc’s recklessness—as Daddy called it--drew her to him effortlessly, because it was a life so opposite of hers. Bronc had plenty of redeeming qualities about him. His stunning good looks. His stable job. His constant need to watch out for her and make sure she was okay. He spoiled her regularly.

Daddy didn’t know him like she did.

Night and day, she’d eaten, slept, and breathed architecture, powering through her university courses with credit loads no one else thought were sane. But she’d finally found something she was passionate about and had an eye for. The appeal of making a life for herself drove her hard.

Now that she had that, she could focus on nurturing a committed, adult relationship and building her career in one of the most prestigious architecture firms in the country at the same time. College boys wanted a good time, not someone to spend forever with which is what her heart craved.

The flag dropped and Bronc’s reflexes were on the money tonight. His car lurched ahead of his competitor’s by a fraction giving him an immediate advantage. Gia’s nails bit into the rail in front of her, the metal vibrating as the cars blitzed toward her.

They were neck and neck. No way would Bronc let this be a tie.

The crowd roared as the cars sailed across the finish line. The big screens showed the photo finish. Bronc was mere inches ahead.

She jumped over the railing and sprinted towards his car at the end of the strip. As soon as his head emerged from the window, his perfect white smile said it all. They were going to have a good week. Relief washed over her.

Helmet under his arm, his tan hand raked through his sweaty dark hair. She threw herself into his arms, wrapping her feet around his back. His soft lips pressed into hers with heat. They would ride this high for the next few days.

She said nothing as he set her on her feet and made his rounds accepting congrats and shaking hands like he’d won the Indy 500 instead of a small drag race in the middle of nowhere Louisiana.

He disappeared from view and left her by the car. It was a rule of his that one of them always needed to be with the car during events, because competitors held a grudge and could cost him thousands in damages in minutes.

This was the part that bored her—the endless waiting while he was off doing whatever he wanted. She dug through his race bag and pulled out a joint. The marijuana settled her nerves on the first inhale.

In the last half year, her anxiety had skyrocketed. Graduating from the university had been the easy part. The pressure piled on her as she made her way through the world, responsible for the life she wanted. Bronc had noticed how uptight she was and introduced her to marijuana for those moments that life seemed overbearing.

He was right. She did need to loosen up. Life was for experiencing, not avoiding. And she loved Bronc for showing that side of the world to her—a life with fewer rules and more guidelines.

She’d learned to push that feeling of fear and caution aside until it no longer niggled at her conscience. After waiting for two hours and feeling considerably bolder since her joint, Gia slid into Bronc’s car and fired it up. She drove slowly toward the drag strip exit, looking for signs she’d been spotted. As she slipped out of the gate, Bronc appeared at the driver’s window, his face pinched in anger.

What are you doing? he yelled.

She pasted on a smile as if he hadn’t just ditched her for the past two hours. Hey—nice of you to come back to the car. I have to go. I have a golf tournament at six AM tomorrow. Sliding from the car, she tossed him his keys and blew him a kiss as she set off for her car.

He jogged up beside her, grabbing her by the waist. You aren’t mad, are you, baby? I just wanted to celebrate for a bit. I knew you wouldn’t mind.

For the sake of peace, she usually faked being the amiable girlfriend. He could easily replace her and she knew it. Tonight, she didn’t have it in her to fake it. Her high was wearing off and she was annoyed, so she patted his cheek.

Goodnight, Bronc.

At least the man had an ounce of sense, because he let her go without any further arguing.

The next morning, she shoved aside her regret of the drugs that had been coursing through her body. Already, the tension crept over her and she was barely up for the day.

No text from Bronc.

It was 5:30 AM. He was probably still out celebrating. She had a 6 AM tee time for a charity golf tournament benefiting the Association for Injured Veterans. Today, she was paired with and also pitted against Candice, a regional college golf winner, who