Bombshell

Bombshell
Jody Gehrman

There should be a four-letter word for beauty.She has more shoes than Sarah Jessica Parker and a skin-care system that could make Madonna swoon, but unlike her celebrity counterparts, Grace Noonan doesn't have it all. Her latest utterly-eligible-yet-maddeningly-unavailable boyfriend has just revealed that having sex with her is one thing and having babies quite another, forcing Grace to move on–again. And now that her employer–a top cosmetics company once devoted to "beauty beyond thirty"–is pursuing a teenaged supermodel as its future face, this thirty-four-year-old marketing exec is starting to wonder if she is going to get it all before the closing credits. Could it be time for Grace to back out of the beauty race and trade the singles scene for the sperm bank? Or is there something even this savvy bombshell has yet to discover about life and love in New York City?

Copywriter Ruby Sugars is in a rut. Her life consists of the following: long hours, boring neutral colors and regular fat-shaming from her stick insect–looking boss. But Ruby isn’t really a Bland Betty—she’s a complete Bettie Page hottie, with an enviable collection of vintage couture and very naughty vixen lingerie. Now if only she could channel that girl into her real life…

Cue Ruby’s best friend, whose recent fixation is “fantasy matchmaking.” She’s decided that all Ruby needs is one night with a sexy, delectable man—one with a serious thing for curvy pinup girls. And “Lancer” is hot enough to make any girl’s fantasy come true.

For one night, it’s pure, X-rated hotness. But come the next morning, this brand-spankin’-new bombshell will get the shock of her life when the man she vowed to see only once shows up again…as her new boss.

Contemporary, sexy stories for sassy women

Cosmo Red-Hot Reads from Mills & Boon

www.millsandboon.co.uk/Cosmo (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk/Cosmo)

For Natasha, Gretchen and Terena, who encouraged me to fill this story with juicy details.

Dear Reader,

When I first heard about Cosmo Red-Hot Reads from Mills & Boon, I perked up. They were looking for fun, fearless heroines who were career-focused, sexy and adventurous.

I taped their requirements to my wall. I wanted to write that story. I wanted to live that story!

When Ruby Sugars first presented herself to me as a potential heroine, I was skeptical. She had issues. Her confidence was at an all-time low. She had trouble standing up to her control-freak boss. She didn’t even look like your typical ingenue, with curves that would submit to no pair of Spanx.

Then she told me about her secret self—her inner bombshell. She showed me her collection of 1950s-inspired lingerie. Just as I started to reconsider, she went in for the kill—she introduced me to the guy she’d fallen for, the Irish mystery man with a pinup-girl fetish.

I decided we had to tell her story, Ruby and I. We had to battle her demons and jack up her confidence; most of all, we had to bring her mystery man to his knees.

Ruby’s transformation from shrinking violet to bold adventuress has inspired me to take more chances—like publishing my first erotic novella, for example. I hope Ruby’s story inspires you, too, whether that means reading more sexy fiction, applying for that new job or jetting off to Paris for a week of shameless hedonism.

Thanks for reading!

Bombshell

Jody Gehrman

Contemporary, sexy stories for sassy women

Cosmo Red-Hot Reads from Mills & Boon

www.millsandboon.co.uk/Cosmo (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk/Cosmo)

Contents

Chapter One (#u83bd5b64-3687-51f9-9ac4-0a5183fe0f74)

Chapter Two (#uc488388f-3fea-53ec-86c9-8d5150a366ee)

Chapter Three (#u1fee079a-7f42-526b-89a4-3208e1f13429)

Chapter Four (#u6e68b584-3917-5696-aabe-034bdd814c28)

Chapter Five (#u082912ce-8b44-5850-9e23-020e9a2d4c32)

Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Seventeen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eighteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Nineteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter One

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I’m sitting at my desk, sipping my second vanilla latte, when my world tumbles wildly out of control. Carrie Hoban and Matt Clark sneak covert glances at me as they pass my cubicle, sniggering. I glance down at my blouse, wondering if I dribbled salad dressing at lunch. More titters erupt throughout the offices of Wright, Milton and Sykes. Don’t panic, I tell myself. It’s probably got nothing to do with you. Still, I fish my compact from my purse for a quick, furtive glance. I confirm: no spinach between my teeth, no latte mustache. As I take another sip of coffee, though, I hear Dylan Mackintosh’s braying laugh explode from the far corner of the office and my heart starts to pound.

Something’s wrong.

But what?

Dylan swaggers over. He’s got that walk, the athlete’s strut. Since time began, that walk has struck fear in the hearts of girls like me—big girls who have put up with fat-chick jokes from elementary school on. The sight of his lightly tanned face looming near my cubicle invokes a primal instinct, the gazelle’s urge to flee from the lion.

His eyebrows arch so high they’re in danger of escaping into his hairline. “Loved that photo, Ruby. Pretty kinky.”