Hen Party 1 (Hen Party #1) (9 page)

The drinking straw fell from her lips as she read on. Thirty five year old Jovanni Tisci was Marco’s brother. Jovanni was the brains behind the traditional Italian meat product expansion into Western Australia. Marco was the financial adviser to the start-up and the man heading the Perth branch.

“No way.” She gulped air into her empty lungs. But, but, but, Joe was a strapping man and Marco was of medium build. How could they be brothers? Did they have a different mother?

She searched for Marco’s Facebook page and opened it up to look at his photos. Behind Marco’s thick glasses his eyes were dark brown. Without the spectacles dominating his face, he could be considered attractive, at least Elin thought so. His hair was the same color as Joe’s, and he wore it in a similar neat, cropped style.

The blood turned cold in her veins at the image of Marco’s broad-shoulders. From what Elin had said, he kept his muscular physique in good shape at the gym.

Then she found a launch photo for the western business with Jovanni standing side by side with Marco. The only difference between the two men was height and spectacles. They were brothers all right. The phone slipped out of her hand onto the table.

The Jovanni Tisci she knew, but had never met face-to-face, was the CEO, the supreme boss, who ruled the company from his Sydney headquarters.
Sydney—gah!
He was nick-named ‘the tyrant in the east’ because he demanded monthly reports be emailed on time every twenty-fifth day. His memorandums were thinly veiled orders to promptly lift sales, achieve better performance and increase the bottom line or go find another job.

She hung her head in her hands. What a gigantic mess she was in. Jovanni was a sharp-minded businessman. If he knew Elin was an employee of the family empire and his brother’s bride-to-be, had he also worked out that she was Kyra Jamieson, notorious for her prompt monthly reports?

She’d made a complete fool of herself with the CEO. Her sweaty hands gripped the table for support as she remembered his kisses, the view of her naked breasts twice in one evening and the temptation to give into the powers of attraction.

Her heart filled with adrenalin and raced faster than the winning horse at the Melbourne Cup. How could she ever recover professionally and emotionally from Jovanni’s charm and sophisticated seduction? Or from him using her to cover up his spying activities for his brother?

What did she have to lose now? She was past being a dateless, friendless wreck. Her career at Tisci Smallgoods was dead, and rock-bottom was just a pit stop on the way down to the devil.

Elin rushed up to Kyra’s table. “Sergeant Paul is coming,” she said and darted off again.

Kyra let out a long sigh, wishing she had a Pandora’s Box to lock away the hen party secrets. The surprise stripper gig Marco shouldn’t find out about. The game plans of Maddy and Jovanni, the two cunning schemers that Elin should remain oblivious to. Finally, there was Kyra’s inappropriate and intense attraction to her supreme boss that must shrivel to nothing.

She rose from her chair. Pandora’s Box must be kept sealed until after Elin’s wedding. Kyra didn’t know how she was going to keep the secrets, but she couldn’t live with herself unless she tried her hardest for the sake of her bestie’s happiness.

Hen Party was a wide detour away from the story writing I had planned to do. When the characters, Kyra and Maddy, started chatting in my head, I was busy writing a Victorian Age romance. My thoughts were consumed by a saga about soul mates and the twists and turns in their love affair.

As time went by, the conversations between Kyra and Maddy grew louder and more demanding that I write their story. Eventually, for better or worse, I surrendered to my fate and put the historical manuscript to one side.

It’s taken a few years and a group of women, with a sense of humor to help me sort out the kinks in the story. My heartfelt thanks goes to my fellow writers from RWA (Australia) for their critiques, Justine Lewis, Kate, and Catherine. And also to Cindy. To the three editors who sifted through the chaos and helped polish the words—Corinne DeMaagd, Sarah McNamara, and one other.

Thank you to the many other women who helped me along the way to publish this story.

Finally, my thanks to Amygdala Design for the beautiful cover, and for making my first book cover experience smooth and joyful.

As a young teenager, I read my grandmother’s romance books for their exotic locations, adventure, and for their naughty bits. I never imagined that one day I would become a writer. Life swept me up, and I pursued a career in science. After becoming a mother, my creativity flourished and I began the journey to become a romance writer.

I like to write contemporary stories and I also have a passion for stories set in the Victorian Age. My goal is simple—to entertain readers. If I can give readers a laugh or two as they follow the heroine and hero’s path to love, then I’m a happy author.

You can find me on the web at;

Blog Site

http://ashlynbradyauthor.blogspot.com.au/

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https://www.goodreads.com/AshlynBradyauthor

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Email

[email protected]

Thank you for reading the first novella of Hen Party. The party isn’t over, it’s heating up in Hen Party 2 (The Second Novella), coming in 2016.