Authors: Crystal Perkins
Rocking a SECRET
Rocking a Secret
Book #3 of Corrigan & Co.
By Crystal Perkins
Copyright © 2015 by Crystal Perkins
Cover Design by Helen Williams
Ebook Formatting by Jesse Gordon
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Secret
A bombshell stylist who's more than she seems
Stella’s a kick-ass stylist who takes no prisoners,
in or out of bed. For her latest mission with the Corrigan &
Co. Foundation, she agrees to investigate blackmail threats against
a member of the boy band her mother works for. Blackmail she can
handle, but falling for the sexy young boy bander will cause her to
risk everything—and everyone—she cares about.
A boy band singer who wants to make the bombshell
his own
Kace Reynolds may be young, but he knows what he
wants. To sing without being singled out. To figure out who’s
blackmailing him. And to convince Stella that he’s serious about
wanting to be with her. But blackmail isn’t always what it seems,
and he’s going to have to choose between being exposed and keeping
the woman he loves.
Bombshells are falling left and right, but will the
biggest SECRET of all rock them both too hard?
The Griffin Brothers series
Gaming For Love (The Griffin Brothers #1)
Building Our Love (The Griffin Brothers #2)
Creating A Love (The Griffin Brothers #3)
Learning To Love (The Griffin Brothers #4)
Designing The Love (The Griffin Brothers #5)
Working On Love (The Griffin Brothers #6)
Keeping Their Love (The Griffin Brothers #7)
Corrigan & Co. series
Fielding Her SECRET (Corrigan & Co. #1)
Devouring the SECRET (Corrigan & Co. #2)
Publicly, The Corrigan & Co. Foundation has been
supporting women for years. Secretly, five powerful women led by
Jane Corrigan have recruited ten agents, sending them to rescue
women and children in need, and take down those who exploit the
weak. This secret society of women all have unique skills they’ve
brought to the foundation. Additionally, they’ve all had training
in weapons, etiquette, martial arts, technology, and languages.
Helping out friends and family of their five mentors from time to
time is something they were told to expect. What they didn’t plan
for is falling in love.
About the Corrigan & Co. Foundation and the
Society:
• Mitchell Corrigan created the Corrigan &
Co. Foundation for his wife as part of his company ten years ago.
He stipulated that the foundation would continue as long as there
is a Corrigan woman to oversee it.
• Jane Corrigan, Cyndi Evans, Maggie Griffin,
Mallory Daniels, and Helen Wilson are the founders of the secret
society within the foundation. They focus on helping women and
children, but take on other missions from time to time.
• While they assist government and private
organizations on a regular basis, they only take referrals for
private missions.
• Each founder has recruited, and mentors, two
agents.
• The company was founded in Chicago, but has
now moved to Las Vegas, where Mitchell was born. On his deathbed,
he asked his grandson to move the company headquarters to help
revive the economy in his hometown. There are satellite offices all
over the world.
• Jane’s grandson, Matt, who is President and
CEO of Corrigan & Co., knows of the society. His friends Nathan
and Aiden, who he brought in when they all left the military, know
as well. This was a decision by the five women when they needed
help on a mission that went bad. They do not know all mission
details, but help when they are asked.
This book is dedicated to my good friend,
Samantha Boydman who loves boy bands
more than anyone else I’ve ever met!
Stella
Gavin’s party is starting soon. He’s showing
off the kitchen facility he had the Griffins build for his new
culinary school. I was dressed and ready when Reina called to tell
me that she and Jane needed me to come into the office. I know they
wouldn’t call me unless it was important, so of course I came.
I walk into Reina’s office and then drop my
clutch on the floor with a squeal. “Mom,” I yell as I hug her.
“What are you doing here?”
“I need your help.”
“Of course. Anything. What’s going on?”
“Have a seat, Stell, and I’ll tell you.”
I do as she asks, looking over at Reina. She
shakes her head at me. They don’t know why she’s here either. We’ll
help her, though. There’s no doubt in my mind.
“As you know, I’ve been working for
Storyside this past year.”
“They’re that boy band all over the TV,
right?”
“Yes, Reina. When I started with them, they
were just starting to get noticed. In the last few months, they’ve
surpassed One Direction as the most popular boy band on the
planet.”
“Is something wrong with them?”
“Not all of them. Just Kace Reynolds. He’s
the most popular of the boys, and has always been the sweetest,
until the last month. He’s started acting out. He causes trouble on
photo shoots and appearances, and has even bad mouthed some of the
more vocal fans who’ve criticized him. His mother is distraught,
and the management team is beside themselves.”
“Can’t they just kick his sorry ass out of
the band? There has to be some clause.”
“There
is
a clause. Many in fact. But
despite his bad behavior—or maybe because of it—he’s still the most
popular. The cash cow, so to speak.”
“How do you think we can help?” Jane
asks.
“As I said, his mother is distraught. She
raised him as a single parent, and his one goal when he made it big
was to take care of her. She goes everywhere with us, even though
Kace is twenty one now. She told me yesterday that she saw him
crumple up a piece of paper and throw it out. Because he didn’t
know she was there, she was able to grab it out of the trash can.
Here it is.”
My mom hands us the paper.
Tomorrow you will make a scene at the
culinary school opening the band is attending. Remember that if you
try to tell anyone, or don’t do what I say, I’ll have the pictures
to the media within the hour.
There’s no signature and nothing
distinguishing on the plain white copy paper. “So it looks like he
has no choice in his behavior. Someone else is calling the
shots.”
“Yes, Stella. It all makes sense because
like I said, Kace was always respectful and sweet in the past. He’s
turned into a horrible young man, but it seems he has no
choice.”
“Whatever they have on him has to be pretty
bad. We’ll of course help, but what did you have in mind?”
“I need Stella to come work with me—the band
is so big now that no one will think it’s unusual for us to have
another stylist. And they’re about to start a special two month
residency here in Vegas.”
“I can do that.”
“It’s not as easy as me hiring you, though.
The boys all agreed to be in charge one facet of their careers
early on. So it’s in their contracts to have the final say for
hiring in whatever area they chose.”
“Okay. I can charm someone. Who’s over
style?”
“Kace.”
“And he’ll be at the party tonight.” An idea
starts to form. “I can be part of the scene he causes.”
“He’s going to hit on you, Stella.”
“And I’m going to put him in his place.”
“Or fall in love with him.”
“What? Are you insane, Mom? I’m not planning
on settling down anytime soon, and even if I was, it wouldn’t be
with some jailbait boy bander.”
“He’s gorgeous, kind-hearted when he’s not
being blackmailed, and worships his mother.”
“So are half the guys I fu—I mean, sleep
with.”
“Don’t tone down your personality or
language, even with me around. I’ve heard it all, and I need you to
be yourself. It’s going to pull him in. When you’re as close as you
feel comfortable with, you can work on earning his trust,” my mom
tells me.
“Are you sure you don’t want a job here
because I think you just did mine.”
“No, Reina. I’m not cut out for intrigue on
a daily basis. That’s for you and my amazing daughter and her
friends.”
“We should head to the party. I don’t want
to be too late. Not just because of Kace, but also because Faith
and Gavin have worked hard for this.”
Everyone agrees, and we all take off for the
party. I was hoping to have fun tonight. Now I’m going to be
babysitting a little boy. So the opposite of fun.
* * *
Kace
Whoever’s pulling my strings is one fucked
up bastard. This school is going to be helping underprivileged
kids. The focus should be on that, not something I have to cook up
in order to make a scene. The media already thinks I’m an asshole.
How much further do I have to go?
I see Sheila, our stylist, walk in. I start
to look away, but do a double take when I see the bombshell
standing next to her. There is no other way to describe her.
Bomb-fucking-shell. She has platinum blonde hair pulled into a side
bun with some curly strands hanging down. Her lips are the reddest
of reds, and her black leather dress and strappy heels make me want
to do very, very bad things to her. Things that we’d both like, and
would make her scream my name all night.
I’m still contemplating how to make my move
when Sheila spots me and starts heading my way. With the blonde.
And here I thought this night was going to suck. Well, maybe she
will.