Bombshell
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?
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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 insectâlooking boss. But Ruby isnât really a Bland Bettyâsheâs 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 lifeâ¦
Cue Rubyâs best friend, whose recent fixation is âfantasy matchmaking.â Sheâs decided that all Ruby needs is one night with a sexy, delectable manâone with a serious thing for curvy pinup girls. And âLancerâ is hot enough to make any girlâs fantasy come true.
For one night, itâs pure, X-rated hotness. But come the next morning, this brand-spankinâ-new bombshell will get the shock of her life when the man she vowed to see only once shows up againâ¦as her new boss.
Contemporary, sexy stories for sassy women
Cosmo Red-Hot Reads from Mills & Boon
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 didnât even look like your typical ingenue, with curves that would submit to no pair of Spanx.
Then she told me about her secret selfâher inner bombshell. She showed me her collection of 1950s-inspired lingerie. Just as I started to reconsider, she went in for the killâshe introduced me to the guy sheâd 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.
Rubyâs transformation from shrinking violet to bold adventuress has inspired me to take more chancesâlike publishing my first erotic novella, for example. I hope Rubyâs 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
Cosmo Red-Hot Reads from Mills & Boon
Contents
Chapter One
Reply All
Iâm 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. Donât panic, I tell myself. Itâs 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 Mackintoshâs braying laugh explode from the far corner of the office and my heart starts to pound.
Somethingâs wrong.
But what?
Dylan swaggers over. Heâs got that walk, the athleteâs strut. Since time began, that walk has struck fear in the hearts of girls like meâbig 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 gazelleâs urge to flee from the lion.
His eyebrows arch so high theyâre in danger of escaping into his hairline. âLoved that photo, Ruby. Pretty kinky.â
âWhat are you talking about?â Fear makes my voice squeaky and barely audible.
He leers. âVery Bettie Page.â
âWaitâwhat?â Iâm really not this stupid, but panic has made my tongue grow three sizes; I can barely form words.
âFelicityâs going to love it.â He glances at his watch. âSheâll be back in ten minutes, tops.â
As he saunters off, exchanging fist bumps with Luke Neal, I turn to my computer. For a second, I feel so sick I can hardly see. My vision swims and the floor of our fifth-story office roils beneath me like the deck of a ship. Email.Felicity.Kinky. Oh god. No! Noooooo!
With trembling fingers, I open my sent mail. Yes. Oh, fuck. There it is. The email I intended to forward to by best friend Wanda. Except I didnât hit Forward. Instead, I hit Reply All.
Reply fucking all!
From: Felicity Franco
To: Creative
Sent: Friday, January 4, 10:15 a.m.
Subject: Colin Wrightâs Visit
Heads up, folks: Colin Wright will be visiting from the New York office Monday, January 14. This presents an exciting opportunity to impress a founding member of this amazing company. I want to be sure everyone pulls together to show him what a top-notch professional team we have out here in San Francisco. I know you wonât let me down.
