Thursday, October 24, 2013

Hard-ass is Here--Yes Indeed!

Today I have S.c. Wynne here interviewing Character Taylor Williams from Hard-Ass!
http://www.loose-id.com/newest/hardass-is-here.html
What is your name and occupation? Taylor Williams

How old are you? Thirty-Four

How did you come by your current occupation? I had a horrible home life growing up and I ran away. The man who took me in paid for me to go to college where I received a degree in Business. I was pretty gun shy about people so that allowed me to focus on school and being at the top of my class I got a great job with Peterton Financial.

Do you like your job? Why or why not? Yes. I love my job. I used to love it because it was a job with structure. Numbers don’t let you down or change and then turn on you. They either add up or they don’t. I love my job even more now that Phillip Daniels has arrived.

Who is the person you dislike the most? My father.

Who is the person you respect the most? Phillip Daniels.

Is there anyone special in your life? Phillip Daniels. He’s amazing.

What’s your favorite meal, and do you fix it yourself or have someone fix it for you? I don’t really have a favorite meal.  I love food but I’m too lazy to cook. Phillip loves to cook so he would be the one making our meal. And it would turn out flawless…like him.

Football or baseball? Football. But only watching it. I might get killed if I tried to play it. I’m a numbers guy not a pigskin guy.

Favorite exercise?  Using my calculator. I’m kidding. I like jogging.

I hear you’re planning a winter vacation. Where are you going? Is anyone going along? Big Bear, CA. I’m a little nervous because I’m not an outdoor macho type of guy. I’m going with Phillip. He invited me up there for Christmas. I’ve never liked holidays. Until now.

If you had one wish, what would it be? That I’d been born with different parents so I wouldn’t distrust people so much. My entire life would have been different. But I would still want to have met Phillip Daniels. Knowing him has given me hope.

 BLURB:
Senior Analyst Taylor Williams knows there’s an embezzler at Peterton Financial, and he’s been doing everything he can to catch the crook. Unfortunately the numbers keep adding up to him being the thief.  When corporate sends in Regional Manager, Phillip Daniels to catch the crook, it’s obvious he suspects Taylor right off the bat. Phillip is gorgeous, sexy as hell and a hard ass. But when it comes to sexual attraction logic can’t compete. Even though Phillip suspects Taylor might be the thief, he can’t keep himself from bringing him into his bed, time and time again. Will the numbers add up to a happy ending for these two?
 
EXCERPT:
“What the hell is this?” I asked, scowling as Randy dumped a huge, sloppy pile of files and data sheets onto my desk.
“He wants us to go through all of these, ASAP,” Randy said.
Who wants us to go through all of these?”
“The new hard-ass is here.” Randy’s voice had the usual respect he afforded the higher-ups. None.
I swiveled my chair and peeked out of my office to see a man standing with the bigwigs in front of the shimmering Christmas tree in the lobby. The new guy was about forty, black hair, at least six feet tall, with broad shoulders impeccably encased in what was probably a two-thousand-dollar designer jacket. His jaw was tense, belying the air of relaxed confidence he was doing his best to sell.
The guy allowed a polite smile as Sally, the receptionist, pulled a piece of shiny silver tinsel from his shoulder. Knowing Sally, she’d be positioning him under the mistletoe first chance she got.
“Where did he come from?” I asked.
“Your dreams?”
“Why didn’t anyone tell me he was already here?” I asked, ignoring Randy’s taunt.
“I am telling you.”
“I mean sooner. Why didn’t you tell me sooner? Did you explain to him we’ve compiled this already?”
“I tried. He’s good-looking, but he might be lacking in smarts.”
“It makes no sense to go through these. We have it all in digital files already.” I grumbled, flipping through the sheets. “What is this, 1984?”
“You can take it up with Pretty Boy yourself. Looks like he’s making the rounds, and he’s coming this way.”
Great. This was who they sent? We’d been hemorrhaging buckets of money, though those losses were largely due to theft. Reviewing data printouts of losses we’d already reviewed a hundred times was a waste of energy and cash. Peterton Financial was a large, well-oiled machine, which meant it took a lot of money to pay for all that square footage. I guess I’d have to shut up and let the new boss take a stab at fixing our branch’s problems. And when he left, like the last two, I could get some actual work done.
“Ten bucks says he doesn’t last the week,” Randy whispered, waving a bill in front of my nose.
I eyed the new guy’s perfect haircut and aquiline nose. Maybe he was tougher than he looked? Probably not, but it was only ten bucks.
“You’re on.”
“Like taking candy from a baby,” Randy said, tucking the money back in his pocket.
Lucinda Mercy, the office manager, stopped at my office with Mr. Haircut.
“Taylor Williams, I’d like to introduce our new regional manager, Phillip Daniels.” She smiled at me, lipstick on her teeth. “Taylor is the senior financial analyst for the New York project.”
“Nice to meet you, Taylor.” Daniels took the lead. His shake was firm, the skin of his manicured hand smooth. I got a whiff of grapefruit, lavender, and lemongrass. He smelled terrific, I wasn’t going to deny it, but his gaze appeared tepid at best.
It had been a long time since I’d met someone as good-looking as Phillip Daniels up close and personal. In fact, I hadn’t been up close and personal with anyone in quite a while. But that was no excuse for being rude and leering at the guy.
“Hope we can accomplish some fine work together.” Was it me, or did I sound like I was coming on to him? Crap, I needed to get laid and fast before I embarrassed myself any more.
“I see Randy dropped off the files I want you to comb through,” Daniels said in a velvety voice.
“About that, we’ve got all this on the computer. I don’t need to go through the hard copies,” I said, meeting his cool stare.
“I’m afraid I’m going to have to insist.”
I gave a surprised laugh. “No, I mean it’s been done several times already.”
“Then one more time won’t hurt anybody, will it?”
I hesitated. Did he have bad hearing or something? “I’ll see if I can get to it.”
“On the contrary, I want you to make this a top priority.”
He might be gorgeous, but he was either dumb or an arrogant prick. “Maybe I’m not making myself clear. These have already been gone through and saved to the computer.” I spoke slowly, in case he was having trouble understanding the big words.
“Look, Taylor, is it? We need to get something straight right off the bat. I’m your boss, and I’m giving you a direct order.”
“I understand that, but I have a lot of work and this is a waste of my time.”
Lucinda gasped and looked nervously between Phillip and me.
“Do you want to catch the thief, Taylor?” he asked.
“What does that have to do with—”
“You should be willing to do whatever it takes. Since you’re so familiar with the data, it shouldn’t take you long.”
“It’s not as simple as that. Going over all this is extremely time-consuming,” I said. “I have other things I need to get to.”
“I’m sure you’ll work it out. I expect a report ASAP.”
He turned his back on me and walked to the next cubicle, perhaps to spread his good cheer.
“Wow, you like the rough stuff.” Randy snickered.

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