Tess

For Tess, it is as if she has found the man of her dreams, he’s slick, smart and good to her son. But the closer she gets the more his deeper secrets begin to unfold. She’s witnessing the true, brutal nature of Carelli’s hidden life. Now she finds herself on the run with one of Carelli’s most trusted bodyguard, the handsome, protective and sexy Mack. But who is the trustworthy bodyguard truly loyal to, who’s he truly protecting? Why?

EXCERPT
I finally finished work and found Mack waiting for me in the staff’s locker room. “Tess, Mr Carelli wants to see you in his office.”
I felt the blood drain from my face. “Oh…” I said as I grabbed my handbag and put it back in my locker. “Okay.”
“Don’t worry. You’re not in trouble.” He said with a grin.
“You sure?” I said with more than a hint of uncertainty.
“Yep. He just wants to talk to you about something.”
“He didn’t say what it was about, did he?” I said softly, closing the door to my locker and turning the combination lock.
“Nope, just that he was eager to talk to you.” Mack stood upright, returning to his impressive 6’5 height, towering above my petite 5’9. “Don’t look so worried, if the boss wanted you gone, Gina would have told you.” I nodded and we left the locker room. Mack took me up to an elevator hidden behind a curtain and punched in a security card into the reader. I noticed that there were no buttons for the floors, only the emergency telephone, door close and emergency stop buttons adorned the panel. I got even more nervous as the lift doors closed and the car ascended to the top of the building. The penthouse and Mr Carelli’s offices.
The elevator stopped and we got out. Mack led me down the entry hall to a mahogany door where he knocked twice before he entered.
Mr Carelli was sitting behind a desk doing some paperwork. He smiled warmly as Mack ushered me in.
“Tessa.” He said as he stood up and walked around the desk to greet me. He surprised me by kissing my knuckles instead of shaking my hand like I expected. I felt my cheeks flush with red as I blushed. No man had ever kissed my hand before.
“That will be all thank you Mack.” Mr Carelli said. He kept a hold of my hand and escorted me to a leather couch, he made sure I was comfortable before he offered me a drink.
“So, Tessa.” He began.
“Please, just Tess. Mr Carelli.”
“Tell you what.” He said, turning from the whiskey he was pouring himself and the Coca-Cola that I had asked for. “Call me Sal, and I’ll call you Tess.” He smiled as I nodded and he finished pouring his whiskey.
He handed me my drink, his fingers brushing mine for a heart stopping moment. “To a new opportunity.” He said, toasting with his whiskey. I raised my glass with him and we drank. His eyes never left mine from over the rim of his glass.
“You’re probably wondering why I asked to see you tonight.” He began. I nodded, my nerves fluttering around my body like crazy.
“Yes, I am Mr… I mean, Sal. I’m curious.”
“Well, Tess. Two reasons. . . Download this story and continue reading . . .