The Sandstone Affair (An Erotic Romance Novel) Read Online Free

take a bad situation and make it worse. Anger isn’t a bad thing;
it’s fuel and it propels me to do something with the stack of crap in front of
me besides stare at it. Grabbing a cup of strong coffee, I move out of
my haze and sort the mail from the rest of the pile. Nothing too interesting: a
few bills, some sale flyers and a copy of Inc. Magazine for business owners.
Guess I have to cancel my subscription to that. Then I see one of the bills is marked
“Glenvale Cancer Treatment Center.” That’s not good. I rip the envelope open to
confront one the many facts of my situation I had not wanted to face. An outrageous sum for chemotherapy and care
for the past two weeks is due by Friday. I have this payment and maybe two or
three more, then I’m out of money. Dad isn’t responding to anything they were
doing for him at Mercy General and his Medicare cap is getting close. They
wanted to put him on “comfort care” and let the cancer run its course. Mark
helped me find Glenvale. It’s an experimental cancer treatment center that
offers drug trials and in-patient treatment but isn’t covered under insurance.
So, I’ve been footing the bill. The scary part is, I’m not sure how much longer
I can keep this up without a job.
     
    The phone rings. “Julia Sharp,” I answer with my usual business
voice. Just because I’m unemployed doesn’t mean I have to sound like a pauper,
particularly to the scheduler from the Sunrise Yoga. “Julia, it’s Janice. I’m at the yoga place.” “I can’t come to yoga right now, Janice. I’ve
got things on my mind, if you haven’t noticed.” My tone with her is crisp and
snide. I guess I can’t blame her for continuing to work at Lynx, but it would
have been a comforting gesture if my good friend would’ve stood up for me and
left. “I don’t care about yoga. It’s the only safe
place to call you from.” “What?” “Kenneth All-Slime and Blake the Snake are in
the office all the time. I can’t call you from there, and I’m kind of afraid to
use my cell. Everyone is really tense.” “Well, that’s what you get when you decide to
stay in the gutter with the rats,” I say without compassion. Does she really
think I should feel sorry for her? It’s my life that’s a mess. Janice gives me an annoyed sigh. “I just
wanted to let you know I got it out of the office before they found it. When
you’re ready for it, it’s secure.” “You’ve got what?” “The story, of course. That’s what all this is
about isn’t it?” “I don’t know what it’s about, to tell you the
truth. But keep the story safe. And, thanks Janice.” A hot bath, a glass of Merlot, and some nice
music is the best medicine I can afford right now. While some folks use those
things to relax, I’m using them just to keep myself going. I’ve got to find a
way to get my head around what’s happening. I admit I’ve had my eye on Mark
Stone for some time, imagining what a joint venture with him would be like in
the boardroom and in the bedroom. But right now I’m as far from the boardroom
as I could possibly get, and while I’ve certainly been on the receiving end of
his attention, it’s not like he’s inviting me to the bedroom. The wine takes the edge off, and I realize
he’s right. I am afraid to ask for help, and I don’t like giving in. I do put
on an act and try to bully people into my way. It’s the only way I know to get
ahead in the publishing game. There’s no room for the weak. Valerie James is
just as ruthless and cutthroat as I am. She just does it with a smile. Somehow
that’s worse. Finally relaxed, I mull my options. I’ve got a
lawyer looking for a loophole in the original Sandstone Ventures contract, but
he’s already said it looks airtight. I do get a chance to file a rejoinder, but
I don’t even know what grounds I could file under. I have Mark’s mysterious plan,
which I can’t even fathom–let alone count on. Finally, I have the Wall Street
article