Give A Little Love will be on sale December 12th on Kindle/Nook and Smashwords. It's right in time for your holiday reading. Here's a little about it:
Brooke Jordan thought her Christmas was going to be boring, particularly since she’s stuck working in Montego Bay, Jamaica instead of home in Charlotte, North Carolina with her family. Paradise isn’t paradise when you’re not where you want to be, but this Christmas is anything but uneventful.
Three airplanes land on the island and Brooke quickly finds herself in exchanges that cause love, temptation, and HATE to surface. Will she allow an enemy from the past to keep her from giving a little love to the man who wants to be her Christmas “present”?
Chapter 1
“Jesus is the
reason for the season.” The radio D.J. from Love 101 FM’s smooth voice crooned
from the stereo speakers on the table next to her. Brooke Jordan flipped the power
button to off before he could say another word. Even though Jesus was the
reason for the season, her Christmas was going to be stank with a capital S. There was no getting around that fact.
Brooke pushed the plantation
shutters on the windows open to let in the sounds of the reggae influenced
Christmas music rising up from below. She couldn’t believe she was spending
Christmas week in Montego Bay,
Jamaica. It
would have been perfect if she wanted to be here, but she didn’t. She wasn’t on
vacation. This wasn’t a pleasure trip.
Brooke had drawn the short straw in a staff meeting, so she was stuck working. Stank, she thought, stank on steroids.
She leaned against
the sill of the window, closed her eyes and inhaled a long, intoxicating breath
of ocean air. Every aspect of the island was paradise: the weather, the ocean
views and the food. There was no doubt about it. But no place was really
paradise when you wanted to be somewhere else. Brooke opened her eyes and
squinted to see a couple further down the beach. They lay in the sand, making
out or maybe even making love. Honeymooners, she knew. She’d seen them arrive a few days ago. Brooke watched
as they arrived and others left. She remembered how it was for her when she had
honeymooned on an island. She’d been in love like that. She had made love on
the beach and then less than two years later, she was signing divorce papers. She
tried not to hold it against the entire Caribbean,
but there were too many reminders of her loss. She wanted to go home. Today!
Brooke’s cell phone
vibrated in her pocket and then she heard a chirp. She recognized the familiar
beeping ringtone she’d assigned to her parents. She answered. “Hello. You’re
early.” Brooke noted it was seven a.m. which meant it was six o’clock in Charlotte.
“I wanted to get
you before you left for work.”
Resting an arm on
the windowsill she said, “You made me nervous for a moment. I thought there
might have been some kind of emergency.”
“There is an
emergency,” Evelyn Jordan
replied. “My daughter isn’t going to be home for Christmas Eve dinner.”
Brooke sighed. No
one was more disappointed than she that on the only holiday her family
emphatically made sure not to miss being together, she was four hours by plane
away. There was just no way to get to Charlotte,
actually have dinner with the family, and get back to the island on the same
day. She had to work on Christmas Day.
“I’ll be home for
New Year’s Eve,” Brooke offered, knowing it was no consolation prize for the
annual dinner with her grandmother, parents, six siblings, in-laws and nieces
and nephews. She would be the only one missing this year. Her brother, Gage,
had returned from a tour in Afghanistan
and would be with the family for the first time in two years. Her heart ached
and she knew it wasn’t just about the family dinner. She’d been away from her
family and friends for far too long. With the ridiculous hours she had to put
in on the project, she hadn’t had much time to even socialize and meet other
people. Not that she probably would have taken the time to do that either. Brooke
was on the verge of sliding into a state of depression and she knew it.
“Is the company sponsoring
a dinner for the staff?”
Brooke moved
through the large living room of the corporate apartment and entered the
kitchen to start the coffeemaker.
“No. Everyone is
gone. I mean, the people who are still here live on the island. The ex-pats are
home. There are two analysts and me. We don’t need more. We babysit the system.”
“Well, maybe you
can make dinner. You could invite the analysts. Is one of them nice looking?”
Brooke shook her
head. Not more match making. “Mother.” Using mother was a sign that she was
getting annoyed.
“I’m sorry. I was
wondering if a change in environment might…” her mother stopped herself. “Never
mind that. You could invite them anyway. People get lonely during the holidays.”
Brooke didn’t
respond. People get lonely at Christmas. Forget people. She was lonely. Last year, she was married. Now, she was divorced. Last
year, she was with her family. This year, she would be alone. Last year, she
was pregnant. This year, she had no child. She didn’t care about what
other people needed. She had needs of her own.
“Sweetheart, don’t
they kind of work for you?” her mother’s voice broke through her thoughts.
“Not technically. I’m
the team leader. It’s not the same as being the boss.” Brooke fought to keep a
sigh inside. She had explained the nature of her work to her mother several
times, but for some reason the details weren’t processing. “Anyway, we can’t
eat together. First off, one has a girlfriend he’s spending time with and the
other guy is, I don’t know, anti-social. I hardly know him. Secondly, if I’m
home, they’re managing the system. We have to be there for the eighteen hours
of the day that we’re up.”
“It seems such a
waste not to be able to entertain. You have that big place and the kitchen is
lovely.”
Brooke did a
visual sweep of the space. Her mother was right. She was in a two-bedroom
apartment that actually slept six adults comfortably. The kitchen was fully
equipped with every modern convenience a person could use. The community had
three swimming pools, a hot tub, sauna, a fitness center and it had the added
bonus of being directly on the beach with gulf views from nearly every window
she’d seen. The company had spared no expense and Brooke was glad. The hotel
she had lived in for the first few weeks had gotten old fast.
“I’m not
interested in cooking for myself. Freeze a plate for me. I’ll eat it when I get
home. There are more than enough restaurants for me to stop in at. You know I
love the local food.”
Her mother
conceded. “Okay, sweetie, I know you have to get to the office, so I’ll let you
go. What time will you be home this evening?”
“Same as always.
Around eight.”
“You’ve been
working too hard.”
“I make good money
and I like my job. I can Skype with you guys during dinner. It’ll be like I’m
there.”
Brooke heard the
smile in her mother’s voice. “It will. I’ll take that. Your grandmother
reminded me that I need not complain. I have living children. That’s a
blessing.”
She smiled at her grandmother’s
wisdom and the not so subtle message behind it. “Stop complaining when you’re
blessed.” That’s what she always said when Brooke moaned about something.
The coffee maker
beeped and she received a text message from her driver that he was outside. “Gotta
go. Love you, Mama and tell Daddy I love him too.”
“Oh, Brooke,
there’s one more thing.”
She knew it. Her
mother never called this early in the morning unless something was up. “Sam
called.”
Brooke rolled her
eyes.
“I didn’t want to
bring it up. It’s not the first time.”
Her mother paused. “I thought you should know.”
Brooke swallowed
her contempt and tried to keep her voice even. “Thanks, Mama. I received an email.
I’ll go ahead and see what it says.”
“That’s probably a
good idea,” her mother said. “Have a good day, baby.”
Brooke forced a
smile into her voice. “I will.”
They ended the
call. She’d lied to her mother. Brooke had already deleted the email without
opening it, and she’d deleted the others that came before that one. She pushed
thoughts of Sam Riley from her mind the same way she pushed the delete button. She
was not going to let rancid memories ruin her day.
She poured her
coffee, popped the lid on her travel mug, grabbed her bags and left the
apartment.
“Good mornin’, Ms.
Brooke.” Desmond, the company’s fulltime driver, opened the door to the company
SUV and helped her into the back row.
“You’re cheery
this morning,” Brooke replied getting settled into her seat.
He closed the door
and went around to the front and climbed inside. “It’s almost Christmas,”
Desmond shrieked happily. “Can you believe it’ll be here in less than two days?”
Brooke took a long
sip of her coffee and bit her lip after she felt the sting of the burn. It was
still too hot. “I’ve never been away from home for Christmas, so it doesn’t
really feel like it to me.”
Desmond shrugged
like her woes meant nothing. “Christmas is wherever you are. You get a tree and
play some Christmas music and make a little holiday for yourself.”
Brooke chuckled. “A
tree?”
“They have plenty
in the market. If you want, I can pick one out and set it up for you when you
come home this evening. It’s no trouble.”
Brooke smiled. Desmond
very respectful and professional, but he had been trying to get in her
apartment for some reason or another ever since she arrived on the island.
“There’s a nice
tree in the lobby and another out on the beach. We have one at work that I can
enjoy too. It’s not a big deal.” She pressed her coffee cup against her lips and
her lie and looked out the window for the remainder of the drive from her
apartment to the office building. The
trip was less than three miles, but it took thirty minutes because Montego Bay’s traffic was gridlocked. Just like it was at
home in Charlotte.
Where there was work, there was congestion. She surmised you couldn’t escape
it.
They turned off of
Sunset Boulevard onto Southern
Cross Boulevard. Desmond pulled in front of the
tall, 55,000 square foot complex that was the home for Global Computer Systems.
GCS provides business process outsourcing and information technology solutions
for commercial and government clients. Brooke’s position as business analyst
was to maintain the servers that processed electronic benefit card transactions
for a government nutrition program. The client’s customers had access to the benefits
on their cards 24 hours a day, so the system had to be online 24-7 or it was a
customer service nightmare. They’d had those nightmares in the past. In order
to ensure that the company didn’t lose the government contract, GCS went
through a massive technological upgrade in all the offices where they
outsourced, which included this location.
Desmond opened the
door on her side. Brooke stepped out and reached in for her bags.
“Would you like me
to come get you for lunch?”
“No, thanks, I’ll
get something up the street,” she replied referring to the multitude of area
restaurants she had to choose from.
“You text me if
you change your mind about that tree.”
She smiled. “Not
likely, even if I were inclined, I don’t have time.”
“You do keep long
hours, but at least you have some more help today.”
Brooke wasn’t sure
what he meant by that, she tilted her head forward. “More help?”
“I picked a
gentleman up at the airport last night.”
Brooke wasn’t
aware of anyone else joining them. She wondered who had been given the daunting
task of showing up the day before Christmas Eve. She knew she was being
replaced in a few days so she could go home for a week, possibly for good. But
she’d assumed the coworker that was replacing her wouldn’t arrive until after
Christmas. She also knew it was a woman, not a man.
She was way too
curious to wait to find out who the mystery person was. She took a few steps
toward Desmond and asked, “Do you remember his name?”
“I don’t. I was told
to meet him and hold up the company card,” Desmond said. “It was late and he had
to take a connection in from Kingston,
so he was tired. He fell asleep in the car on the way from the airport.”
Brooke nodded. If
he’d flown to Kingston, he hadn’t come from the Charlotte office.
Desmond continued.
“He was here before, I think. But, he either walked to work or rented a car. I
didn’t drive him.”
Brooke shrugged. “I
guess I’ll find out today.”
“In a few minutes,”
Desmond added. “He asked for an even earlier call than you, so he’s already
here.”
Brooke nodded
again. “Thanks for the heads up. I’ll see you later.”
Desmond smiled. As
was his habit, he climbed in and waited for her to clear the entrance of the
building. As she was coming in, Brooke caught sight of a woman that she’d seen
many times in the square near the restaurants and shopping areas. She appeared
to be homeless on most days, choosing to sit on the ground or lie on the waist
high concrete walls that enclosed the main walking areas. Two of the security
guards had her, one under each arm and were escorting her out of the building.
One of them tipped
his hat and the other greeted her, “Good morning, Ms. Jordan. I
already turned the key in the elevator, so you can go right up.”
“What’s going on?”
Brooke felt sorry for the woman. She looked like they were manhandling her a
bit.
“She knows there’s
no trespassing,” the other guard replied.
“Wait.” Brooke
stopped in front of them. She reached into her handbag and took out some Jamaican
dollars she’d had converted from U.S. currency. It was more than
enough to feed the woman for several days.
“Ma’am, no need,”
the guard stated.
“I know you’re
doing your job, but please turn her loose,” Brooke insisted. They did as they
were instructed. Brooke took the woman’s hand and pressed the money into it. “Get
something to eat okay.”
The woman looked
down at the bills and cackled. “I thank you, Ms. Brooke, but I’m not hungry.”
Brooke was taken
back. Her first name. “How do you know---?”
“I heard the
people you work with call you that,” she said. “You’ve got a good heart. God is
going to bless you with love.”
Brooke opened her
mouth to speak, but then closed it when she realized she didn’t really have
anything to say. Brooke was a bit uncomfortable with the lady’s words,
especially since she was a stranger that appeared to need someone to speak into
her own disheveled life, but she wasn’t going to assume that God wasn’t using
her. What was that scripture her grandmother quoted about “entertaining angels
unaware”? So even though she’d simply wanted to make sure the woman ate and
wasn’t thrown out like trash by the security guards, Brooke paused to consider the
stranger’s words.
“Any idea where
I’m going to find this love?” Brooke asked as she fought to hide the hint of
sarcasm that threatened to coat her tone.
“You’ve already found
it,” the woman replied, “just give a little and life will give back.”
Brooke had no idea
what she could be talking about. Other than giving out of her wallet as she
just had, there wasn’t any other opportunity for her to share with anyone. Brooke
nodded her understanding and watched the woman push through the revolving door
and exit onto the street.
One of the guards
escorted her to the waiting elevator and continued to hold the doors open while
she stepped in.
“She’s a crazy
lady. Been cuckoo since I was a kid. Keep your money the next time.”
Brooke supposed
the guards were right. They would certainly know better than she. But her
grandmother had taught her that if we have the time of day for a dog, we have
it for each other. Besides, the money was nothing. She made plenty.
The elevator doors
closed. She pushed the button for the fourth floor of the building where the
offices for I.T. were housed. The main server was on the basement level. The
three intervening floors comprised a call center. Those spaces were empty
today, because it was Sunday. Very few call center staff worked on Sunday and
those that did were in the United
States offices.
Brooke heard her
cell phone beep. She reached into her purse to remove it and felt a sharp bump
against the bottom of the elevator car right before it paused. The elevator
seemed to reboot and start again. She made a mental note to tell security to
contact building maintenance and a second note to remind herself to use the
other elevator until they fixed the problem. She looked down at her phone,
opened the text message and read the words:
Aren’t you usually at your desk by now?
Her heart started
racing. She cleared the screen and dropped the phone back into her purse. The
elevator doors opened. The late night arrival Desmond had spoken of…
“Good morning,
Brooke. I’ve missed you.”
Brooke let out a
long breath. Christmas just got upgraded to ratchet.
