Champagne Brunch: The Stiletto Sisters Series Ainsley Claire (primary phonics books .TXT) 📖

my presentation. We walk in, and immediately Mia wraps her arms around me. We kiss for a few moments and then I lead her out to the patio where hundreds of candles showcase the petals on the ground, and soft music plays.

“What is this?” She turns to me, eyes wide.

I bring her close and kiss her softly before I get down on one knee.

I pull a blue velvet box from my pocket. “Mia, when I first met you, you rocked my world with your baseball knowledge. As I’ve gotten to know you these past few months, I’ve discovered that every action I take now is with you in mind. When we’re apart, I think of you nonstop. I know we haven’t been together very long, but I’m hoping you will agree to marry me. We can have as long an engagement as you need, but I want to know if you will you do me the honor of becoming my wife, my partner, and my forever?”

Her hand covers her mouth and I see tears in her eyes. She nods. “Yes,” she whispers.

I place the platinum band with a four-karat, emerald-cut diamond on her finger. Then I stand and hold her tight. “I can’t wait to get you out of this dress.”

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Chapter 1

Elena

“Get the fuck out of my office!” I hurl the desk lamp at Joshua Turner, my current business partner and former lover. Ugh. What a terrible combination and what a class-A asshole.

“You know, you are such a bitch,” he says as he jumps back, despite the lamp landing six feet in front of him.

“Fuck you,” I scream. “If you don’t like it, do us all a favor and quit!”

“The last time I did that, you had the FBI camped out because you took our fight to Chirp and it tanked our stock. Then you begged me to come back.”

Don’t remind me.

My tears are going to sprout at any moment. This has been an impossible few weeks. My good friend Toni has been missing a month now, and then Joshua had to go and screw everything up, and he’s hardly owning it. I turn my back to him and fall into my chair so he can’t see me cry.

After a moment, I hear the door shut quietly behind me. He’s right. I did beg him to come back, but those were extenuating circumstances. I was an emotional mess. We’d just gone public with Money Serve, and because I was angry that he’d freaked out and quit, I had a one-sided argument with him on Chirp. Since he’s our chief of technology and my cofounder, the SEC was concerned I was manipulating our stock prices. But I was just hurt and just expressing it entirely too publicly.

I look out the window. Though it’s blurry at the moment, I love the view from our offices. I wipe my eyes. People pay big money to have views of the water or bridges, but I love our old, refurbished warehouse that overlooks Union Square. The people watching is fantastic, and the cable cars cruise up and down Powell Street. I sometimes take the cable car home at night, but only when I don’t have a bodyguard with me, which is rare these days.

That’s what happens when the nerd falls for the handsome prince and the handsome prince isn’t interested. No, he’s interested in the Italian model who doesn’t have any hips and pert little breasts. Bitch. I hate her.

My assistant, Paula Morgan, sticks her head in my office. “Are you all right?”

I sigh. “I will be. I just can’t believe he did it again.” I turn my chair and wave her away. She closes the door behind her. I never get mad at anyone else the way I do Joshua. It’s like he knows exactly what buttons to press to set me off.

Today was a fine example. We had a meeting with our investors, and he wasn’t prepared. These are highly scripted calls, and he bluffed his way through and made two false claims. As a result, the after-hours trading is affecting our stock prices and could very well land us both in jail. I’m so angry at him right now.

I look at my watch, and it’s after four. I have enough work to stay all night, but I just can’t. Maybe some of my sisters can meet me for drinks—not my real sisters. These are the women who would help me hide the body, no questions asked, if I killed Joshua. They are my Stiletto Sisters.

Me: I’m in desperate need of liquid refreshment. Anyone interested?

 

Ryder: Tiger Den is still closed.

 

The restaurant next door had a kitchen fire, which has closed the place for weeks now. We miss our watering hole.

Claire: I’m in. What about that new bar at the top of the Transamerica building—Spirits in the Sky?

 

Mia: I’m in. Axel is in LA, so it’s just SoBe and me tonight.

 

Caroline: I can stop by. Mason has drinks after work and we have dinner plans at eight.

 

Tinsley: Oh, I could use a break from Landon. I’m in!

 

Me: I’m leaving now. If I’m too drunk by the time you get there, just make sure I don’t go home with any handsome strangers.

 

Ryder: I say go ride the pony!

 

Me: Ryder, you are naughty.

 

Ryder: We’ll be on the lookout together.

 

Marci: I’ll meet you there. I’m just leaving federal court.

When I walk into the bar, I can see immediately that it’s very upscale—full of bankers and lawyers. Spirits in the Sky has a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree view of the Bay and City, as it sits in the second-highest building in downtown San Francisco. I spot Ryder and Tinsley sitting in a large corner booth that overlooks the East Bay.

“What