BDSM Connections - The Complete 4 Novel Series by Claire Thompson

Author:Claire Thompson [Thompson, Claire]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Romance Unbound Publishing
Published: 2018-10-18T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 2

That Monday morning, Shea stared at the vial containing the new chemical compound she’d been working on, wondering if she’d finally gotten it right after several days of trial and error. Her concentration had been off since she’d arrived at the lab, her mind constantly sliding back to Saturday night at Hardcore. The business card Steve had handed her was burning a hole in her purse. She’d handled it a dozen times and had almost made contact, but each time she’d chickened out at the last minute.

A heavy hand on her shoulder startled her, nearly making her drop the vial.

“We’ve got a problem, O’Connor,” Scott Carroll, her boss at Cosmetic Formulations, boomed in his overloud voice. “Or rather, you’ve got a problem.”

Jeff Scharnott, who sat one workstation over in the large lab, sniggered softly, no doubt pleased Shea, and not he, had been singled out for that morning’s berating.

“What’s that, Mr. Carroll?” Shea strove to keep her voice even and calm as she willed herself not to flush. Her boss sensed weakness like a hawk sighting its prey, and always pounced. “If it’s the dimethicone adjustment, I’m aware of it and I think I’m almost there.” She held up her vial as proof. “I’m satisfied the occlusive agents are properly balanced now with a good humectant.”

Shea had helped in the development of several successful moisturizers for the company, but this was the first time she’d been entrusted with such a complicated formulation. When she’d been given the assignment for the latest product commissioned by a top cosmetic company, she’d been both thrilled and terrified. The lotion was supposed to be a toner, serum and moisturizer in one, formulated to hydrate combination and oily skin while toning, reducing breakouts, treating sun damage and calming irritated skin. Oh, and it needed to smell good, too.

“We’ve got deadlines, O’Connor. The test groups are being lined up as we speak. Your scent is too floral. Fix it. The client wants a clean, fresh scent, something in the cucumber family with maybe a trace of citrus. If you need to pull an all-nighter—do it. Just don’t expect any overtime.”

“I’m on it, Mr. Carroll,” Shea said, willing him to walk away. She loved her job, but her boss was another story. She hated the way he called everyone by their last names, and seemed unable to modulate his voice, booming like a drill sergeant so that everyone in the lab heard every word he said. He was always quick to criticize and his rare compliments were usually backhanded and left you unsure if you’d just been praised or humiliated.

He grunted and turned his attention to Jeff. “Hey, Scharnott, you working hard or hardly working?”

Relieved she was no longer the focus of attention, Shea returned to her task, but her mind continued to drift back to the night at the club, and the two men who had taken such sexy control over her. She knew what she needed to do to get back on track with her work.

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