Fascination
by Ainsley St. Claire
Series: Venture Capitalist, #8
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Release Date: September 23, 2019
It started when my boyfriend was caught in public with a girls lips on his you know what.
People think my life is easy - they couldn't be more wrong.
A girl can never be too thin, too rich, or too famous. From experience I know that's crap. Well, maybe not the thin part.
Men don’t see me – they see my name and my bank balance.
Dating is near impossible with the paparazzi following my everywhere. Any sane man would run from that.
When a competitor steals my company's entire fall line, down to names and packaging, I daydream of tropical islands far away from the mess of my life. He brings me back.
There was one man who saw the real me. A man who wasn't swayed by the money and was strong enough to deal with the craziness that surrounded me. But we'd been friends to long to move beyond that.
But can I control myself? I have feelings for him but our timing has always been off.
Sinking into a bath full of bubbles that smells of lavender, feels so good, and I’m able to relax for just a moment. Today has flat-out sucked. Why do so many people feel the need to forward me the links and clips of the gossip rags?
I’m so mad at Frederic right now. If he wanted to break up with me, he should have grown a fucking pair and told me. He didn’t have to take an eighteen-year-old porn star out to a heavily press-covered event and then get caught with her under the table on her knees going down on him.
His messages afterward were stunning.
“Please, baby. Savannah and I are only friends.”
Yeah, right.
I guess I could own some of it. I haven’t been feeling it with him for a while, and we were both just hanging on. Damn, it still smarts to be dumped on television.
Asshole!
With cucumber slices over my eyes, the stress begins to evaporate. My phone rings, and normally I wouldn’t answer while I’m de-stressing in the bath, but my best friend, Emerson, is due any moment with her first child. This just may be it. Besides, Frederic’s been blocked, so I’m pretty sure I don’t have to worry about dealing with him.
“Hello?”
“Caroline, it’s Evelyn.”
Crap. Work call. I spent most of the day with Evelyn. I’m kicking myself for not checking the caller ID first. “Hi, what’s up?”
“I’m here at San Francisco General Hospital with my boyfriend. We think he broke his arm. Umm… I just saw them wheel your friend Mason Sullivan in from an ambulance.”
I sit up straight, splashing water all over the floor, but I don’t care. “Are you sure?”
“I’m fairly positive.”
“Thanks, Evelyn.” We hang up, and I immediately call his cell phone. “Please pick up. Mason. Please pick up,” I whisper to myself.
“Hello?” a male voice answers, but it isn’t Mason.
“May I speak with Mason, please?”
“I’m sorry, who is this?”
“It’s Caroline.”
“This is Detective Lenning. Are you related to Mason?”
My mind is racing. “No. May I please speak with him?”
“Do you know how I can get in touch with someone who’s related to him?”
“His mother lives in Ohio. I’m one of his best friends. Where is Mason?” I dread his answer, wondering, praying, hoping he’s not at the hospital.
“Caroline, Mason is currently unable to speak. He’s at San Francisco General Hospital. We need to reach a family member. Do you know his mother’s name?”
“I can’t remember right now. I’m on my way. Where is his girlfriend, Annabelle Ryan?”
“We can’t be sure.”
I don’t have time to think about Annabelle right now, so I let it go. “I’m on my way,” I repeat before ending the call.
I quickly throw some clothes on and call for a rideshare. While in the car, I call Dillon.
“Hello. Boy, do you have good timing.”
“Dillon, Mason’s at San Francisco General. All I know is that they wheeled him in on a gurney. No one knows where Annabelle is.”
“We’re on our way there now. Emerson’s water just broke.”
“Oh my God! I’ll check on Mason and be right there.”
I hear a loud groan in the background. Obviously, Emerson is having some serious contractions.
“I have to go,” Dillon says in a rush.
I’m so mad at Frederic right now. If he wanted to break up with me, he should have grown a fucking pair and told me. He didn’t have to take an eighteen-year-old porn star out to a heavily press-covered event and then get caught with her under the table on her knees going down on him.
His messages afterward were stunning.
“Please, baby. Savannah and I are only friends.”
Yeah, right.
I guess I could own some of it. I haven’t been feeling it with him for a while, and we were both just hanging on. Damn, it still smarts to be dumped on television.
Asshole!
With cucumber slices over my eyes, the stress begins to evaporate. My phone rings, and normally I wouldn’t answer while I’m de-stressing in the bath, but my best friend, Emerson, is due any moment with her first child. This just may be it. Besides, Frederic’s been blocked, so I’m pretty sure I don’t have to worry about dealing with him.
“Hello?”
“Caroline, it’s Evelyn.”
Crap. Work call. I spent most of the day with Evelyn. I’m kicking myself for not checking the caller ID first. “Hi, what’s up?”
“I’m here at San Francisco General Hospital with my boyfriend. We think he broke his arm. Umm… I just saw them wheel your friend Mason Sullivan in from an ambulance.”
I sit up straight, splashing water all over the floor, but I don’t care. “Are you sure?”
“I’m fairly positive.”
“Thanks, Evelyn.” We hang up, and I immediately call his cell phone. “Please pick up. Mason. Please pick up,” I whisper to myself.
“Hello?” a male voice answers, but it isn’t Mason.
“May I speak with Mason, please?”
“I’m sorry, who is this?”
“It’s Caroline.”
“This is Detective Lenning. Are you related to Mason?”
My mind is racing. “No. May I please speak with him?”
“Do you know how I can get in touch with someone who’s related to him?”
“His mother lives in Ohio. I’m one of his best friends. Where is Mason?” I dread his answer, wondering, praying, hoping he’s not at the hospital.
“Caroline, Mason is currently unable to speak. He’s at San Francisco General Hospital. We need to reach a family member. Do you know his mother’s name?”
“I can’t remember right now. I’m on my way. Where is his girlfriend, Annabelle Ryan?”
“We can’t be sure.”
I don’t have time to think about Annabelle right now, so I let it go. “I’m on my way,” I repeat before ending the call.
I quickly throw some clothes on and call for a rideshare. While in the car, I call Dillon.
“Hello. Boy, do you have good timing.”
“Dillon, Mason’s at San Francisco General. All I know is that they wheeled him in on a gurney. No one knows where Annabelle is.”
“We’re on our way there now. Emerson’s water just broke.”
“Oh my God! I’ll check on Mason and be right there.”
I hear a loud groan in the background. Obviously, Emerson is having some serious contractions.
“I have to go,” Dillon says in a rush.
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Ainsley St Claire is a Romantic Suspense Author and Adventurer on a lifelong mission to craft sultry storylines and steamy love scenes that captivate her readers. To date, she is best known for her series Venture Capitalists.
An avid reader since the age of four, Ainsley’s love of books knew no genre. After reading, came her love of writing, fully immersing herself in the colorful, impassioned world of contemporary romance.
Ainsley’s passion immediately shifted to a vocation when during a night of terrible insomnia, her first book came to her. Ultimately, this is what inspired her to take that next big step. The moment she wrote her first story, the rest was history.
Currently, Ainsley is in the midst of writing a nine-book series called “Venture Capitalist.”
When she isn’t being a bookworm or typing away her next story on her computer, Ainsley enjoys spending quality family time with her loved ones. She is happily married to her amazing soulmate and is a proud mother of two rambunctious boys. She is also a scotch aficionada and lover of good food (especially melt-in-your-mouth, velvety chocolate). Outside of books, family, and food, Ainsley is a professional sports spectator and an equally as terrible golfer and tennis player.
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