The Bitch-Proof Romance Sample

CHAPTER ONE

 
How It All Began
 
I’d never been to Dublin before, but I was looking forward to working there for a few months during the summer.
      My flight was due to leave New York. I’d packed suitable clothes for work as well as a few glamorous pieces for nights out. This was a business assignment for Randolph’s marketing company in New York. I’d worked for him as a futurehunter for the past two years, sussing out the latest trends in fashion, design, home decor and various others aspects. I guess Randolph, known as the silver fox, thought I was ready to deal with the marketing assignment in Dublin — to find new trends, to futurehunt in the heart of the Irish city.
      I was excited about going to Dublin, but sorry to leave Harry behind.
      Harry and I shared an apartment in Manhattan. He was my best friend. No romance, just friends. He was going to look after things while I was away.
      I saw the lights of New York fade into the distance as the plane turned and flew over the sea heading for Ireland. I missed Harry already.
      Amid the butterflies of excitement, I hoped I’d be up to the task that I’d been assigned to. Verde Valmont, who also worked as a futurehunter for Randolph, was already in Dublin. She’d been there for a few weeks but hadn’t found anything of interest, so Randolph was sending me to help.
      Sears Pearson, our company’s freelance marketing consultant and one of the top futurehunters in the business, had wanted to come to Dublin, but Randolph sent me. He needed Sears in New York to handle various deals. Sears was great with fabric trends. When we both worked together, we made quite a successful team.
      Sears was gorgeous. Tall, blond hair, sapphire eyes, late twenties, suave, yes, Sears was a distraction, so it was just as well that we’d only ever been friends. The potential was there for a relationship. Sometimes I felt a frisson of tension, a feeling that we could become involved. I guess I doubted myself. I wasn’t good enough for a guy like him. Not that I was completely unfortunate looking. I was an okay blonde, slim, no freaky skeletons in the cupboard, no excess baggage. Kind of a clean slate, but with the ability to cause trouble. That seemed to follow me around. Always had.
      Sears had a yacht. He competed in sailing events. He’d invited me to sail with him around the bay in New York a few times. Now that I was on the plane to Dublin, I wished I had gone sailing with Sears. It was an unusual thing to think, and I don’t know why I did. I settled down to get some sleep. The flight was around six to seven hours. I was flying forward in time. Dublin was ahead of New York by a few hours on the clock. It would be early evening when I arrived in the city.
 
I breathed in the warm evening air and stood outside Dublin airport waiting on a cab to take me into the city centre.
      Randolph’s secretary had booked me into a classy hotel overlooking the River Liffey. I’d read the brochures and had bought myself a map so that I would know roughly where I was going.
      The lights of the city lit up the trees along some of the streets, and the shops, bars and clubs began to pour into view as the taxi hit the main thoroughfares. Wow! What a city. The historic architecture stretched above me and I peered out the window, gazing up at all the beautiful buildings. A sign indicated that a castle was slam dunk in the centre of the city, and we drove past some very modern looking shops whose front windows displayed the latest fashions. It was like this city offered the extremes of old and new, ancient and modern. But more than anything, I loved the sense of excitement Dublin had. Like it breathed full of energy. Dublin felt so alive, and so did I. I’d made the right decision to come here. This was going to be a great few months. I just knew it. This city would suit me. At twenty–two years old, I’d done a fair amount of travelling, but this was my first venture to Europe.
      The taxi driver dropped me and my suitcases off outside the hotel. I looked up at the mellow twilight sky. I loved the scent of the city. It didn’t seem like Manhattan in the slightest. And there was a sense of potential.
      I received a warm welcome from the hotel staff and was soon ensconced in my room. A lovely bedroom with an en suite bathroom, and an area with a desk where I could put my laptop. It had everything I needed.
      I flopped down on the bed with its satin cover. I was in Dublin!