A Little Bit Naughty Read Online Free PDF Page B

chairs. As she made her way to her seat, she looked around the richly appointed room, taking in the marble columns, brilliant hardwood flooring and vases overfilling with fresh flower arrangements.
    She wondered if the nauseous feeling bubbling inside her stemmed from the overall pretentiousness of the place or the fact that her ex-father-in-law was a member.
    When she’d run across the job posting for the Membership Coordinator position, Jada had immediately disregarded it. Then she’d run across her utility bill and had returned to the posting. Not only did she meet every one of the qualifications, but the job would make use of her marketing degree and could possibly be a stepping stone to another position. Her mother always told her that beggars couldn’t be choosers, and she was way past the point of begging. She was spiraling full-speed toward Grovel Ville.
    The receptionist instructed her to go to the HR director’s office. A half hour later, Jada drove out of the country club parking lot knowing that she wouldn’t accept the position even if it was offered. The thought of spending eight hours a day feeding the egos of privileged businessmen and women by practically begging them to join a country club caused her to break out into hives. She’d risk high blood pressure from a ramen noodle-only diet before she reduced herself to working for this set.
    She pulled into a drive-thru and ordered a burger and fries, something she normally wouldn’t eat. But she’d skipped lunch and, dammit, she deserved to splurge every now and then. She figured if she was going to splurge she may as well go all out, so she added a milkshake to her order.
    As she pulled onto I-12, heading east back toward Maplesville, she wondered yet again if it was time for her to call her parents.
    “No,” Jada said around a mouthful of truly decadent French fries. She was not calling her parents.
    Despite her rapidly dwindling savings, she was not ready to give up on herself just yet. Being a “surprise blessing” as her mother called her, she experienced more than just the normal baby-of-the-family treatment. Her sister, Angela, and brother, Montgomery, Jr., were sixteen and fourteen years her senior. Jada had been spoiled by both her parents and her siblings; never having to worry about anything because they were always there to catch her.
    She’d immediately gone from the safety net her parents provided to being taken care of by her former husband. This was the first time she’d been required to stand on her own two feet. She would not cave, even if it meant peddling dildos and nipple clamps to every woman in the New Orleans metro area.
    Jada exited the Interstate and pulled into the parking lot at the strip mall that had just been built on the very outskirts of Maplesville proper. She’d stopped in at the drugstore a couple of days ago and noticed that the Valentine’s Day items had been marked down by thirty-percent. She figured they should be down to at least fifty-percent by now.
    Jada grabbed a shopping cart and made a beeline for the aisle with the red clearance sale banner hanging over it. She grinned when she turned down the aisle and saw the “60% off” stickers.
    “Yes,” Jada said with a fist pump.
    She made her way down the aisle, throwing in heart-shaped garland, paper table centerpieces, and stuffed animals. They would make good door prizes.
    Jada tried to stave off the sadness clawing at her chest as she pushed her cart past hearts with “Be Mine” written across them, and the boxes of chocolates. For twelve years Valentine’s Day had been more than just a day for flowers and candy, it had also been her wedding anniversary. But a few weeks ago, her ex-husband, who had turned out to be the cruelest bastard to ever walk the planet, had turned her favorite holiday into a day she would forever abhor when he flew to Las Vegas and married his new bride on Valentine’s Day.
    It was the ultimate slap in the face. For the