Nolan Whitman is all about work. At thirty-nine, he can’t be bothered with the hassle and headaches that come with women or relationships, and he definitely didn’t need another painful divorce. All Nolan wanted was to make his PR firm one of the biggest in Tinseltown retire early and live a peaceful life. He gets a huge break when he lands the newest international sensation, a singer/actress that’s burning up the charts worldwide as a client. But Nolan soon discovers that not all the glitters is gold.
Twenty-one year old Carissa Fairchild is a spoiled princess, and she knows it. From being the daughter of a former NBA player-turned franchise owner, to private schools, to discovering her talent for singing, it’s been easy street for her all her life. The only problem is that she’s miserable. All of her success can’t fix the fact that she’s lonely, and she makes everyone around her suffer for it. When yet another public relations firm ditches her after a nasty incident, she forced to work with a small time firm. It wouldn’t have mattered if said firm didn’t come with the most arrogant and condescending manager in the world.
Personalities clash, rules are broken and love is discovered where least expected when Nolan and Carissa realize that no matter how hard they fight, they’re both Hooked.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
“You might as well give up, son. I’m not backing down.”
Carissa’s burnt almond eyes had darkened and set, turning them into two shining pieces of onyx. Nolan couldn’t help but wonder if her eyes darkened like that in all forms of passion. It was a fleeting thought though; his irritation was too great to ignore.
“Who the hell do you think you’re calling ‘son’?” Nolan growled. “It’s my grown ass that kept you from ending up in front of a judge, kissing your career and your freedom goodbye!”
“What do you want, a medal?” Carissa fired back.
“Some fucking gratitude would be nice,” Nolan screamed. “But you’re not very nice, are you Carissa? You’re just a –“
“A what?” Carissa challenged. She leaned onto the desk, putting her oval shaped face only inches from Nolan’s. “Come on, son. Tell me what I am.”
Nolan’s eyes turned stormy as his nostrils flared. He gripped the sides of his desk to keep from hitting something.
“You, Carissa Myles, are a spoiled, self-centred, shallow, ungrateful little girl that gets off on playing grown folks’ games!” Nolan spat. “The second shit gets real, you throw your little tantrums and expect everyone else to clean it up. But I’m about done playing you little game.”
Carissa winced despite herself, her body reacting to the blue fire of Nolan’s eyes boring into hers. People never disputed her. They just didn’t…until now. It was both the most infuriating and stimulating feeling all at once.
“Is that a threat, Whitman?” Carissa said through her teeth. She’d expected her voice to sound stronger than that.
“Oh no, baby,” Nolan said firmly. “It’s a fact. You don’t want me to take this little game of yours to my level.”
Carissa tilted her head, causing some of her curls to fall into her eyes.
“And why not?”
Nolan closed the small gap between them even further, until he could feel her breath on his face. He ignored the impulse to look at her pouty lips, along with the sear of desire that tore through him.
“Because when I go there, I’m gonna give you what’s been coming for a long ass time,” Nolan said in what sounded like a grunt.
Carissa wanted to look away from him; to tell him to got to hell in the bluest way she could think of. But his intense stare held her captive, sending a tingling sensation throughout her body.
“And what do you think I have coming to me, son?”
“I’d make you grow the hell up and stop using your God given talent and beauty as an excuse to treat people like shit. I’d make you start using the fountain of potential you have and actually work towards becoming the amazing woman I know you are, instead of this egotistical little girl. But I wouldn’ t do any of that before I put you over my knee and tore that spoiled little ass up.”
Carissa could only blink at him; dumbfounded by his words. Nolan inched closer still, glancing over her face. If Carissa tilted her head, their lips would touch.
“And by the time I’m done,” Nolan promised as he refocused on her eyes. “you can be damned sure tha you’d be calling me Daddy.”
They held the gaze for immeasurable minutes, and with every second that ticked by, Carissa had to wonder what he was going to do. Would he kiss her? Did she want him to? Would she kiss him back? Her eyes finally fell to Nolan’s heart-shaped lips, and she licked hers instinctively. And then, he was gone.
“But we’re not going to make me play my game, are we Carissa?” Nolan said coldly. He turned his attention back to his computer monitor and began typing, effectively dismissing her.
Carissa got a hold of herself and straighted up, grabbing her purse angrily as she headed out the door and slammed it theatrically. Her heart was thudding in her chest and her body seemed to be humming all over. She looked over her shoulder through the window of Nolan’s office, taking in his hard-set face as he worked. He’d set down a gauntlet in there. Carissa backed away from a challenge. She smiled at an oblivious Nolan through the glass.
“Game on.”