Snippet Sunday – Read the Last Clause Again

It’s time for Snippet Sunday and I now I’ve been missing for weeks. 2022 has been interesting for setting goals and making changes. Snippet Sunday fell by the wayside because I’m busy writing new tales but didn’t have any finished for a long time. But that changes as of now.

To I’m showcasing MR. FIXIT’S BILLIONAIRE, a contemporary romance where the billionaire is the heroine and the hero is a blue-collar single dad down on his luck. There’s a marriage of convenience and a little bit of Brady Bunch family building, but I rather like how this one turned out. It will be part of the Flip the Trope: Beach Reads anthology and the pre-order link is coming soon. It’s slated to come out June 21st.

In this snippet, you meet Amanda Pendleton, billionaire owner and president of Pens2Paper, Inc. and single mom. She’s learning some unwanted news. It’s a little longer than usual, but I’ve been gone for a while.

~~~~~~
Something caught her attention, and she raised a hand. “Stop. I didn’t hear that correctly. Read the last clause again.”

Amanda’s voice cracked like a whip in the room and startled everyone. Good, I want these bastards to sweat.

“If, at such a time as my daughter, Amanda Lynn Pendleton, is not married by the first board meeting after the first anniversary of my death, my shares in Pens2Paper, Inc. shall revert to Walter Tisdale, Jonathon Cartwright, and Albert Montgomery, or their beneficiaries. For Amanda Lynn Pendleton to remain as CEO and majority owner of Pens2Paper, Inc., she must have a real and legal husband by the next board meeting following the anniversary of my death.”

You’ve gotta be fuckin’ kidding me!

Again, she screamed the words in her head but kept her lips together. Sorting her words carefully, she met the lawyer’s gaze.

“Why was I not told the stipulation when his will was originally read a year ago?” She’d thought everything had been taken care of and sorted out.

The lawyer’s gaze shot to Walter’s. He pulled out his pocket hankie to dab away the sweat on his forehead before meeting her eyes once more.

“Uh, well, it was a hidden clause. Per the conditions of the will, it was meant to be read at a specific time, Ms. Pendleton.”

She narrowed her eyes. In other words, it was only hidden because Walter wanted it to be. If she’d had the full year plus to find herself a suitable husband, Walter would lose out on any leverage he had to force her to fail, thereby gaining the company he’d been salivating over.

Only because it’s hugely successful. And it’s only hugely successful because of me.

“When was the stipulated date for the hidden clause to be revealed?”

Again, the lawyer glanced at Walter and mopped his forehead. “Uh, well, there wasn’t a date written in the will.”

“So, the hidden nature of the clause was only stipulated by the executor of the estate, not my father?”

“Uh…” The guilty look he threw at Walter set her nerves on fire. “Yes, Ms. Pendleton.”
~~~~~~~

Uh oh, something hinky is going on. 😉 There are several great authors on the Weekend Writer Warriors list, the Snippet Sunday Facebook group, and the Rainbow Snippets Facebook groupHere’s the blurb for MR. FIXIT’S BILLIONAIRE:

COMING SOON

Amanda Pendleton is more than just a pretty face. She’s the president of a wildly successful office supply company, a doting single mom, and a billionaire. All great qualities. Too bad they weren’t enough to keep her deceased father from making stipulations in his will. If she wants to retain ownership of her company, she must find a husband before the next board meeting. Easy peasy, right?

Mike Everslee is a single dad, the manager at Mr. Fixit’s Hardware, and a hard-working guy just trying to make ends meet. But none of it affords him the discretionary income to pay the fees at his daughter’s preparatory school. When his daughter’s friend’s mom offers to pay the theatre fees and take them out to dinner, he’s just glad for a rare night out.

But Amanda shows up with an astounding proposal—marry her in the next five weeks and stay with her for a year so she can save her company. If he does, she’ll set him up with a new house, a new truck, and pay his daughter’s fees and tuition until high school. Get a ready-made family, a sister for his daughter, and a beautiful successful wife, all for the price of a year-long marriage. What could go wrong?

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