So there’s a naked man in the kitchen…

What would you do if you showed up for work one day and the guy you’re supposed to be working for shows up naked? And no, please don’t imagine your current boss naked. That would just be wrong. Unless your boss looks like the cover of my newest release, Beauty and The Best. Then, by all means, go ahead and imagine it.

And never ever quit that job.

But if this happened to you, what would you do? How would you react? What would you call him? Big guy?

It’s a question the heroine, personal chef Jolie Gardener, has to address when she’s preparing breakfast for Todd Best, her new boss. Considering Todd does look like the cover of the book, it’s no surprise that a few things start burning…

Here’s a sneak peek at that scene:

There’s a naked man in my kitchen.

The thought registered just as the terse, “Who the hell are you?” had Jolie Gardener spinning around faster than a figure skater on speed.

He had the nerve to ask this? He of the broad shoulders, six-pack abs, and other, nice, um, parts... 

Really. A naked man. In her kitchen.

Well, technically, she was in a naked man’s kitchen. Even more technically, she was in a naked Todd Best’s kitchen—and there wasn’t one hint of self-consciousness or embarrassment on his part. Of course with that body, there shouldn’t be. The guy should flaunt his nudity for the world to see. Which, at present, consisted of one single, solitary person: Jolie Gardener, aspiring writer and personal chef extraordinaire.

“Well?” His hands slammed to his hips.

“You’re naked,” she squeaked, which, really, was the only way to state that kind of obvious.

“I’m what?” Mr. Six-Pack Abs glanced down.

Jolie tried not to—so unsuccessfully it was pitiful.

“Shit,” he muttered. “I am. I, uh, fell asleep last night…”

As butter sizzled in the new super-slick omelet pan on the top-of-the-line range, Jolie’s gaze alternated between some rock-hard abs and a scruffy eight a.m. shadow while her fingers danced along the speckled granite countertop in search of a napkin, placemat, oven mitt… something.

Mercifully, they scooped up a thick dishtowel that, in her world, would constitute a very plush, very luxurious hand towel from The Ritz or The Four Seasons, but which, here, apparently, was used to soak up water from designer flatware. She dangled it in the direction of Mr. Au Naturel. “Here.”

He placed an empty bottle of Jim Beam on the island countertop with a clink, then took the towel with a grunt. “So, who are you, what are you doing in my kitchen, and would you mind turning around?”

She turned. “I’m the new girl the agency sent over.”

“Hell. There better be some aspirin left,” he muttered beside her, his bare (of course) feet making no sound on the limestone floor.

She peeked over at him.

His eyebrow soared skyward.

Right.

### © 2012 Judi Fennell

Sadly, no naked hot guy has ever shown up on my first day on the job. No, I get the jobs where the office manager rents out the choicest office to her father for 1/5th of the rent, among other bad business decisions that drive the company into bankruptcy. Or the boss who had perjured himself on the stand for another corporate executive who then said to him, “You’ll never have to worry about a job ever again.” So true; the guy showed up at the office and did nothing. Absolutely nothing. I’d ask him who we should have as a speaker or what event we should do at the corporate meeting and all I’d get in response was a shrug while holding his palms up. Seriously. And he wonders why I couldn’t stand him.

Then there’s the job where I found out that the so-called “owner” isn’t really named John Q. Public * (*name changed to protect me from lawsuits). No, this guy’s name is John K. Publick and the reason he’s using the misspelled name is because, um, he doesn’t want anyone to google him and find his jail term sentencing for insider training. Or the one for fraud.

I kid you not.

So, yeah, I’d say a naked man in the kitchen would be a welcome change after some of the stuff I’ve seen through the years in the “real” world. Someday I’ll write that book. And you know what? No one will believe it. Truth really is stranger than fiction.

So, what’s your Day Job horror story? Worst horror story will win an PDF copy of  Beauty and The Best. I’ll pick the winner after 5 pm eastern on the 26th to be announced on the 27th. Be sure to leave your email with your horror story so we can get in touch with you if you win.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy Todd and Jolie’s Once-Upon-A-Time Romance!

Beauty and The Best is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords and is currently on sale for $2.99. But hurry; this price won’t last much longer.

PRISM Award and Golden Leaf Award-winning author, Judi Fennell, has had her nose in a book and her head in some celestial realm all her life, including those early years when her mom would exhort her to “get outside!” instead of watching Bewitched or I Dream of Jeannie on television. So she did—right into Dad’s hammock with her Nancy Drew books.

These days she’s more likely to have her nose in her laptop and her head (and the rest of her body) at her favorite writing spot, but she’s still reading, whether it be her latest manuscript or friends’ books.

Author of “fairy tales with a twist,” pun-filled, tongue-in-cheek, contemporary paranormal romances, starting with the Tritone Trilogy about Mermen and the Humans who love them, her Bottled Magic Series about genies and magic and falling in love, and now her Once-Upon-A-Time Romances, those twisted fairy tales that were the inspiration for her tagline.

Dive into the romance on her website, www.JudiFennell.com, for excerpts, deleted scenes, reviews, contests, and pictures from reader and writer conferences


***Judi's winner is Kathleen! Kathleen, please email me at totebag@authorsoundrelations.com with your mailing info.  Thank you!***