Friday, December 18, 2015

The Fix Up (First Impressions) by Tawna Fenske





BLURB:
Uncovering this sexy geek’s charm is easy. Keeping her hands off of him is impossible.
While he may look like the love child of a movie starlet and an NFL linebacker, Ben Langley has the people skills of a half-drowned porcupine. Why socialize when there are chemistry labs and bad sci-fi flicks? If he has any hope of taking the helm as CEO of the family business, Ben needs an image makeover. Pronto.
Enter Holly Colvin, owner of First Impressions public relations and branding firm, and the woman who just saved Ben from the clutches of an over-attentive sales clerk. Holly’s rebranded hundreds of companies in her career, but she’s never rebranded a person. The guy clearly needs help, though, and she’s just the woman for the job.
With the clock ticking for them both, Holly and Ben face off over wardrobe malfunctions and business jargon that sounds a lot sexier than it should. But can Holly make Ben into the man he thinks he should be without losing the man she’s starting to love?




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Author Bio:


Tawna Fenske is a romantic comedy author who writes humorous fiction, risqué romance, and heartwarming love stories with a quirky twist. Her offbeat brand of romance has been praised by Booklist as “A tame Carl Hiaasen on cupid juice,” and RT Book Reviews nominated her debut novel for contemporary romance of the year. Tawna is a fourth generation Oregonian who can peel a banana with her toes and who loses an average of 20 pairs of eyeglasses per year. She lives in Bend, Oregon with her husband, step kids, and a menagerie of ill-behaved pets.
Author Email: tawnafenske@yahoo.com
Author Twitter: @tawnafenske

EXCERPT:
“Look, Mr. Langley—”
“Ben,” he said.
Ben.” Slipup number one. Yet another sign she needed to back off. “I have to be honest. This is a little outside the realm of my normal corporate branding work. I typically develop high-level campaigns to influence the public’s perception of a company or a product.”
“In this case, consider me the product. I’m the face of the company, and I need help. I’ve spent the last ten years working my ass off for Langley Enterprises, but my closest colleagues were protons and polymers.”
“I take it the protons and polymers weren’t concerned about your hairstyle?”
“What’s wrong with my hairstyle?”
“Nothing, if you’re into that whole rumpled ‘just got out of bed’ look.”
Which I kinda am.
Holly bit her lip, hoping she hadn’t offended him. Hell, maybe she should offend him. Maybe then he’d hang up himself and she’d be off the hook. “I don’t know that I’d be right for this job,” she said at last. “But if you believe First Impressions is the best PR firm for your needs, I can personally select someone from our staff to work with you.”
A silence followed for several seconds, and she wondered if the line had gone dead. Maybe he really had hung up.
“Someone else?” he said at last. “I was hoping it would be you. At least with you, I know we already work well together.”
Yeah. That was kind of the problem. If that kiss was any indication, they worked a little too well together.
“Besides,” he continued before she could voice another objection. “I reviewed the bios for your whole staff on the website. There’s no one else on your team with the same mix of skills you have in corporate branding, public speaking—”
“Ben, I’m sorry, the situation would simply be too…unusual.”
She let the word hang there between them for a moment, hoping he understood what she was driving at. Then again, even Holly wasn’t sure what she was driving at. Why was is so terrifying to imagine mixing business with a guy she found so attractive?
You know damn well why.
He cleared his throat. “If it’s a matter of money, I can assure you, I’ll pay whatever fee you think is necessary. Triple it if you think the assignment is unusual enough to warrant it.”
She grimaced and tapped her pen on the desk. The money was tempting, but she wasn’t that desperate. Was she? She closed her eyes. “I’m sorry. But I’m sure you’ll find a PR firm that’s more suited for your needs. Good luck to you.”
Then she hung up before that sexy voice could talk her into something entirely more dangerous than a job.
Like his bed.

EXCERPT 2
“Yes,” Holly said, surprised by the breathlessness in her own voice. “I want you, you want me, and I’m tired of fighting it. Take the next exit, please.”
“Where are we going?” His hand moved a fraction of an inch up her thigh, and Holly nearly moaned with pleasure.
“You don’t have a bed, and my place is too far away. There’s a hotel right up there and it seems like the surest way to have you inside me within five minutes.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Ben grinned and slid his hand further up her thigh. “And this is why you’re well-qualified to coach me on assertiveness. You’re a woman who knows what she wants.”
“I think you’ve mastered a few things yourself, Mr. CEO.” She watched his hand slide further up her thigh as he pushed her skirt up higher.
“Yes, but a little hands-on experience is always valuable if I’m really going to get behind the issue for some strategic interplay.”
She grinned, pretty sure this was the first time anyone had attempted to use business jargon as a seduction tool. “I think I can slot you in.”
“Excellent. I’d like to touch base on the liquidity of your assets as soon as possible.”
He shoved her skirt higher and Holly let her legs fall apart. Ben accepted the invitation, his fingers grazing the satin center of her panties, and Holly heard herself gasp.
“God yes!” she gasped, pressing against his fingertips. “Right there.”
EXCERPT 3
The saleswoman turned and scurried away, leaving Ben to stare down at the wife now affixed to his arm. She tucked her hair behind her ear and glanced the direction the saleswoman had retreated.
“I hope I read that right.” The brunette scooted out from under his arm, and he instantly missed her softness. She looked up at him with those odd violet-gray eyes and smiled. “You looked like you were being eaten alive there, but too polite to tell her to back off.”
“Eaten alive,” he repeated, a little mesmerized by the woman’s eyes. “I’m not entirely sure.”
“Seemed like that’s what was going on. Salesgirl sees a big guy with a big budget and big—” she paused, then gave a small shrug. “Well, sometimes it brings out the worst in women.”
“Thank you,” he said, meaning it. “I’ve been flying back and forth between cities all week, so I’m a little jetlagged and distracted. I guess I wasn’t even a hundred percent sure I was being—uh—”
“Hit on? Ogled? Mentally undressed?”
“Right.” He cleared his throat. “Not until you pointed it out. Thanks for the rescue.”
“No problem. Pay it forward sometime.”
“Is that real? It’s huge.”
She blinked, then glanced down at the paperweight-sized rock adorning her ring finger. “Nah, I keep it in my purse for when I want to avoid getting hit on at ladies’ night.”
“Does it work?”
“Not with the real jackasses, which probably defeats the purpose, huh?”
He nodded, not sure what to say to that. “I’m sorry, what was your name again?”
“Holly. Holly Colvin. I’m the owner of First Impressions.”
“First Impressions?”
“We’re a public relations and branding firm that specializes in creating and remaking corporate identities.” She fished into her purse to pull out a business card. She held it out to him and Ben started to reach for it, but Holly withdrew her hand.
“Shit. Vampira the Sales Queen is headed back here.”
Before he could say anything, Holly was sliding her hand around to cup his ass. For a few beats, he thought she was copping a feel, and he hoped like hell she kept doing it. Then he realized she was tucking her card into his back pocket. She grinned and tilted her head back to look up at him.
“Gotta commit to the role, right?”
“Right,” he murmured, staring down into those slate-speckled eyes. “We certainly do.”
“I suppose we could throw in a little something extra if you really want her to buy it.”
“Like what?”
Her lips parted slightly, almost like she was braced for a kiss. Or was that his imagination? It seemed hot in here, and he was getting dizzy, and now all he could think about was claiming those perfect lips.
 “I’m sure you’ll come up with something,” she murmured.
Her mouth looked so soft, so inviting, and he could have sworn her lashes fluttered low the way they might if she were waiting for him to make a move. A big move.
He knew what he needed to do. What he wanted to do.

And with that, he bent and kissed her.


ALPHA BOOK CLUB REVIEW

The Fix Up (First Impressions) Kindle Edition

by Tawna Fenske
Synopsis
Uncovering this sexy geek’s charm is easy. Keeping her hands off of him is impossible.
While he may look like the love child of a movie starlet and an NFL linebacker, Ben Langley has the people skills of a half-drowned porcupine. Why socialize when there are chemistry labs and bad sci-fi flicks? If he has any hope of taking the helm as CEO of the family business, Ben needs an image makeover. Pronto.
Enter Holly Colvin, owner of First Impressions public relations and branding firm, and the woman who just saved Ben from the clutches of an over-attentive sales clerk. Holly’s rebranded hundreds of companies in her career, but she’s never rebranded a person. The guy clearly needs help, though, and she’s just the woman for the job.
With the clock ticking for them both, Holly and Ben face off over wardrobe malfunctions and business jargon that sounds a lot sexier than it should. But can Holly make Ben into the man he thinks he should be without losing the man she’s starting to love?

Review
4 New ties

This was such a cute story. Perfect for your travel plans. It is a quick light hearted read with pure entertainment value. The characters are fun and Ben has an almost Sheldon Cooper (Big Bang Theory) sense of humor, in a sexy way. The way Ben and Holly interact with one another is what makes this book so adorable.
Holly has her work cut out for her as she tries to help Ben become the man that would make his dad proud, but still keep him lovable and innocent. The hardest thing however, is keeping herself from falling for him.

ARC Provided by Inkslinger via Net Galley. Honest review done by Mollien for Alpha Book Club without influence from publisher or author.

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