Business Fiction

A collection of short-short stories on creativity, public speaking, and social skills.

Tessa Harper, makeover queen of a self-care media empire, loves a challenge. But when she’s forced to satisfy her female readership’s growing interest in sports, Tessa reluctantly seeks out Ford Maddox. The popular sportscaster, annoying friend of her bestie, and long-time sparring partner agrees to strike a deal. He’ll give Tessa his expertise if she’ll give him hers. Namely a makeover to help him get past the friend zone with the woman of his dreams.

The Cost is a story of a cost engineering consultant named Doug Benson who does his best to help companies understand and improve cost. When Doug arrives at Electronica, the company is on a verge of bankruptcy and hardly even knows why. He must use all his cost engineering knowledge and leadership skills amidst some considerable corporate drama all the while fighting his own personal demons in order to give Electronica a chance.

Jack Hanson knew what he wanted, and it wasn't a media empire. After his father died suddenly, Jack was forced to leave his law practice and take over his father's company. And, oh, yeah, pull it back from the brink of catastrophe. The one bright spot in the whole mess was his new hire an old business-school friend, Samantha Edwards. Samantha was just as smart, fun and vibrant as she'd been in school, but now she was a hell of a lot sexier.

Can’t find love? Good. I’m your guy. I mean, not your guy per se, but the guy to find you the love of your life. I’m the best damn matchmaker there ever was. Except when it comes to my own life. Why bother? I’m too busy setting up other couples and enjoying success anyway.

I’ve never walked down the aisle, but I get paid to stand beside it. Why, I’m a wedding planner is beyond me. Oh, yeah. I love the pretty dresses, the food, the glamour, and glitz. Getting dressed up and owning the night, though I always go home alone. It’s a weird setup. Being in business is all I’ve ever wanted, and yet, the one I chose depresses me beyond belief.

She’s lost everything: Her parents, her sister, her sight. Now, someone’s stalking her. She can feel him taunting her. He must be the one who killed the sheriff. She's scared, but who can she trust? She can trust Joey. He’s stable as a rock and too good looking to ignore. But she must guard her heart. Her first love is only here for his brother’s funeral. The mayor is saying the sheriff’s death was an accident. Thankfully, her old high school crush has returned from the big city back to her small town.

Meet frat boy and liar Harrison Bloom. Sure, he’s a narcissist, but he loves his family. Of course, he’s spoiled, but he works hard. Naturally, he feels terrible about choosing a career path his father dislikes, but he makes up for it by dating women Dad would approve of. Hold on... he does what?? He can’t get a break. His brand-spanking new, one-day-old Mustang convertible is stolen and wrecked before he can purchase insurance.

Ahhh, the 1990s! A time for pantsuits, fashion-forward hairstyles, and female empowerment in the workforce. With better pay and a snazzy new title, quirky Nora Richards falls into the typical workaholic trap of long nights of monotonous accounting in her relentless drive to be the best. And that’s enough for her. Or it was, until her sexy, new boss reminds her in the best way possible that there’s more to life than working alone. But even with the unexpected distraction of a hidden office romance, Nora uncovers shady transactions that involve millions of corporate assets.

The Queen of Scottish Gangland Thrillers is back! Donnie Black. Charming, successful... and utterly terrifying, he rules the Glasgow underworld with an iron fist. Nothing - or no one - will stop him and he's not afraid to get his hands dirty to grow his fortune. Layla Black. She's been married to Donnie for twenty years, enjoying the lavish world he has worked hard to create. But behind the perfect image, Layla is crumbling, numbing her pain with alcohol. But Layla doesn't know the secrets Donnie keeps - and the truth will send her spiralling.

Professional businessman Johnathan Cummings finds himself on a business trip in Seattle, Washington, that promises more than just meetings and corporate dinners. This journey is his escape, an opportunity to explore his suppressed desires, far from familiar and prying eyes—notably those of his husband.

When I bounced the idea of An Accidental Life off Jim Browne, my financial manager with a keen understanding of the human condition, he said that all of us benefit from serendipity, from the accidental life. (We in fact met by happy accident.) He added that my life was and is typical, or perhaps a tad off the norm. Surely he's correct in that we all benefit from fortuitous events, but I think he's incorrect in saying that such events in my life are typical or normal.

Drop-dead-gorgeous Ethan Chambers loves his life as Hollywood's most eligible—and elusive—bachelor. Plus, the talented actor has just gotten an offer he can't refuse: a starring role on TV's hit medical drama. But it's the show's sultry makeup and wardrobe director who's got his pulse racing—and making him think twice about staying single.

From a massacre in a Honduran Amerindian village to a major corporate boardroom with a corrupt CEO, Unfinished Business grips you from the first line and doesn't let go until the stunning conclusion. A provocative, insightful thriller, Tony Tedeschi brings to this timely novel of the life-and-death struggles waged in today’s globalized business world his insider’s knowledge as a marketing consultant working closely with executives in a wide range of organizations.

For most folks, a trip to the circus is a pretty harmless thing to do – so long as you remain in your seats to enjoy the show. But it wouldn’t be a good idea if you were to get involved with the acts and, for example, tried to help a monkey escape or you got involved with an escaped lion that hates monkeys……And then one of your pals wanted to leave home and join the circus.

First rule of a marriage of convenience? Don’t get knocked up. When I tell off my new boss after he cuts in line, I think he’s about to fire me. Instead, CEO Harry O’Donnell proposes. He wants me to marry him and move in for six months. See, Harry needs a wife to inherit his family business. I need a windfall to pay for my mom’s medical bills. How hard could playing wifey be? Answer? Very.

Success in any endeavour can be achieved in just six essential steps. With these six steps, anyone can consciously elevate their life beyond their wildest expectations. Alon Ulman knows how unexpected life can be. In a plane above the Mediterranean Sea, Alon suddenly found he couldn’t breathe. After landing he was rushed to hospital where his survival from a spontaneous collapsed lung was deemed a medical miracle. A few years later Alon would complete the famously gruelling Ironman.

Tattoo artist Jamie Winston is used to caring for others. Between her assistant manager position at a tattoo parlor, single-parenting her 12-year-old daughter, and supporting her alcoholic parents, Jamie rarely prioritizes her own needs - unless Sierra Clark is in her chair. The bubbly younger woman somehow manages to make Jamie feel like the carefree teenager she never got to be, making anything seem possible.

Everyone thought Jessie Benedict's impending marriage to Sam Hatchard was a great arrangement - everyone, that is, but Jessie herself. Was she the only one who could see that Hatchard, her powerful father's protege, had a scheming ulterior motive in marrying her? He was more than just a chip off the old workaholic's block - he was positively lusting after Jessie's inheritance to build his own business empire!

In this delicious murder mystery we are introduced to Jeremy Wadlington-Smythe, a newcomer to the wonderful world of the whodunnit. In this novel, the first of the series, Jeremy, an accomplished orchestral conductor with a unique view of his mission, accepts an engagement to lead a major American symphony orchestra only to find himself in the midst of murder and mayhem.