I’m late today! It’s been an awful couple of days and anticipated coming week for me. Super stressful. I haven’t even written the last two days; it’s been that bad.

Anyway, I have started a new book, titled Stone’s Mistake. It may or may not turn into a series. Today I’m cutting to the chase. You get 8 chapters from chapter 2, which is the beginning of an MC’s point of view. This is completely unedited, so bear with me! =P

Morgan hit the button on the coffee pot to set the dark liquid brewing. It took a few minutes, but the scent wafted over to her, and she shuddered. She needed that dark brew at her lips immediately. Tapping her short fingernails against the counter, she stared down the coffee pot and willed it to brew faster.

Her day was going to be a busy and boring one, and while she didn’t relish going into the office in the middle of a snow storm that was supposed to hit them midday, she knew she had no other choice. There was paperwork to be done, research to be looked into, and conspiracies to test. Swallowing, Morgan glanced back down at the coffee, glad to see there was finally enough in the pot for one cup. She’d need at least three to get her brain spinning gears fast enough to work.

She grabbed her favorite mug her mother had given her with The Golden Girls on the side of it and jerked the pot back. The hiss of coffee falling directly onto the warmer underneath didn’t phase her as she poured her cup and set the pot back. One teaspoon of sugar later, and she was leaning against the counter, sipping the coffee and groaning as it’s dark roast hit the front of her tongue. It was heavenly.

It was going to be a hellaciously long couple weeks at work. She was due to leave the Chicago office and head south into Kansas on Friday and wasn’t planning on being back for at least seven to ten days. Clenching her jaw, Morgan looked around the tiny apartment she was so pleased to call home for less than half the year and sneered. She should probably clean up before she left, that way when she returned she’d have time to relax.

Snorting as the thought ran through her head, she rolled her eyes. Who was she kidding? She didn’t relax. The next sip of coffee hit the back of her throat, and Morgan felt the dregs of sleep pushing from her brain and clearing her thoughts. Perhaps she could get a cat. That could be good company for when she was actually at the apartment, and while she was gone, the cat could easily take care of itself.

Morgan hummed and shook her head. No, what she needed was a date. It was nearing on a year since she’d gone on her last tried and true date, which had been an utter disaster. Getting called in to help with a homicidal maniac in the middle of a first date wasn’t exactly the best way to begin a relationship. She shook her head. Dating apps had failed her, going to the bar had failed her. She was left with little else to make connections for her except friends, which she was severely limited on.

Her coffee mug was halfway empty before she slipped from leaning against the counter and headed for her small bedroom off the side of her living area. The bedsheets were strewn apart after she’d forced herself to exit the warmth. She had clothes all over the floor that she had yet to pick up and wash, but it didn’t matter. She wouldn’t have time until the weekend anyway, which she wouldn’t be home for.

Clucking her tongue, Morgan set her coffee down on her night stand and tugged off her loose shirt and pajama bottoms, shucking them to the floor right by her bedside. That way when she returned in the wee hours of the night, she wouldn’t have to stumble around to find them. With a fresh pair of undies, the bra she’d worn the last week, Morgan dressed.