TAKING A CHANCE ON LOVE (The Youngers #2)

Chapter One Thea Younger looked over her shoulder to make sure her boss wasn’t around and opened a new tab on her Internet browser. She’d already gotten in trouble once before for looking at this website, but she just couldn’t help herself. The photos were mesmerizing; they made her mouth water and her heart pound faster. Her body heated with anticipation as she paged through the photos, one after another, already knowing what she’d see but needing to take them in just one more time. Who knew that looking at trees could be such a turn-on? “Whatcha doing?” Nicole, Thea’s fellow administrative assistant at the law office where they both worked, asked. She chuckled when she spotted what Thea was doing. “Are you looking at that cabin again?” Thea sighed happily. “Isn’t it gorgeous? I’ll be there in three days, Nicole. Only. Three. Days.” She paged to the photo that showed the inside of the cabin, which featured an expansive fireplace and high ceilings made entirely of gorgeous oak. Thea had wanted to stay at one of the Mighty Pine cabins for over two years now. She’d finally been able to reserve one of the cabins a month ago, and she would be staying up in the Cascades all by her lonesome for two weeks. Nicole sighed. “Honey, we need to get you a date if you’re drooling over pine trees for the thousandth time this week. What’s so great about this place, anyway? It’s not like Washington doesn’t have trees all over the place.” “But it’s the scenery. The open air. You can see the stars! Getting away from the city—” “We hardly live in a city—” Well, Thea couldn’t argue with that. They lived in Fair Haven, Washington, which was more aptly described as a small town. “Doesn’t matter, because I leave everything behind me for two weeks.” Thea sighed happily. Right then, Thea heard footsteps. She promptly closed the webpage just as her boss rounded the corner to her desk. She’d never thought as a kid that she’d grow up to work in an office, bored out of her mind. It was hardly the stuff dreams were made of. To be honest, Thea had wanted to be a unicorn when she’d been little. Then, when she’d realized that she couldn’t exactly get a job as a unicorn, she’d decided to become an artist. At least that way, she could draw unicorns to her heart’s content. Even now, she still wanted to become an artist who actually got paid for her art (although she no longer drew unicorns), but that would also mean showing her work to other people. That was something she still couldn’t do. “Oooooh, he is so hot. Thea, come look at this.” Nicole popped her head over the wall of her cubicle like a groundhog. “Your favorite guy is talking again.” Thea shouldn’t give in to temptation. She had work to do. Receipts to log, schedules to create… just the thought of both of those things made her get out of her chair to hang with Nicole in her cubicle instead. She’d never claimed to be the greatest worker in the world. Besides, the day was almost over. Thea’s lip curled when she saw who was on Nicole’s screen: none other than Anthony Bertram, CEO of Bertram, Sons, and Co., the worst company in the history of forever. Not only were they a multibillion-dollar company whose CEO drew an obscenely huge salary, but they continued to do animal testing for their cosmetic and cleaning products even though there was no reason to do so. They basically tortured animals for money. It was disgusting. Thea hated Anthony and everything he stood for. “Look at his stupid, smug face,” she hissed. “Shh!” Nicole turned up the volume on the livestream, obviously not caring if they got caught. Such was the lure of the handsome and rich Anthony Bertram. Thea could admit that he was handsome, in a rich, smug, stupid, arrogant, selfish kind of way. His hair was dark, his jaw strong; he had one of those smiles that made a woman all weak-kneed. He clearly worked out, his suits fitting him perfectly, emphasizing his muscular shoulders and wide chest. He wasn’t bulky, though, but tall and fit. At the moment, he wore a dark gray suit with a blue tie; his cufflinks winked in the light of the news studio. They probably cost more than Thea’s annual salary. “How has the company dealt with the social media controversy?” the news anchor asked Anthony. Thea barely restrained a snort when the perky and busty anchor licked her bottom lip as she asked Anthony the question. “These things come and go,” said Anthony without any change of expression. “There were a lot of misrepresentations and outright lies in that campaign, and unfortunately, these kinds of things tend to spread like wildfire on the Internet. It’s best to wait for it to blow over than to address it directly.” “Can you comment on the controversy itself? Will Bertram, Sons, and Co. continue to do animal testing?” Anthony’s lips turned upward, but it wasn’t a smile. Not really. It looked like a predator spotting its prey. Thea shivered at that look in his eyes. “I can’t comment on that,” he said, “but as we have said in our statement earlier this week, we pride ourselves on the products we sell, none of which contain parabens or toxins and all of which are one hundred percent organic. We were one of the first in the industry to do so.” “Yes, but the allegations against you—” “Are ludicrous,” interrupted Anthony. “It’s nothing except unfounded rumors and salacious gossip. I applaud activists who want to make the world a better place, but when doing so hurts other people, who are they saving? Or what are they saving? Nothing. They’re only patting themselves on the back for doing what they think is right.” Thea turned red with anger at that comment. She wished she could strangle Anthony Bertram through the computer screen. What an arrogant asshole! That viral campaign had been about exposing the truth and showing consumers where their money was going. Thea would know: she’d been one of the primary people behind the campaign. It had been her best friend Mittens’s idea. Milton Haverford III, more commonly known as Mittens, was always the instigator in their circle, while Thea would take on ideas and make them into reality. This time, though, Thea had come up with original idea of a viral social media campaign against Anthony’s company. Other members of their activist group had soon joined in. The social media campaign against Bertram, Sons, and Co. had grown slowly, and then a huge celebrity had shared the photos of suffering animals—rabbits and rats, primarily—and it had exploded. Within the last two weeks, Bertram, Sons, and Co. had had to address the allegations, and apparently their stock had plummeted. People were boycotting their products. When Thea had gone to the grocery store just yesterday, she’d seen the company’s cleaning products sitting on the clearance shelves, collecting dust. Seeing that had filled Thea with pride. She’d done that. She’d made a difference. If they kept pushing, Bertram, Sons, and Co. and other companies like it would have to make changes if they wanted to stay in business. Simple as that. The news anchor began asking other questions unrelated to the controversy, and Anthony looked bored. He checked his watch at one point. You’d think after everything that happened, he’d at least attempt to be apologetic, thought Thea. “God, he’s hot,” Nicole repeated. She sighed dreamily. “He’s a terrible person,” countered Thea. “We’re all terrible people at the end of the day.” Nicole rolled her eyes. “Besides, he’s rich. Don’t tell me you wouldn’t ride that train to Pound Town if given half a chance.” Thea scoffed, although to her annoyance, she felt her cheeks redden. She hadn’t ridden anyone to Pound Town in way too long. “I prefer my men to have morals. Ethics. A conscience,” said Thea. “You mean you prefer men who are boring and you can dump without getting attached? I’ve known you long enough to know what makes you tick, Miss Thea, dear. And I’ve seen the dudes you’ve dated. They’re like warm tapioca: pointless and bland.” Thea shoved Nicole lightly, not willing to admit how right her coworker and friend was. So what if she preferred her men to be a little unexciting? At least they weren’t evil. “Do you have anything else you’d like to say about all of this?” the news anchor asked. Anthony straightened his cuffs. “I’d like to address the people who instigated this.” He gazed straight at the camera now. “Your actions have consequences and will hurt real people.” He didn’t say anything else, but those words settled in Thea’s stomach like a rock. They’d done this to help animals and people. How could they be hurting anyone? He was the one at fault here. But was Anthony just posturing, or was there truth in his words? Thea put that out of her mind. She just had three more days, and she would be on vacation, enjoying the beauty of the woods, the open air, and not worrying about smug rich assholes like Anthony Bertram.