Stoned: A Billionaire Stepbrother With Benefits Romance (My Brother's Keeper Book 1) by Cynthia Sharon Page A

couldn’t hide their
reactions to that. A few whispered behind her and at least one
literally had their jaw hanging open. Her own heart started to
race. Sure, Allison had known the company had taken a few hits in
the last few years and that, unfortunately, Robert Stone and his
outfit had stolen quite a few of their clients away. She had no
idea that losing Schmidt’s would put the company in such a
precarious financial position.
    Besides, it’s not like she hadn’t tried her
best. The campaign had been something she’d worked hard on for
three months, and she believed that creating a fantasy vacation for
everyone, both men and women, would have been a blockbuster way to
sell the beer.
    How could she have been so wrong?
    Kristen, bless her, stampeded past the pause
in the room. The girl never had known when there was tension rising
anywhere. “What does that even mean, Mr. McDonough?”
    “It means that I have to meet with my
accountants and figure out what the future of our company is, and
it means that both you, Ms. Fine, as well as Ms. Shepard are being
busted back down to the Wally Weasel account. That place sells
itself.”
    Allison groaned. Wally Weasel was a mix of
arcade games and a filthy ball pit with a singing animatronic stage
show centered around the titular mammal. For whatever reason, the
owners of the place always insisted that meetings take place in a
local franchise and right in the dining room with screaming kids
everywhere. They said it helped inspire people, so that they could
see exactly what the heart of their brand was.
    Allison already knew that.
    It involved bored, desperate weekend dads,
vomit, and pizza made from day-old ingredients. It was also the
account no one wanted, the one she’d been forced onto fresh out of
college.
    “Did I hear something out of you?” McDonough
said. “At least that account has never wavered. It’s not the sort
of thing that fucking Stone can sex up or steal and, thus, it must
be perfect for you.”
    “I made a miscalculation.”
    “You made a massive error, Shepard. Now get
out of my office before I make you the damn janitor.”

CHAPTER TWO
     
     
    “This is the worst thing that’s ever happened
to me. I spent a year with Wally Weasel. I did my time in pizza and
corndog Hell. I hate it. I worked for months crafting that campaign
and it was going to work, I swear.”
    Her best friend and former roommate, Cassidy,
just pushed her long red hair back in a ponytail and shrugged back
at her. Allison had always been a bit jealous of the other girl.
She was tall, while Allison, herself, was barely 5’3, and her hair
was so thick and long.
    Allison had never been able to get hers to
grow out that well and so she kept it in a short blonde bob. Hell,
both her fiancé and her father couldn’t see what drew the two girls
together.
    Allison was studious, completely the type-A
personality, and Cassidy had always been bubbly and very affable,
but not necessarily the brightest crayon in the box. It made sense
to Allison, though. When Cassidy needed someone to remind her to
pay her bills or double check to make sure things in the
refrigerator weren’t growing fur, she was there. In turn, when
Allison needed to cut loose, Cassidy was the person who knew how to
cut through her crap.
    “It’s not completely your fault,” the redhead
offered, pouring her a shot of Jack Daniels.
    Allison wasn’t a drinker by nature, wasn’t
usually more than into white wine, but she needed something
stronger to get through such a shit day. Taking a quick swallow,
she glared back at her friend. “Why am I here?”
    Cassidy sighed and pulled out a rag to clean
the bar. It wasn’t overly crowded at Sully’s tonight, and she was
able to spend more time hanging by Allison. “Well, you could have
been a bit more ‘Stone-like’ in your approach.”
    “So you’re saying it’s my fault because I
didn’t have enough T and A on things?”
    “I’m saying that Stone’s work sucks, but