Liberty…And Justice for All
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The Bad Judgment Series
Dangerous Proximity
Special Thanks
Thank you to my readers! Every single one of you light up my days. I love hearing from you, and also that you love the Silicon Valley Billionaires…your support means everything!
You can sign up for my mailing list at www.leighjamesbooks.com to be notified of new releases.
Thank you to Marie Force for being an amazing publisher, mentor, and person. Working with you has taught me so much—it’s a privilege and an honor! Thanks to the wonderful editing and eagle eye of Linda Ingmanson. Julie Cupp of Jack’s House, thank you for always making the publishing process shiny and painless! Also, a huge shout-out to Holly, Lisa, and the team at Jack’s House for taking me on and their continued support.
I could not write without the love and support of my husband and my three children. You guys make every day worth it. And a special shout-out to my mom, who is always ready with a pep talk, and who always told me to never give up.
About the Author
Leigh James is an author of contemporary romance and romantic suspense. She is a vocal lover of strapping alpha males in movies, books and real life, which makes her three kids roll their eyes and makes her husband feel appreciated.
When she's not writing, you can usually find her reading or watching Outlander, Game of Thrones, and Vikings (see penchant for alpha males, above). She has a degree in journalism from the University of New Hampshire, which is good for deadlines and word counts, and a law degree from Suffolk University with a Concentration in High Technology Law, which is helpful when writing about sexy tech billionaires with legal woes.
For more information about Leigh, please visit her website, “Like” Leigh on Facebook and follow her on Twitter, Instagram and Goodreads. Join Leigh’s newsletter to be the first to hear about upcoming releases. She’s loves hearing from her readers. Email her directly at [email protected]
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Sink your teeth into another powerful romantic suspense series from Jack’s House Publishing!
Wicked Beautiful
Chapter 1
Bitch: noun a slang pejorative for a woman who is belligerent, unreasonable, malicious, a control freak, rudely intrusive, or aggressive.
From behind a Plexiglas podium on the vast, lighted stage in the Broadway Ballroom of the Marriott Marquis hotel in Times Square, I stand looking out, scanning the faces of the twenty-five-hundred women in the audience.
Pride suffuses me. Even after raising the price to two hundred dollars a ticket, I’m still packing these seminars to standing room only.
Man-hating is big business. I’ve built my entire empire on it.
I lean forward and speak into the microphone. “Ladies, a show of hands, please. How many of you have ever been called a bitch?”
Over two thousand hands shoot into the air.
“Well, congratulations. You’re doing something right.”
Scattered laughter from the crowd. Smiling, at ease because I’ve given this particular speech dozens of times before, I unhook the mic and stroll out from behind the podium, smoothing a stray wrinkle from the perfectly tailored waist of my white Armani suit.
“Let’s take a closer look at this definition of bitch for a moment.” I turn to the large projection screen on the wall behind me. “Belligerent. A word meaning hostile, combative, warlike. We all know what unreasonable means: uncooperative, unhelpful, difficult.”
Grinning, I turn back to the audience. “So far, so good.”
More laughter.
“Then we have malicious. That’s a real baddie. It means intending to do harm, cruel, or unkind. No bueno, right? And how about control freak? A person who attempts to dictate how everything around her is done. Not so great. Rudely intrusive is self-explanatory, and then we come to my favorite one. Aggressive.”
The smile fades from my face. For a silent beat, I examine the audience, enjoying watching them watching me. I get such a charge from being up in front of so many people, having them hang on my every word. It’s almost better than sex.