Burton CHARACTERS

1. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 979-8-31783728-0
Verlag: BookBaby
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 376 Seiten

Reihe: CHARACTERS

After securing the job of his dreams, things turn terribly wrong for Devin Mitchel. He suddenly finds his 'new' life spiraling out of control, and all he wants is his old life back. But at this point, it may be too late. He has learned of their secrets. Dark, disturbing secrets. Now he must solve a deadly puzzle before his life disappears forever. Along with the rest of the world.

Ray Burton was born and raised in Detroit MI and now resides with his family in Nashville TN. Other Thriller/Horror books by Ray Burton include: 'The Past Comes Looking' and 'The Entitled'. For Book Signings, Autographed Copies and Guest Appearances, please contact Ray at [e-mail] or Facebook Messenger.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Burton, Ray

Leseproben

CHAPTER ONE:
ABOUT TWO YEARS EARLIER
“Career Driven”

Perfectly-manicured nails drummed and tapped the surface of her desk, as Joanna sat in her cubicle.

Then her slender fingers curled around the cellphone lying beside her computer. I watched as she handled her business as Unit Lead Account Manager for one of the most competitive and powerful insurance firms operating in the Southern Region: Kasner & Kasner. Experts say that it was just a matter of time before the firm went global.

Being a Unit Lead Account Manager, Joanna’s main duty consisted of managing a ten-person team—along with everyone’s personal life in the fifty-member department. But nobody seemed to mind; they even welcomed her input.

Including me.

I needed all the help I could get—being the only Black guy in the office. I guess I was that ‘mannequin’ every firm needed but I was okay with it.

When Kasner & Kasner hired me part-time during my second year at Tennessee School of Business, which catered almost exclusively to women and minorities, I almost did a backflip.

This was my big chance, an opportunity to grab the golden ring for myself, by myself, and there was no way I was going to blow it. If I had to work a hundred hours a week, I would work a hundred hours a week. I’d be that poor office guy—working well past quitting time, at his desk ridiculously early.

And so far, it was working. I’d been offered a full-time position at Kasner & Kasner, upon obtaining my business degree, and I planned on doing all the prep work needed for future advancement.

I got this, I always told myself.

Hopefully…

I watched Joanna punch a single button on her phone, ending her call. Almost immediately she lifted the phone back to her ear while reclining in her seat, making another call. I ran suspicious, lusting eyes in her direction, taking a quick mental inventory of her actions. The way she moved. Her mannerisms. The way she tossed her hair.

I had a great view.

It was like having the best seat in the house, a gaze away from this fine-ass woman: twenty-five years old but younger looking; long, raven-black hair with one side tucked neatly behind her ear; slender-jawed, even-featured, a honey-tinted face with round, brown eyes, around five-ten, slim yet shapely, with a great set of bulbous tits that bounced whenever she walked; she was always dressed in business suits, this one dark blue, which showed a pair of killer legs and a sculptured ass.

Now, don’t get me wrong. There were quite a few good-looking women working around me: Black, White, Hispanic, Asian, that were all drop-dead gorgeous, tits and ass to boot, but Joanna was the standout.

The cream of the crop.

She carried that ‘polished’ look. From head to toe. Class, sass, and ass. With everything coming together nicely. Even her walk was poetry in motion. Her hips and arms swayed in perfect unison; her stride and confidence were undeniable.

Hypnotizing…

Almost to the point where I had to divert my eyes and keep my face impassive whenever she walked by. The last thing I needed was to have HR bringing charges against me for looking at a fellow colleague with lusting eyes.

But beauty was just one part of Joanna’s attraction. She was the only person who seemed to bring ‘life’ into the office. The girl had a gift. Every word she spoke seemed crafted for everyone. Every smile she doled out—with dimples that popped even when she wasn’t smiling—was intended for everyone. I knew without a doubt she was going places.

Without getting on her knees behind closed doors.

As Joanna swiveled from side to side in her chair, I felt my lips curving into a wicked smile. You’d like to bang the hell out of her, wouldn’t you, Mr. Devin Mitchel? I asked myself.

Yes, I admitted, I would. I most certainly would. Very much so, thank you!

But shit like that wasn’t going to happen for guys like me. For starters, I wore thick glasses, and I was kind of short: five-six. My body was stocky and my face was wide; my complexion was dark. Very dark—dark as the darkest night on record.

My overall appearance was below average, at best. I was not the sort of guy who’d fit well in most women’s romantic fantasies.

Women rarely gave me a second glance.

Not even a first one.

I could have been a piece of furniture.

To top it off, my voice was slightly off-pitched, as if the tone was stuck somewhere between manhood and puberty. But I did sport a few noteworthy attributes: I was friendly and generally easy-going around people, even pretending to be interested in their interests. I never raised my voice, offered a nice smile, kept my short hair neatly-trimmed, and I was clean and well-groomed. Okay, somebody did say at one time that I had pretty eyes. Who knows? It might have been my mother.

I sucked in my breath and sighed heavily. I looked down at my hands. At least my nails look good, I smiled.

About an hour went by, and like clockwork, I cut another sly glance over to Joanna, while pretending to be on a business call. The girl had some firm-looking legs, even in pantsuits. I wondered who she was seeing.

Who was the lucky guy pounding that shit at night?

I wondered about this all the time, ever since we met about four months ago. Sometimes I’d sit staring at her for minutes on end—seemingly hours at a time. And this really annoyed me. Just as it was now. In fact, it was annoying the hell out of me. So I turned away so it wouldn’t annoy me any further.

Except, dammit, it still did. It always did.

And then, like an anvil from the sky, reality fell over me. On me.

There was no way I could have a woman like her so I needed to get these kinds of hopes well out of my head. Heave that bullshit right into a dumpster and close the lid. Though our cubicles were somewhat close our worlds were far apart.

I was a groupie in the audience with front row seating and she was the main attraction on stage.

A prize unattainable.

Case closed.

For the first time today I realized what I was doing: spiraling downward in matters which didn’t concern me. I was doing that ‘pity-party’ shit again.

No! I needed to stay focus.

The truth was if I wanted to pull down and keep pulling down those future fat paychecks, I needed to pull my head as well as my eyes from out of my ass—Joanna’s ass!—and keep my mind on my job!

Damn my looks! Damn my chances at Joanna!

After a few minutes more I proceeded to end my ‘pretend’ call and stole a glance at my phone: 1:59 pm. Two more hours to go. I dove back into my work: checking e-mails, answering and making real calls, rechecking policies, making sure coverage was correct along with everything else. An hour passed, with an hour of paperwork still ahead of me. I got up from my desk, got a refill of coffee, and returned to my cubicle. Once seated I picked up my coffee mug and raised it to my lips, then I placed it back on my desk and pushed it away. From experience I knew that one more blast of caffeine, especially at this time of day, wouldn’t do me any good; it would only keep me up later in the evening.

Still, I was sinking fast. With a shake of my head, I refocused my attention to the stack of forms in front of me.

That’s when I heard a voice.

“Hey, Devin.”

Almost immediately I looked up.

It was Joanna!

I leaned forward in my seat. Nervous as hell but remaining cool. I stared at her, stared straight through her. “Hey, Joanna,” I smiled weakly, wetting my dry lips afterwards. “How are you doing today?”

She smiled back. “I’m doing well, Devin.” She looked around the office then placed a hand on my shoulder as she whispered in my ear, “Actually, I’m not. Between you and me, I’ll be glad when this day is over with. My fucking feet are killing me.”

In response, I pushed my thick glasses up on my nose. “Well, the day is almost done. Then you can settle back, kick off those shoes and relax...