Clash by Night (54 page)
Authors: Doreen Owens Malek
He picked up his jacket from the chair and led Lysette back into the reception area.
“I’m leaving, Gretchen,” he said to his secretary. “Just put any messages on my desk.”
“Yes, sir,” Gretchen said.
“I’ll see you for the half day tomorrow,” Becker called in farewell as they passed. Lysette smiled at her and the girl watched them go through the outer door. Becker put his arm around his wife’s waist as it closed behind them.
Gretchen’s face assumed an expression of resigned finality. She envied her employer’s wife, even though she couldn’t dislike Frau Becker because she was always so nice to her, never condescending, never a snob. But she was married to a handsome, rich and powerful man who obviously adored her, and Gretchen felt a twinge of resentment whenever she was around. She’d heard that the Frenchwoman was Becker’s second wife, a penniless refugee he’d picked up during the war. It was difficult to believe their backgrounds could be that different. The two of them were so close they hardly seemed to notice other people when they were together.
Gretchen looked down at the sheet of paper in her typewriter and studied the silent keys, dismissing the story. It was obviously fiction, the product of some rumormonger’s overworked romantic imagination. Frau Becker was French, all right, but probably from some aristocratic family with bloodlines back to Charlemagne. Becker would not have fallen for, and especially married, anything less.
Satisfied, Gretchen went back to her typing.
– THE END –
I am Doreen Owens Malek, author of over forty books and lifelong fan of romantic fiction. I live in PA with my husband and college student daughter, a mini dachshund and a sun conyer parrot. I would like to tell you a little about myself.
I came to writing by a circuitous route, starting out as an avid reader of
Jane Eyre
and
Wuthering Heights
and
Gone With the Wind
and
Rebecca
, and any other similarly themed books I could find. I first worked as a teacher and then graduated from law school when I desired a more lucrative and independent career. I had always been discouraged from pursuing a writing career by the volatile nature of the business and the relatively poor chance for success. But the realization that I needed a focus for the future encouraged me to do what I had always wanted to do. I sold my fledgling novel to the first editor who read it, and I have been writing ever since. I have written all types of books for all types of people, but my favorite literary pursuit is and always has been romance. Nothing is as rewarding as hearing from my readers, so please use my website to communicate your thoughts and criticisms, as I am always eager to learn from you.
A romance novel rarely disappoints me: in an uncertain world filled with tragedy and sadness, reading about an appealing woman finding a strong man to love her and share her life is the perfect escape. I like to read and write stories in which the main characters overcome obstacles to get together, and then stay together because their mutual devotion cannot be denied no matter what else is happening around them. They always HELP each other and reinforce the quaint but enduring notion that love conquers all—at least in the fictional universe of my imagination. So pull up a chair and take down a book—or pick up a Kindle—and join me in a world where the heroes are tough and headstrong but never boorish and the heroines are feminine and sympathetic but never helpless.
Happy reading!
— Doreen Owens Malek
See all of
Doreen Owens Malek’s
Kindle eBooks on
Amazon.com
RECENT CONTEMPORARY
ROMANCE RELEASES
by Doreen Owens Malek
Brand new, never before published
Contemporary Romance
AMANDA’S BLUE MARINE
Available for digital download
at Amazon.com, and in print at
www.doreenowensmalek.com
Amanda’s Blue Marine
marks the return of Doreen Owens Malek to publishing after a 12 year absence. It is with great pleasure that Doreen presents her new, never before published contemporary romance
Amanda’s Blue Marine
.
When Amanda Redfield, an assistant district attorney from a wealthy and prominent Philadelphia family, is being harassed by a mysterious stalker, she meets Brendan Kelly, the police detective assigned to her case. Smart and capable but deeply troubled, Kelly protects Amanda while he works to find her tormentor, but his disturbing presence and rogue behavior disrupt Amanda’s settled life. She is helplessly drawn to the sexy and charming but barely controlled cop, and as their passion grows she must choose between her prosperous and settled past and an uncertain future with a man whose own life is spiraling out of control. How she draws on her wits and resources to eventually rescue Kelly emotionally in the same way that he rescues her physically makes for a powerful and satisfying love story.
Look for the reissue of the
enormously popular
A MARRIAGE OF CONVENIENCE (1989)
,
available for digital download at Amazon.com
Taylor Braddock. His name brought back memories of a man so handsome that a young girl had fallen in love—and made a fool of herself. A man so unique he’d spoiled Sharon Philips for any other love.
But now her father’s will had joined their lives once again. In a final attempt at matchmaking, Dad left half his California horse ranch to Sharon, the other half to Braddock—provided they were husband and wife.
A quick wedding. A quick divorce. A quick sale of the ranch. It seemed simple. But time had only fueled their passion. Could Taylor erase ten years of pain and show Sharon that loving him was her destiny?
Watch For:
ANOTHER MARRIAGE
OF CONVENIENCE
(Coming Spring 2013)
The sequel to the enormously popular
A Marriage of Convenience
. Visit the next generation of Braddocks as they find heartbreak and romance on the ranch in present day California. Watch Tay and Sharon survive a rocky patch in their enduring marriage to prove once again that love conquers all.
MARRIAGE IN NAME ONLY
(Contemporary Romance
Best Seller from 1995)
Revenge is bittersweet…
when passion intervenes
Years ago Ann Talbot had been forced to leave Heath Bodine without a goodbye. Now she was back, and though Heath still had the power to make her insides quiver with longing, he had changed. Yes, he was proposing marriage. But not out of love—out of revenge. And Ann knew she had no choice but to say yes.
Heath intended to make Ann pay for running out on him. But no matter how much he tried to deny it, living under the same roof and sharing the same bed with her was going to prove his undoing. Because he didn’t just want her body, he wanted her heart as well…
NEW DIGITAL RELEASES
DECEMBER 2012
BIG EASY HEAT
(Contemporary Romance)
