Political Prick: A Hero Club Novel Read online

  Political Prick

  A Cocky Hero Novel

  Magan Vernon

  Political Prick is a standalone story inspired by Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward’s Cocky Bastard. It's published as part of the Cocky Hero Club world, a series of original works, written by various authors, and inspired by Keeland and Ward's New York Times bestselling series.

  Text copyright© 2020 by Magan Vernon

  All rights reserved

  www.maganvernon.com

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Political Prick

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Part II

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter Ten

  Part III

  Epilogue

  About The Author

  Acknowledgements

  Copyright © 2020 by Magan Vernon and Cocky Hero Club, Inc.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  This book is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations, and incidents are products of the authors’ imaginations. Any resemblance to actual persons, things, living or dead, locales, or events is entirely coincidental.

  Summary: Adrian Chase s like something out of a fantasy. Well, if my fantasies included a sexy smirk and a guy working at city hall.

  But anything further with the charmer is quickly squashed when I find out he’s on city council. The exact guy who is trying to stop the building of a new dog park that the animal shelter desperately needs close by.

  It’s literally my job as an intern to get this project seen to completion before the summer’s over. Now if only I could get this political prick out of my head long enough to do that.

  First Edition: 2020

  Cover Design by Beautifully Broken Books

  For more information about the author:

  Website: www.maganvernon.com

  For Luka,

  May you find your own furever.

  Chapter 1

  “So, as you can see, it’s all about the grip.”

  Words I never thought I’d hear my new boss, Aubrey Bateman, utter as she took the hose to the back of a pickup.

  When I first met the California lawyer, she was a regular at the Starbucks I worked at. Always in polished suits and designer heels with her brown hair swept in a stylish fashion.

  Now, in the back of the animal shelter she owned, she stood in a wet polo and jeans, barefoot as she sprayed the hose, laughing even when rogue droplets got to her ponytail and her goat, Pixy, tried to lap them up.

  “You know, when you told me you had an internship opportunity, I expected something at your animal rights law firm or behind a desk...” My worlds trailed as I looked down at the white button-down shirt and black dress pants that I still hadn’t taken the tags off. Just in case I’d need to beg for my job back at Starbucks downtown.

  “Don’t worry, there’s plenty of desk time, but if I sit for too long, Pixy gets restless and does things like make a mess in the back of the truck.” She waved one of her hands dismissively as if she just said something as normal as her coffee order.

  She hosed down the truck bed, clumps of dirty and whatever else the goat gathered up, sliding down to the cement puddle waiting below.

  “Emma does have some documents for city council that need to be dropped off.”

  She ditched the house and her wide eyes scanned me from the top of my brown hair all the way down to my toes.

  “Probably a better idea to do that then take the dogs out. Maybe tomorrow just dress casually? Or in something you don’t mind getting torn up by a bunch of pups?”

  I forced a smile, truth was, I was relieved to not have to worry about refreshing my wardrobe. But would this internship just be cleaning dog crates and maybe passing out flyers.

  I needed the hours, and the internship, to finish my last semester, but everywhere I applied for an internship either rejected me or didn’t pay. That would mean I’d have to take double shifts at Starbucks while still working another, unpaid job.

  Which I’d done all through school since I guess financial aid doesn’t take into account the market crashing and your parents almost losing everything but somehow you still have to take out a million student loans for a piece of paper.

  Luckily, as always, Chance Bateman, Aubrey’s husband, came in like the Australian angel he is and said he was sure Aubrey had something for me at the shelter and her law office.

  Now, there I was, standing there next to a woman in a dirty t-shirt petting a goat. My own, wet savior.

  “Yeah. I can definitely do that. Sorry. Didn’t know the uniform requirements...”

  I chewed on my bottom lip, wishing I had a better response.

  Aubrey snorted. “There’s no real uniform here and stop acting so nervous like I’m going to fire you for wearing real pants.”

  I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding in. “Right, sorry, it’s just. Thank you, really for all of this. I appreciate it so much.”

  She smiled, wiping her wet hand on her shorts before putting it on my shoulder.

  Aubrey was a few inches shorter than me, but her smile, and infectious personality were larger than life. I’d seen it the first time she walked into the coffee shop, then as Chance tried to woo her and brought along all of his crazy, it was the perfect storm.

  “You’re going to save the world, right? You can just think of me like Yoda to your Luke. Or is it Obi-Wan? CJ is on a Star Wars kick lately, but for the life of me, after the millionth time that kid watches it and tries to hit everything with a light saber, I blur my facts.”

  I couldn’t help the smile stretching across my face, thinking of Aubrey and Chance’s adorable kids. And the fact that she actually remembered what I said I wanted to do with my life.

  Dad wanted me to go to law school, said it was a ‘recession proof’ job. Unlike his in-tech investments.

  The only thing I was for sure I wanted to do was to make the world a better place. So, girls like me wouldn’t have to deal with their parents’ mistakes. Or those in even worse situations.

  We both settled with me going to State and majoring in Political Science.

  Just wished that after almost four years of school I really knew what ‘saving the world’ was.

  Maybe this internship would be just what I needed.

  At least it had to be better than getting yelled at for people who had the most complicated coffee orders of all time.

  After helping Aubrey storeSinc the hose, I followed her and Pixy through the path lined with palms back to the front of the Spanish-colonial style building.

  I’d always admired the architecture of the place when I drove by on my way to work downtown. But since Aubrey took over the place, it really started to shine. She and Chance worked on the landscaping, added white stucco walls and a red pitched roof. If it wasn’t for the large LED animal shelter sign against the wrought iron gate, it might have looked like just another house. But once stepping past that gate, it was anything but.

  As soon as we walked through the courtyard then through the sliding glass doors, a cool wave of air hit me straight in the face. Followed soon by the
smell of puppy breath and lemon cleaner.

  A larger than life woman sat behind the rounded desk. Literally, larger than life because she was wearing the loudest pink cheetah print shirt I’d ever seen. Her dark hair somehow still maintaining its halo of black curls while a beagle puppy sat on her lap, trying to nip at her hair.

  “Hey, Emma, how’s Luka doing?” Aubrey asked as soon as we strode up to the counter,

  That’s when I noticed the bright green bandage wrapped around the little guy’s paw. Though that didn’t stop him from trying to wriggle his whole body as he turned toward me, giving me a little head tilt.

  Emma gave an ‘are you serious’ look, trying to push the pup’s snout from her ear as he nipped. “Well, the doctor says his paw’s healing, and I think he’s getting cabin fever in his cage. I couldn’t take the crying in his cage to get out, but I’m starting to regret that decision.”

  “What happened to him?” I asked without even thinking as I gently put my hand out, palm up, toward the dog.

  He leaned forward, sniffing my hand before snorting then licking it, nipping at my fingers.

  Emma scratched him behind his chin, holding him by the collar with her other hand, I’m guessing so he didn’t jump over the counter. “He was brought in by a good Samaritan who found him in a known dumping area after he was attacked by another dog. He has some pretty nasty punctures and two of his toes were fractured.”

  A chill crept down my spine as my eyes widened. “Seriously? That’s horrible. He’s just a puppy. How could people do that?”

  Emma looked at the dog, somehow a big smile still on her face. “The world can be shitty sometimes, but knowing that this dog has a second chance, makes it all better. Even if he is going a little crazy since he hasn’t been able to run around.”

  She then turned her attention toward Aubrey. “When is city council voting on that dog park? If we get it soon, maybe we could actually take him out there instead of me trying to hold onto his leash while he pulls me to every palm in the courtyard.”

  Aubrey smiled. “I was just about to have Melanie look over the paperwork and bring it to city hall.”

  “Maybe she could give Luka a walk too?”

  Emma stared at me, blinking her false eyelashes slowly as she jutted her chin as if she were saying ‘go on, try to tell me no, and I will whip out my claws’.

  “Well, I can’t take a dog into city hall...”

  Aubrey laughed. “Of course, you can. I take Pixy all the time. It’s just a quick run in and out. You’ll be fine.”

  I looked from my smiling boss to Emma’s raised eyebrows then finally to Luka. He tilted his head, blinking those big dark eyes....and...

  What could I say? I was a sucker for a puppy look.

  Chapter 2

  For a dog with a broken paw, Luka moved incredibly fast.

  I dodged uneven dips in the sidewalk and clumps of grass from newly mowed lawns as Luka happily pranced along like he’d finally gotten his freedom ride.

  My shoulders fell as realization dawned on me.

  This wasn’t his freedom ride. He’d just have to go back to the shelter and the little yard he relieved himself in and then went back to his medical boarding.

  I glanced down at the folder in my hand. I didn’t get to read over as much of it as I wanted since Luka was bouncing at my heels, ready to go for his walk, but from Aubrey’s explanation, I knew they were trying to buy a vacant lot on Main and turn it into a dog park that could be used by the city, but especially the shelter dogs.

  It would only be a block away from the shelter and they’d have a sectioned off area for older dogs and meetings for the dogs waiting to be adopted, especially the more timid ones who weren’t sure of big crowds.

  To me, it seemed like the perfect use of that flattened space that had been nothing but a dumping ground as long as I’d known it.

  City Hall loomed over the sidewalk, like a stucco beacon.

  It wasn’t a scary looking building by any means with its manicured palms lining the sidewalk and even a little porch complete with wooden rockers.

  But the only time I’d ever been in there was for a parking ticket and now I was about to walk in with a dog and had to pretend I had enough confidence to know where I was going and drop off this folder for Aubrey. My first task as an intern.

  I guess if watching as she cleaned out the truck didn’t count.

  Looking down at the beagle’s puppy dog eyes, I squared my shoulders. “Think we can do this, Luka?”

  He wagged his tail in response.

  “All right, let’s do this.”

  I held my head high; careful my heels didn’t get caught in the ruts of the path as we made our way to the glass doors.

  Of course, Luka didn’t get the memo we were trying to be professional.

  He tugged on the leash with each step, panting hard while his paws skid against the sidewalk then slid as soon as they hit the tile floor inside.

  “Luka, come on, calm down boy,” I whispered, trying to grasp the folder tightly in one hand and grip as much of his leash as I could with the other.

  “What is a dog doing in here?” A deep, husky voice echoed.

  My shoulders shook as I turned about to defend my case, but as I turned, Luka got a wild hair, deciding to wrap the leash through my legs, locking my legs together.

  Before I could think of a way to get out of the tangle of fabric, twisting my body out, my head hit a brick wall. My feet slipped underneath me and I had to decide whether to catch myself or the folder that was now slipping through my grasp.

  Luka decided that for me as he tugged on the leash before I could right myself and documents went floating around me like a paper snowstorm.

  The brick wall vibrated underneath me.

  Oh shit.

  This wasn’t a wall.

  This was warm.

  And ridiculously hard.

  I looked up to meet a hazel gaze, only accentuated by a pair of aviator style glasses.

  Holy hell, the guy was smiling at me.

  A freaking dimpled smile like out of a fantasy I didn’t know I had.

  Trying not to stare, I did a quick assessment of the man in front of me.

  Effortlessly styled, short cropped hair? Check.

  Suit molding to his broad shoulders and that hard chest like it was made for him? Check.

  Staring at me like I was the craziest thing on the planet? Also check.

  “Oh, I’m, um, sorry.” My face flushed as I bent down, trying to untangle Luka with one hand and grab the fallen papers with the other.

  “Here, let me help you.”

  He crouched down in front of me and the manly scent of his cologne hit me. Or maybe it wasn’t cologne and he just smelled that woodsy and clean.

  “No, it’s fine. Really, I got it.”

  Someone else noticed the smell too because as soon as the man was close enough, Luka whined, tugging at his leash, only to get caught short because he’s already wrapped himself around me.

  The little beagle whined, his tail thwapping against my back.

  “Luka,” I chided, unwinding the leash from my legs, and staring at the little face next to me so I wouldn’t keep checking out the man in front of me.

  “Hey, I know this area.” The man’s husky voice had me pulling forward, holding Luka with one arm as I looked up to see him staring at a paper with a map of the empty lot.

  “Yeah, that’s where the shelter is proposing a new dog park be placed. Thus, why I’m here with Mr. Luka, dropping off the proposal. He needs a new place to run and heal this broken foot.”

  Dammit I was babbling.

  In my head I had this whole speech prepared that I was going to tell someone if they asked about the area, but instead I was just trying to hold a dog back and staring at possibly the sexiest man I’d ever seen.

  Even if he did have glasses that looked like the ones my dad wore in the 80s. Somehow that just added to the whole suit-wearing-sex-on-a-stick thing.
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  He smirked. A smirk that brought out a damn dimple on his chin.

  Why did he have to have that little signature?

  It just made me want to lick it.

  And this was definitely not the place or time.

  “Ah, so you’re the one trying to get in the way of my strip mall.”

  My shoulders tensed as I blinked hard. “Your what?”

  He picked up the last of the papers shuffling them on his leg, that damn smirk still on his face as I just sat there with my mouth open.

  “My company, Chase Properties, put in a bid to build a strip mall there. But I guess your organization is who I’ll be seeing at the city council meeting.”

  Chase Properties.

  Adrian Chase.

  The most eligible bachelor in the area.

  They did a full spread on him in one of the local magazines.

  City councilman, billionaire, and bachelor at the age of twenty-five.

  I guess they also forgot to add besides being at the top of his political game, he was also kind of a prick.

  A political prick.

  “Yes, yes you will,” I snapped, ripping the pages from his hand. “And I hope you sleep well knowing you’re trying to keep a park from some defenseless animals.”

  He had the nerve to laugh.

  “It’s just politics. Nothing personal.”

  “Seriously? You’re saying that as a dog with a broken foot is staring right at you?” I gritted, my heart pounding in my ears.

  “Well. Technically the dog isn’t supposed to be in the building.”

  Ugh. I groaned, snatching up the last of the papers and clutching them against my chest.

  “I have to go deliver these and then my dog and I will be out of here.” I stood up, glaring at the damn man who still had that dimpled smile that I was trying not to stare at.

  “But we will see you again at the next city council meeting.”

  He laughed. “I look forward to it.”

  Chapter 3

  The papers may have been full of dog hair and not in the right order when I dropped them off to the wide-eyed, blue haired lady at the desk, but I didn’t care.