Title: Second Chance
Series: Fighting Chance, Book Two
Author: Anni Lee
Publisher: NineStar Press
Release Date: 01/25/2022
Length: 50100
Genre: Contemporary, LGBTQIA+, music industry, gay, mafia, mobsters, crime romance, romance comedy, rom com, superstar romance, office romance, secret lovers, blackmail, scandal
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Description
Long before Jay McClintock and Brad Garza were music industry royalty, Jay was an ambitious intern and Brad was an awkward farm boy. But the ladder to the top was anything but smooth and anything but legal. And their relationship? That was anything but HR safe.
Getting ahead in the cut-throat world of the Los Angeles music industry means making some dark deals, and Jay was so eager to make his client (and crush) shine, that he was ready to make them all. As some bold moves have Brad’s popularity taking off into the stratosphere, Jay is digging himself deeper and deeper into the hole. If only he had known that the shovel belonged to the same men who ran his father off the road all those years ago.
Second Chance is the second book in the Fighting Chance series, following Jay McClintock’s career from an unlikely intern to a star writer, Brad Garza’s career from a humble farmer to a musician for the ages, and the trials that brought them together and tore them apart. If either man wants any chance of finding their Happily Ever After, they’ll have to face the past that made them head-on.
Second Chance
Anni Lee © 2022
All Rights Reserved
Mark McClintock handed me a mug and sat down at the kitchen table. “How have your studies been going, Jay?”
It had been six years since my birth father went over the cliff and my mother was taken from me. Five since Mark had adopted me. I might never know what happened in that year I was in a coma, but it didn’t matter anymore. I was twenty-one years old now, and I had my own life to worry about.
And it was a good life so far. Mark made sure of that. He paid for my schooling, my college, my extracurriculars, and more than I ever could have asked for. Though I never was able to get myself to call him dad. I didn’t believe in using words lightly. That title held too much power.
“They’re boring.” I took a sip of coffee, my expression flattening as it slid down my throat. It barely counted as coffee with the amount of cream and sugar he always used. “My professors can preach theory all day, but I doubt any of them know how to make something anyone would actually want to buy. It’s like the blind leading the blind.”
“They don’t hire professors without proper vetting, you know. They’re all former industry professionals.” Mark cocked an eyebrow.
“‘Former’ being the key word.” I rolled my eyes. “Five years ago everyone was listening to ‘screamo’ punk rock. Two years ago, they were listening to dubstep. Now the radio is overflowing with twangy acoustic ballads. If what they did still worked, they wouldn’t be ‘former’ anything. They’d be making bank writing the next big hit.”
“Those who can’t, teach?” Mark chuckled. “The world is a little more complicated than that. But I suppose I don’t need to tell you that, since it sounds like you already know everything.”
My gaze shot to the side, feeling a touch embarrassed by my adoptive father’s ribbing. “I mean, I don’t know everything, but I bet I’ve studied the current musical climate more than they have. And I think I can predict where it’s going.”
“Is that right?” He flashed me a mocking grin. “Do you want to put that theory to the test?”
“It’s not a theory,” I said, not giving an inch to his provocation.
“Okay.” Mark casually pulled his phone from his pocket and slid his finger through the contact list. He stopped only long enough to hit call. He held up a finger to ask for a moment. “Good morning… Yes, it’s been a while… No, that’s not why I’m calling… Right. Anyway, I’ve got a favor to ask you. You’re looking for interns, correct?”
My eyes widened. Who is he talking to? Mark listened for a few moments, then continued.
“Are you sure about that?” His voice was stern, bordering on a little scary. The last time I had heard him use that tone was when I had gotten in well past 2:00 a.m. on a school night in high school. That didn’t happen a second time. “…That’s what I thought. I’ve got a perfect candidate for you. I’ll email you the details.” He hung up and returned his attention to me. “You’ll be starting at ALIVE Records on Monday.”
ALIVE Records?! He was talking to ALIVE Records?! I was speechless, though I didn’t want him to know that. I held my composure and kept my eyes on his. “ALIVE? I didn’t know you knew people in the record industry.”
Mark stood up, putting me below him as he spoke. “How long do you think it will take to sell your first smash hit? Four years? Five?” His tone was unreadable. Though showing no obvious emotion was its own emotion.
Five years sounded like a lifetime. I smirked back at him. “Three. At most.”
“Ha!” Mark must not have been able to hold back his doubt anymore. “You have much to learn, Jay.” His phone buzzed, and he glanced at the message. A smile settled on his lips. “Not a minute over three years then.”
He ruffled my hair as he walked by and exited the room, no longer making eye contact as he went. I unconsciously took another sip of my coffee. Even the cloying sweetness couldn’t penetrate the nerves multiplying in my stomach. Did I really just get a job at one of the largest record companies in the world?
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Whether she’s racing motorcycles faster than a RomCom lead’s beating heart, or scuba diving deeper than the pit of love they fall into, Anni Lee is always down for an adventure. She was born and raised in Los Angeles with four siblings and a single mother, which is probably why she has such a penchant for writing big city love and tenacious (albeit dysfunctional) heroes.
When she’s not typing away behind her laptop, she’s living out of a tent off the back of her motorcycle on her quest to ride around the world. The wilderness is the best place to catch up on reading, after all!
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