Searching for a Heart

  

  Suncoast Society

  Searching for a Heart

  Maddison has a great job working in paradise. All she’s lacking is someone to share her life with. Except right now, she doesn’t really have time for romance…or so she tells herself. Until one phone call changes everything. Now she’s unemployed and living in her bestie’s spare bedroom.

  Milo’s escaped a loveless marriage to a cheating wife and wants to soak up every ounce of knowledge about BDSM that he can absorb from his friends. Oh, and buy new furniture, since he doesn’t have any. He’ll probably never get married again. He doesn’t anticipate falling in love, but then again, he’s never met anyone like Maddison before.

  With the Frightful Five’s blessings, Maddison finds herself drawn to the hunky, heartbroken guy, and things quickly heat up between them. But a rope scene isn’t a romance. When Maddison ends up fighting for her life, will Milo prove to her he’s her forever guy and the heart she’s always searched for?

  Genres: BDSM, Contemporary

  Length: 50,628

  SEARCHING FOR A HEART

  Suncoast Society

  Tymber Dalton

  

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  Searching for a Heart

  Copyright © 2018 by Tymber Dalton

  ISBN: 978-1-64243-373-9

  First Publication: August 2018

  Cover design by Harris Channing

  All art and logo copyright © 2018 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  If you find a Siren-BookStrand e-book or print book being sold or shared illegally, please let us know at [email protected]

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  DEDICATION

  For Hubby, and for Sir. And special thanks to Michelle for the “baby Dom” line.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Tymber Dalton is the wild-child alter-ego of author Lesli Richardson. She lives in the Tampa Bay region of Florida with her husband (aka “The World’s Best Husband™”) and too many pets. Active in the BDSM lifestyle, the two-time EPIC award winner and part-time Viking shield-maiden loves to shoot skeet and play D&D with her friends. She’s also the bestselling author of over one hundred and fifty books and counting, including The Reluctant Dom, The Denim Dom, Cardinal’s Rule, the Suncoast Society series, the Love Slave for Two series, the Triple Trouble series, the Coffeeshop Coven series, the Good Will Ghost Hunting series, the Drunk Monkeys series, and many more.

  She loves to hear from readers! Please feel free to drop by her website and sign up for her newsletter to keep abreast of the latest news, snarkage, and releases. You can also find all of her Siren-BookStrand releases under all four of her pen names on her author page on the BookStrand site.

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  For all titles by Tymber Dalton, please visit

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  Author’s Note

  This is book 80 in the Suncoast Society series.

  Maddison is a woman, first and foremost. Please understand that there is a wide spectrum of experiences and situations regarding people who are trans. Maddison’s story is only one small facet of that. Her story is certainly a best-case scenario in many ways, but in no way is meant to represent every person’s experience, only hers.

  Maddison was introduced in Court and Spark. This book is a direct sequel to that one. While you don’t need to read that one first to understand her story, it will give you more backstory about her character, as well as about Fen and Joel.

  Milo was first introduced as a minor character back in A Roll of the Dice, and he’s made brief appearances in other books, such as Initiative and See You Sometime.

  Fen and Joel first appeared in Reconsider Me, and again in Court and Spark.

  Some of the characters in this book appear in or are featured in previous books in the Suncoast Society series. While most of the books in the Suncoast Society series are standalone works which may be read independently of each other, the recommended reading order to avoid spoilers and to not miss any backstory can be found on the Suncoast Society series page on my website at:

  http://tymberdalton.com/books/series-info/suncoast-society/

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  SEARCHING FOR A HEART

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  SEARCHING FOR A HEART

  Suncoast Society

  TYMBER DALTON

  Copyright © 2018

  Chapter One

  You have got to be shitting me.

  Maddison stared at the laptop on her desk as she tried to focus on her phone call. Mondays were supposed to be shitty, not Tuesdays. She’d been working on monthly reports when the phone call dropped a massive shit-bomb right into her lap.

  “So, you see, you have to understand my position,” her caller said.

  She struggled against the urge to launch her cell through her laptop screen. “No, I don’t understand your position at all, Mr. Gonzales,” she managed, keeping her tone low and steady.

  Barely.

  “Because they’re going for a new…brand. Not that you haven’t been doing a good job, because you have. You’re amazing. I promise I will give you a generous severance package, as well as a glowing recommendation.”

  “I still don’t understand why I’m not being kept on.”

  There was a slight hesitation, and that’s when she knew.

  “My new partners have made it clear that their participation in this deal is dependent upon them installing a new resort manager from their existing portfolio of holdings.”

  “Any particular reason why? If my performance has been so good, and since I already know the resort and employees, I’d think they’d want someone familiar with ops staying on board to run the resort. Especially through such a large transition.”

  Oh, she suspected she could tie him up and try yanking his teeth out with a pair of pliers and he wouldn’t admit the truth. Not out loud
, and definitely not around her.

  Not and risk a lawsuit over it.

  “The investors are bringing in another manager who’s overseen similar resort mergers and renovations,” he said just a little too quickly, like he’d planned it in advance.

  Or been carefully coached.

  She leaned back in her chair. “I see.”

  “The new manager will be in town on Friday for an initial site visit. It’ll take him a week or two before he’s there full-time. We’ll want you to stay on for two weeks after that to help familiarize him. We’ll also give you six months’ severance pay, as well as pay out your unused leave, and we’ll pay one hundred percent of your health insurance premiums for a year, too, including the COBRA. In addition, you can continue to live at the resort in your current accommodations for up to six months, at no charge.”

  Well, okay, that took a little of the sting out of it.

  Barely.

  There was one other thing, and what was he going to do, fire her for asking? “What about my bonus?”

  “Same as last year, pro-rated to your last day of work.”

  It was on the tip of her tongue to ask how badly he was worried about her suing the hell out of them. She decided fuck it, it wasn’t worth losing the war in the long run just to score points in one damn battle.

  “Can you please send me an e-mail detailing all of this? For my records?” And so you don’t try to fuck me worse?

  “Sure thing. As soon as we get off of here.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Gonzales. I appreciate it.” Fuck you.

  I don’t appreciate being asked to bend over and get dry-fucked and take it with a smile.

  “Like I said, I will absolutely write you a glowing recommendation. If it were up to me, I’d keep you on, but…” He let the rest of his unspoken statement uncomfortably die over the connection.

  But.

  But they have the money and don’t want you there.

  But.

  But they don’t care you took the resort from in the red to the black in less than two years, poured your heart and soul into it, and now that it’s profitable again I’m leveraging that into a venture capital partnership to get money I can’t otherwise obtain.

  But.

  But you’re a woman.

  Or, scratch that. It’s not even that you’re a woman, in their eyes.

  “I’m guessing business continues as usual until he takes over then?” she finally asked after letting the jagged silence dangle between them for a fairly long time.

  “Oh, yes. Absolutely. No difference there.”

  She reached over and, on her laptop, tapped the icon for Word and started hunting for her resume file. “All right.”

  Another, briefer, but just as uncomfortable silence.

  Motherfucker didn’t even have the balls to face her in person to have this conversation. He couldn’t use distance as an excuse, because she knew damn well he was staying at his Miami condo this month, not even a mile away.

  “Well, thank you again, Maddison. I’ll keep you posted. Have a good day.”

  “Thank you.” Fuck you. “You, too.” Asshole.

  She thumbed the end button and set her phone on the desk. Then she updated the contact info on her resume, added her latest job to it, and hit save.

  I will not cry. I will not fucking cry.

  She had busted her fucking ass to pull this resort out of the shitter. From overcoming crappy Yelp reviews to making filet mignon renovations on a ramen noodle budget, she’d literally done the impossible, much to the chagrin of her fellows all along that strip of prime ocean-front Miami Beach real estate. All who’d insisted the resort was well past its prime and should be bulldozed and new buildings put up in its stead.

  Especially if they put in a woman who had very little real-world experience under her belt. But she’d made a deal when she first started to work there, accepting half the salary of anyone else who’d take the position, and if she didn’t get it running in the black in under five years, they’d have a bargain.

  But if she did, they’d retroactively pay her double the salary, which was more in line with what someone in her position should be making.

  And she’d done it.

  She’d brought the resort back from the brink of financial ruin and turned it into a destination that was attracting not only domestic tourists, but overseas ones, as well. Not to mention international conferences had been booking their facilities, in several cases years in advance. Lucrative contracts that helped pad the bottom line even more.

  And now?

  They were done with her. She’d done the hard work.

  She was certain there would be denials aplenty if she directly confronted any of them about it, but there was no way in hell anyone could convince her otherwise.

  Gonzales had treated her…differently since finding out she was trans about six months ago. And she’d never forget the desperation in his voice when he’d talked to her before reps from the investment company had arrived for a walk-through a few weeks earlier, practically begging her not to say anything to them about her personal life.

  Although, of course, he was smart enough not to couch it in those terms.

  He was greedy, not stupid.

  Well, fuck.

  She needed a new job, a new place to live…

  And I could really use a damn drink.

  Except it was only ten o’clock in the morning, so that wasn’t an option.

  * * * *

  Maddison did not want to leave Florida. Her parents lived here. Her older sister lived here. Her best friend lived here. Her life was here.

  Besides, Florida was one of the best places to apply her current job experience and degree. There were resorts all over the state, even inland, although she had the extra benefit of experience prepping for large storms on an ocean-front property.

  Except she hadn’t earned her MBA like she’d originally planned. Hadn’t been in her budget or her energy levels after she’d withdrawn from UF and moved back to Sarasota, meaning she’d lost her scholarship.

  She’d needed time to recover first.

  She’d needed…

  Her family, and Fen.

  Sure, she’d made friends here in Miami, but very few of them knew the full truth about her, and most of that exclusive club only because they were also trans. The ones who were also trans, those she’d met in a support group sponsored by one of the local doctors who treated a large population of them in the Miami-Dade area.

  She hadn’t found the nerve to try seriously dating, either. Despite a few nervous outings to a local private BDSM club, she’d stayed unattached. While straight, since she was single she preferred to play with women Tops, even though several men had hit on her at the club.

  That horrible lesson was forever imprinted in her brain, that straight men could quickly turn on her.

  Hurt her.

  Destroy her ability to trust or allow people inside her defensive walls.

  Which made it difficult for her to date men.

  Thus, she didn’t date. She’d focused on work, on letting her career and results speak for itself.

  Results she could proudly point at and say, look at what I did.

  It was easier on her PTSD that way, too. She was rarely ever triggered at work. At work, she was the boss, she was in control. The worst times that triggered her lay in one-on-one situations, like dating.

  Or the doctor’s office, although her primary physician here in Miami was very understanding and had noted in her file that a nurse had to remain in the room with her at all times to help keep her calm, and why.

  By lunchtime, she’d posted her resume on two different job-hunting sites and was already perusing local listings. She’d be willing to take a pay cut if forced to, as long as the insurance benefits were adequate, and she could get free accommodations, too.

  There was absolutely something to be said about not needing to worry about utilities, homeowner’s insurance, maintenance, repairs, or t
he other “joys” that came with being a renter or homeowner.

  Plus it meant she had a two-minute walk and a very short elevator ride for her commute, and she was immediately available for any after-hours emergencies.

  It’d allowed her to work on building a 401(k), at least, and putting aside money to eventually go back to college to earn her MBA.

  Oh, shoot.

  As soon as she told her parents about this, her dad would be showing up with a moving truck to haul her back to Sarasota, she just knew it.

  If he did that, she wasn’t sure she’d have the strength to tell him no. Especially since he’d use the excuse that she could put her bonus and severance package toward tuition to go for her MBA, live at home rent-free while she went to school, and…

  And…

  That would mean her non-existent dating life would continue to be non-existent, because she wouldn’t be able to so much as go out with friends without him panicking about whether she was okay or not.

  A month shy of twenty-seven was a little old to be answering to parental curfews, or suffering through parental cock-blocking, regardless of how loving their intentions.

  I have got to find another job before I tell him I lost this one.

  Hell, she’d need to find another job before she told Fen she lost this one, or he’d be ratting her out to her parents and helping them get her moved.

  * * * *

  By the time Maddison was ready to call it a day, she’d put out feelers around other resorts. She’d be willing to take a lesser position, working to make some other GM look good while she was the one doing the actual grunt work. That’s just how this played out sometimes.

  But she needed a job, one with benefits.

  At least she had a good excuse—new VC investors wanted their own person in place.