After a mishap involving a stripper and a coffin, event planner Lucky Gould-Bang is fired for the third time in three months. When a position for Post Conviction Coordinator pops up at the Bureau of Prisons, Lucky jumps at the chance with no clue what it involves. Finding out she will be planning recently re-instated executions, Lucky finds herself dealing with an ambitious Governor, smarmy detah industry executives, protestors and a spree murderer cum pastor on a regular basis, all while trying to do the Governor's bidding by putting on 'family friendly' executions.
At the Governor's request, to attend the execution of...
Madison Madigan is tired of everyone seeing her as Lil' Maddie, First Granddaughter of the state of Illinois. She's Governor now and she will do anything to win the office on her own merit, even if she has to rely on voters from the other party get there. She reinstated the death penalty over her Party's wishes and now she's determined to make it something everyone is talking about...and not because a run of the mill death by electrocution turned into a barbecue. Her key to winning is Pastor Bishop Parsons--will she commute his sentence or won't she--now all she has to do is make a decision.
On this day at the following time...
Pastor Bishop Parsons doesn't deny his sordid past. A former drug addict on Death Row for the spree murders of ten people. But twenty years into his sentence he is a reformed man; Pastor of the largest e-church in the country, fundraiser for the upper crust and media darling. He's not ready to die and he'll do anything he can to stop it...even invoking religion.
Excerpt
Parsons was granting interviews during his one hour of freedom each day, to anyone, hell everyone bold enough to make a request. His execution was already scheduled to take place in six months with the exact date to be determined later and Madison saw this for what it was, a pathetic attempt to strong arm her into commuting his sentence. Not while she still had breath in her lungs.
“I am not releasing him and I will not under any circumstances commute his sentence! How can I when I’m the one who lifted the moratorium?” She was talking to no one in particular, and no response was required but her Chief aide and Lieutenant Governor were sitting quietly across from her sipping their morning coffee, tea for the Lt. Governor because caffeine made him jittery. “That monster is going to die!” Madison realized she probably sounded like a cop in a bad movie, but she didn’t care.
Her aide Jessop, noticed how the light struck her squinting eyes as she screamed. It took away from her beauty, but he wished he could photograph her just then, because it so accurately displayed her thirst for power. “Let him plead his case all he wants Maddie. It’s your decision at the end of the day.” Jessop was the perfect aide. He was young, loyal, obedient, ruthless, and just handsome enough to be President.
“You don’t have to answer to the voters.” She hated that votes were all she cared about these days, but she was no longer in the position to be naïve about what was important. She may be fairly new to the job, but politics was in her blood.
“You’re right, I don’t.” He also knew when not to argue. “Let’s see if we can get a few reporters to do their jobs and remind the public of the 10 people he murdered.”
She revealed two rows of perfectly straight, but slightly coffee and tobacco stained teeth to show her approval. But she didn’t smile too long since Lt. Governor Bankton Sharken watched a little too closely. She turned her attention to Sharken. “Did you talk to Templeton yet?”
Sharken, frightened by her abrupt change in demeanor and tone, shook his head vigorously.
The Governor shook her head in disgust. The only reason she’d kept the old man on was to play the old boy’s card when she needed it.
“I did.” Jessop usually followed up on Sharken since he’d overheard him calling Madison an incompetent twit. “Said something about Parsons’ lawyer threatening him, apologized profusely and swore to chaperone all future interviews.” He rolled his eyes. Talking to Templeton was always a challenge. To compensate for his lack of education, the Warden often talked down to anyone below him on the totem pole.
This answer, as one might imagine, did not sit well with the Governor. “Templeton’s an idiot. Stay on top of him this week and make sure he fills that position.”
Jessop nodded. When she got this way—angry and paranoid and demanding—there was no reasoning with her. Once he determined that Madison no longer required his presence he returned to his office next door.
She focused a menacing gaze on her Lt. Governor. “What are you still here?”
When she meets a handsome stranger on a trip to California she starts to wonder if it’s time to get back in the game.
Baxter Thompsen spent the last decade building his empire to the exclusion of everything but sex. Now tired of the socialites and starlets, he wants someone real. When he does she only wants a vacation fling and it's up to Baxter to show her that lust is great, but love is the real prize.
Is it lust or are Baxter and Alex more than a little bit in love?