Sweet Saturday Sample - Jordan's Battle

For this week, I decided to share a taste of Jordan’s Battle, my latest release from Astraea Press.

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Jordan leaned back in his desk chair and rolled his shoulders to relieve some of the tension. The longer he studied the Paradigm Computing website from both the public side and the back end, it sank in just how big a job he’d taken on. Although his dream of becoming a web developer was one step closer to coming true thanks to Russ Porter, Jordan couldn’t deny the weight of responsibility pressing down on him. Russ trusted him to learn huge amounts of information in a short period of time, and Jordan wanted to give a hundred and ten percent, the same way he always did. He just didn’t know if he could survive the pressure it would undoubtedly create.

Before his stress level could climb any higher, Jordan felt a nudge against his left leg. He released a breath and reached down to scratch his dog’s head. Abe always knew when to interrupt his thoughts. Given how long they’d been at this desk, they could both use a walk.

Jordan grabbed his dog’s leash as he stood, and the large, dark brown mutt followed his example. He caught Alaina watching him and smiled. He couldn’t ask for a prettier office mate than the blonde sitting at the desk across the room.

“I’m going outside for a few,” he said as Abe stretched.

Alaina lifted a shapely eyebrow, and distaste clouded her hazel eyes. “You’re a smoker?”

He laughed and stepped out from behind his desk. “No, I’m just going for a short walk.”

Her eyes widened as Abe stepped into her line of sight. “You brought your dog to work? Does Uncle Russ know?”

His office mate was his boss’s niece? Added stress he didn’t need. He shook off the anxiety before it could threaten him too much.

“Of course. Abe goes everywhere with me.” Jordan glanced down at his canine companion and turned him so Alaina could clearly see Abe’s labeled vest. Maybe it would keep her from asking questions he didn’t want to answer.

She leaned forward, her eyes on Abe. An adorable pink blush crept into her cheeks as she met Jordan’s gaze. “Oh! I should have realized he’s a service dog.”

Well, this was new. He’d never seen anyone surprised to learn Abe was a service dog.

~~

Jordan’s Battle is available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other online retailers. You can also purchase a copy from the publisher, Astraea Press.

Hop over to Sweet Saturday Samples for links to more sweet excerpts!