Embracing His Destiny
Destiny—Dess—Lancaster, is a beautiful, wealthy, young woman who has suffered through dark moments in her childhood that still have left fears and traumas—fears of water and storms—and the trauma that any child feels from the unexpected death of her mother.
Her family—her dad, Cole Lancaster, CEO of Wired Cup Incorporated, a generationally owned coffee company out of Seattle, and step-mom Eliza Angelo, who is the brilliant coffee wizard who has had helped craft many of Wired Cup’s beloved brews, have worked to help Destiny to confront fears of the ocean the creatures that live in its waters that were closely linked in her mind as a child. And, with coffee bean estates in Hawaii, where the family has a home, 25-year-old Des has worked to manage the terrors of her childhood, especially now that she has young half-siblings whom she adores.
Now, as a 25-year-old adult, Des is making her own professional pathway. She has turned her water-phobia and her fear of the creatures which live in the depths into a launching pad for her passions—her career dreams. With the help of step-mom Eliza, Destiny has learned to deal with the drowning death of her mom in the nearby waters. And, with the patient, loving support of dad and step-mom Eliza, Destiny has been able to turn her fear into a life passion. Now, the young woman with sparkling turquoise eyes and long blonde hair works to bring peace and protection to the natural world where she found such peace and comfort in her distress of loss.
As the young beauty has pursued her passion for animal protection, Dess has gained the knowledge and skills needed through academic training at undergraduate and graduate level to support her goal of promoting animal conservation. And with her powerful role as an influencer and media presence, providing images and information, introducing and informing her followers of the need to protect and preserve the creatures of the earth, she is now seeking opportunities for funding and seeking tools to better promote her passion of protection and conservation. And now, a perfect opportunity to gain funding, to access to technology and to polish her skills for promoting her animal conservation cause is available.
So, when Shepherd Foster, CEO of Home Shepherd, a security firm with an innovative technology lab which has developed drones and other surveillance devices, invites applications from young influencers, experienced in public engagement, to submit applications for the opportunity to gain an internship with the security firm, Destiny submits her application.
But the opportunity to offer internships at Home Shepherd is not without a purpose—a purpose that is to help improve the reputation of the company’s CEO—to create a diversion from a simmering scandal. Shepherd, Foster, the handsome, 42-year-old former Marine with jet black hair and unique ice-blue eyes mixing touches of grey, yellow and brown, lives a public life, but masks some darker, more private parts, of his past. And now once again, he needs a diversion to move attention from a recent unpleasant scandal.
He has been accused by Vanessa Dumas, a woman—Vanessa Dumas—whom he had sought to help him present a diversionary story suggesting that they were dating. But unfortunately, Shepherd has foolishly fallen into her devious and grasping hold as she ignores the original agreement of creating a false, but believable narrative. Vanessa wants the contrived relationship to become reality—with a happily ever after ending to which Shep’s message is “Never!”
So, Shep creates his own diversion. He has announced a competition offering influencers the opportunity to gain the inside professional experience of a large corporation. The bonus is that once the internship ends, the influencer, with the gained knowledge of marketing and promotion, will also bank 2-million-dollar prize for their own future promotions.
And for the network of influencers, all eager to gain funding, the announcement is comparable to throwing fresh chum into a shark tank. The influencers are excited and eager to enter the competition offered by wealthy Shepherd Foster, the powerful CEO, as well as having face-to-face access to the handsome CEO.
And for Destiny, the lure of the Home Shepherd internship competition is an amazing opportunity, but she’s not the only influencer who wants the opportunity and the 2 million start-up money supporting the winner’s project. But, in the small group of local influencers, the competition is fierce. And, as the applications come in, Shep, as he often does, turns to his PA and wonder woman, Hannah Chung, to make the selection for the internship.
Hannah’s review of applications focuses on one in particular—the submission from Destiny Lancaster. With an impressive vita and a clear focus on an environment issue and conservation, Destiny’s application is unique among the applications, and with a proposed focus on locating and tracking threatened animal populations, the proposal is a perfect partner for the technology company whose focus is often seen as more militaristic in it protection and surveillance equipment.
So, when his PA—Shep’s secret weapon—determines that Destiny’s application is the best match for the company’s purpose for redirecting its image. By focusing on the use of the technology to save and preserve the endangered animal population as opposed to the more traditional use of guarding humans from human threats and violence.
Nicole Snow crafts an engaging story of individuals doing their utmost to support their families while honoring their own dreams. She crafts a wonderful supporting cast for the primary characters, creating a colorful and dynamic backdrop with delightful connections to other “Grumpy” connected romances. I look forward to exploring other titles by the author.
I received the review copy from Booksprout but also enjoyed reading it with Kindle on different platforms.