Vexing of Millie Magnus

Ryan Barbera

Description

Millie Magnus has meticulously schemed her way to relevance. By undergoing dastardly deeds and mastering the art of manipulation, she has achieved her dream of fame and fortune. As the story jumps from past to present, Millie's prowess proves effective in both love and intentional loss. Her primary target is a charming billionaire, Roger Glancey, whom she uses to climb the ranks of society. When that relationship meets a dead-end, Millie takes things into her own hands to keep the spotlight on herself. However, things get sloppy, and Millie must accept the consequences of her own actions as things spiral out of control for the entire world to see.

Informations

• Publié par: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Date de parution: 31 janvier 2020
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781645750277
• Langue: English

Extrait

The Vexing of Millie Magnus
Ryan Barbera
Austin Macauley Publishers
2020-01-31
The Vexing of Millie Magnus About the Author Dedication Copyright Information © Three Years Ago Present Two Years Ago One Year Later Ten Years Ago Two Years Later Present Six Months Ago Present
About the Author
Ryan Barbera resides in Chandler, Arizona, with his partner James. The Vexing of Millie Magnus is inspired by Ryan’s love of literary fiction, suspense, and pop culture. Ryan writes part-time and works in marketing full-time. From childhood to today, Ryan has been writing privately and never pursued the opportunity to publish his work.
The Vexing of Millie Magnus is a new shift in his writing style and genre that he decided to share with others, after previously writing countless works of science fiction. He has plans and ideas to continue writing and hopes to publish more in the future.
Dedication
To James
Copyright Information ©
Ryan Barbera (2020)
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher.
Any person who commits any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
Ordering Information:
Quantity sales: special discounts are available on quantity purchases by corporations, associations, and others. For details, contact the publisher at the address below.
Publisher’s Cataloging-in-Publication data
Barbera, Ryan
The Vexing of Millie Magnus
ISBN 9781645750246 (Paperback)
ISBN 9781645750253 (Hardback)
ISBN 9781645750277 (ePub e-book)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2020900305
www.austinmacauley.com/us
First Published (2020)
Austin Macauley Publishers LLC
40 Wall Street, 28th Floor
New York, NY 10005
USA
[e-mail]
[phone]

“You’re perfect, absolutely flawless. Another successful procedure, Millie.” The doctor stepped back from his patient and gazed at the beauty he had constructed. Plastic surgery at its finest, afforded only by the rich and envied by everyone else. The sleek operating room with curved white walls and soft glowing lights put patients at ease as the doctor administered his craft with state-of-the-art surgical tools. Millie Magnus sat up from the table and grazed her face with a long, milky white finger after Dr. Tragoski removed the last bandage. He handed her a circular metallic hand mirror. She brought it up to her face and smiled at the new nose he had given her. Gone were the days of staring at the unsightly bulge that plagued her self-image.
“It’s absolutely perfect, Dr. Tragoski. This is exactly what I need,” Millie squealed. Dr. Tragoski smiled and took the mirror from her.
“Fabulous! It will certainly aid in your career as Channel 9’s newest anchor,” Dr. Tragoski said.
“I certainly hope so. My first paycheck has yet to hit my bank account,” Millie said jokingly, fully understanding the doctor assumed she had millions in the bank. He smiled and smoothed his coat.
“Yes. By the way, I’m sorry about your husband passing, what a loss,” Dr. Tragoski uttered.
Millie ignored him, stood up, and grabbed her purse.
“Until next time!” Millie said childishly, she lightly touched the end of her nose and giggled. She hugged Dr. Tragoski excitedly and exited the room.
Before stepping into her expensive vehicle, she pressed a button on her cell phone and the top came down. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, and she was only heading home, her hair could withstand a little drama. She also liked to be seen driving down Sunset Boulevard.
She pulled a long floral scarf out of her purse and tied her hair up, applied a layer of crimson lipstick, and donned a large pair of sunglasses, then entered the vehicle. She adjusted the mirror, mostly to check her makeup, and catch another glimpse of her new symmetrical face.
Millie was an aging 32-year-old woman being held together by a generous amount of makeup, designer clothes, botox, and the tenacity of twenty women in one. She prided herself on her personal success gained by utilizing her resources to get what she wanted.
Although life had not always been easy for Millie, she was certainly living her best life now—rich in beauty, wealth, and social media followers. Recently single and ready to take on the world.
She sped off and headed toward her house on the hill, switching gears effortlessly as the engine purred like a kitten. She had learned all about vehicles from her recently deceased husband. Not only was he a billionaire business investor and politician but also a famous racecar driver, one who was loved by not only regular race fans but also those who watched his charming on-air interviews.
Much like the rest of the world, she had fawned over his every word, not in the same fan-girl way as the masses, but more in an opportunistic manner. With Roger she saw a path to luxury, riches, fame, and possibly even love.
Three Years Ago
Millie stood in front of a dirty mirror in the news station’s RV bathroom and pushed the nozzle on a cheap can of hairspray, swathing her ridiculously bleached blonde hair. She then pulled back the skin on her eye and applied a flawless cat-eye wing. Suddenly, someone knocked on her door.
“Millie, the race is about to end. Roger only has a few minutes for press, he’ll be in the press room,” Cho said confidently. Cho was one of the station’s assistants. The reporters shared her and used her for whatever they needed. She had a habit of mixing up reporters’ schedules, often times reporters would be sent to locations they had no idea they’d be reporting on. They were forced to make up the details of a story on the scene once the cameras went live. This had led to countless phone calls to the station with complaints due to inaccuracies, but for some reason the issue never resulted in Cho’s firing.
Because of this mix-up, Millie now knew where famously hunky Roger Glancey would be for a press conference so she could make her way toward him. Originally, she was scheduled to collect interviews from the redneck race audience. Now she could ditch that and interview Roger instead.
“Thanks, Cho, you’re the best!” Millie said after considering her next move. She took a deep breath, straightened her bright pink skirt, took one button down on her consignment shop blouse, exited the restroom, and made her way to room 306 at the stadium. She walked in and saw the sea of reporters waiting for Roger to arrive. She knew that Stephanie Petrovankie was supposed to be here and hoped she wouldn’t find Cho before the conference started.
Millie pushed her way to the front of the crowd. Typically, each reporter had a folding chair during a press conference, but this was a tiny room so it felt more like a small venue concert with standing room only. Millie knew that if she was going to get noticed by Roger, she needed to be in the front row. She elbowed a few other reporters unapologetically and finally got a spot in the front. She fluffed her hair, kissed her lips to distribute her crimson lipstick, and began brainstorming intelligent, yet flirty questions for Roger.
Suddenly, the door flung open and Roger came in the room, an instant energy filled the space. He was still wearing his fire-retardant suit with countless sponsors littering the surface. He walked in, waving at the crowd. He had a smug smile on his face and confidence like Millie had never seen. She didn’t bother watching the race and let other reporters’ questions fill in the gaps for her. She assumed he won because he always did, and the way he was presently carrying himself suggested he’d secured the trophy.
The room erupted with the sounds of three dozen reporters shouting questions at Mr. Glancey. He stood at the podium and made a “relax” gesture with his open palm. The room fell silent and hands went up instead. He pointed at a reporter and went through several questions.
Once Roger answered a few questions first, Millie raised her hand and looked directly in his eyes. He spotted her immediately. Her beauty was hard to miss and her bold expression ensured he didn’t.
“Yes, you in the front, Miss…?” Roger asked. Millie noticed he hadn’t asked any other reporters for their name. She smiled excitedly then furrowed her brow to appear more serious.
“Millie Magnus. I noticed you are no longer donning the Eleven Electric sponsorship patch, and I assume it has been removed from your car as well. Is that because of the recent discovery that they utilize migrant child labor within their plants, or is it because of your yet-to-be announced acquisition of their competitor Hi-Rise Power and want to soften the monopolistic accusations before they start?” Millie asked quickly. Millie was known in her local market for asking direct questions with two options. One question usually consisted of a controversial conspiracy theory while the other was the actual truth. This tactic afforded her the opportunity to get the real answer as opposed to a deflected response from the interviewee.
Roger’s eyes grew large but then calmed down once he decided how he would answer.
“Great question, Miss Magnus. While I can’t discuss unreported market deals, I can say that my relationship with Eleven Electric will be shifting in the coming months; and as you have probably read in the news, those scathing reports against them were found to be very false,” Roger said. He quickly found another reporter to call on and directed his attention there after several stolen glances back at Millie.
While it wasn’t a flirtatious question, she knew that the moment he uttered “unreported market deals” and “shifting,” h