Ambitious People (Book 1 of "On Crescent Street"‪)‬

Ambitious people do what it takes to get win. They don’t mind bending the rules and many of them are addicted to the risks that come with pushing the envelope and traveling paths most wouldn’t dare to follow.

The ambitious women and men living together on quiet little Crescent Street share this nearly insatiable lust. Theirs is a sizzling, sex-filled tale of the struggle for power.

~~~~~ PG Excerpt ~~~~~

The dental office wasn’t big, but it was modern and upmarket. It sparkled. Sitting there made me nervous.

Across the desk from me was a sour-looking guy named Jerry. He was the office manager, a dentist. I sat there, hands in my lap, watching him reading my job application. The guy moved his lips while he read.

I’d seen an ad for a receptionist on the college bulletin board the day I dropped out of school and got right on it. I called, Jerry said to come in.

School had been a disaster. Actually, school was fine. I was the disaster. I had no interest in any of the subjects.

I’d thought that getting a degree would set me on a path to success. The problem was that I didn’t have any idea what success looked like for me, no idea what path I wanted to take. I wasted a semester searching and pretending. Then I dropped out.

I needed time. I needed perspective and here I was. I didn’t give a shit about dentistry or office work, but I thought an office job would let me meet people who were doing interesting things. I like people doing interesting things.

“Four dentists share this practice,” Jerry told me. “What we are looking for, Crystal, is mainly someone reliable who can answer the phone, keep schedules, and be the charming face our clients see.”

The look he gave me told me that meant sexy and efficient. I was glad I’d worn a dress and heels and put on makeup. I almost hadn’t bothered. I tend toward punk, if you must know. Fortunately, my nose ring didn’t seem to bother him, nor the little rings tattooed on my neck.

“I can do that,” I said.

“If a candidate has the skills and aptitude to take on some of the office work, paying bills, taking care of maintenance issues, things like that, well, that would be in her favor.”

“I took two accounting classes in college,” I said, too eagerly. “I was a business major.” He didn’t need to know that I had hated all the business classes and I’d earned a D average.

I wanted this job. I hated being poor and working here might let me meet people who were successful or on their way to being successful. I might not know what field I wanted to work in, but I was ambitious. You don’t get ahead hanging around with other poor people.

The only other jobs in town seemed to involve working as a server in a restaurant or truck stop diner.

“That’s a bonus,” he said. “And I’d like to offer you the job. Unfortunately, to start with, it would only be part-time. Twenty-five hours a week.”

That sucked. “So no benefits.”

He shook his head. “This is a young practice, and we have to keep the monthly overhead down.”

I knew the rent on this office had to cost a bundle. On the other hand, these were dentists, and my guess was that the money was rolling in. Jerry’s clothes sure weren’t off the rack from a discount store. He struck me as one of those cheap guys who’d use any excuse to keep from paying fair prices.