Color Outside The Lines

Color Outside The Lines A Brighton High School Reunion Series Book By M. Bonnet © Copyright 2023 M. Bonnet Name, characters, and events are fictitious unless otherwise stated. Any resemblance to real people, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior permission from the author. THE BRIGHTON HIGH SERIES Pretty Ruthless by Em Torrey Color Outside The Lines by M. Bonnet Faking Perfection by Shayna Astor The Last Key by Bethany Monaco Smith Queen of Vengeance by Poppy Jacobson Reuniting With Desire by Bre Rose Up In Smoke by Cassie Lein Four Simple Rules by Aly Beck Setting The Score by Lyric Nicole Damaged Goods by MK Robert Infinite Dreams by Raja Savage Original Flame by Whitnay Edes TRIGGER WARNINGS & TROPES Color Outside The Lines is a contemporary MF romance that’s part of the Brighton High School Reunion Series. This story contains dark themes, so check the trigger warnings and tropes below; Bullying Humiliation Suicidal Ideations/Attempt Depression Trauma/PTSD Miscommunication Emotional Abuse Parental Abuse/Neglect Parental Death Alcoholism Self Esteem & Body Confidence Issues Unprotected Sex Intense Snark & Humor Pregnancy (in epilogue) If you or someone you know has a mental illness, is struggling emotionally, or has concerns about their mental health, there are ways to get help. Use these resources to find help for you, a friend, or a family member. Call 911 if you or someone you know is in immediate danger or go to the nearest emergency room. 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline Use Lifeline Chat on the web (English only)The Lifeline provides 24-hour, confidential support to anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional distress. Call or text 988 to connect with a trained crisis counselor. DEDICATION This book is dedicated to any woman who was bullied because she was fat. Smart. Assertive. Loud. Or too much. You are not too much. You’re the right amount of everything because you’re YOU. You are beautiful. A very special person–who’s since deceased–once said to me, “You’re you for a reason. Make sure you always be yourself.” Thank you. Your advice was completely right. CHAPTER ONE OLIVIA May 2023 I sit ramrod straight in a stiff office chair across from a man who holds the future of my business in his hands. He listened to my post consultation presentation last week. Currently, he’s flipping through my sketches, some sample fabrics, and paint swatches. His furrowed brow can be from concentration, or a sense of disgust at my ideas. I can’t tell. “Well, Ms. Masters, your proposal blew me away. Your ideas for the dealership’s new interior fit my vision. I’d like to offer you the contract to redesign our Sunnyside, CA, location,” Michael Kincaid says with a smile on his clean-shaven face. He leans forward in his chair, offering me his hand across the cherrywood desk. “Thank you so much, Mr. Kincaid. I’m excited to sign the paperwork and get started.” Oh my God! Holy shit! I got the contract! I reign in my shock and give him a small smile and a firm handshake. It’s difficult to keep a mask of professionalism firmly in place on the outside as I rage with excitement like a Burning Man festival on the inside. The Kincaid Dealerships Group is one of the most popular family-owned auto businesses in the San Francisco area. It has seven high volume locations in the city and surrounding suburbs and sells luxury cars to thousands of people annually. I grew up hearing their jingle on the radio and TV all the time. Drive away, drive away. In a new car to-day. Dozens of makes and models to choose. Kincaid sells luxury for you. This location sponsors dozens of community events and is a huge player in the Sunnyside Chamber of Commerce. Redesigning their most high profile dealership will give me the career boost and connections I need to take my interior design and mural business, Colors & Lines, to the next level. I’ll scale it from just making the black to raking in some serious profit. “Please, call me Mike. Ever since my father passed and left the dealerships to me, I’m determined to leave my mark and take the business to a new frontier. Your vision really gels with mine, and hopefully after Sunnyside, we can talk about the San Jermo and Hillton locations.” He leans back into his chair, getting comfortable again as he flashes me a wide grin. “You want the dealership to reflect a low stress buying experience, and I personally appreciate that sales approach. I think having a mural as a design focal point and switching to a more communal seating arrangement will really drive that point home and appeal to the millennial and gen-Z market share,” I explain. “See, you get me,” he chuckles. For a man in his late forties, his laughter and smile give him a much more youthful appearance. He’s more easy-going than my last client, and I can already tell I’ll enjoy working with him. “The sales team already uses iPads and laptops instead of desktops, so the open plan will work for them.” We agree to hammer out the contract over the weekend. He’ll introduce me at their staff meeting bright and early Monday morning. I hold my breath, waiting until I climb into my beat-up SUV to do a victory dance by bouncing around in my seat and screeching like a banshee. After hitting my head on the roof of the car, I will myself to calm down. Can’t make design history if I’m concussed. I pull my phone from my oversized black leather purse and FaceTime my best friend, Roman. When we met on the first day of our freshman year of college, we became inseparable, ride-or-die, let’s grab our shovels and line the trunk with tarp level besties. Over the years, he became a brother to me. We both had