Marcus Aronson specializes in small colleges with problems. His company usually gobbles up the college, lays off people and takes over administration. Jefferson is his latest project. He slips into a classroom to check out if a favorite professor might be the embezzler. What he finds instead is a passionate woman hiding behind a button up exterior. Someone needs to release Teresa from her inhibitions and that someone would be him. There were rules about mixing business and pleasure. Rules he intended to break.
Welcome, today we are speaking with Marcus Aronson, the male lead in Incognito by Morgan K Wyatt.
Tell us a little about yourself.
Well, that’s actually my strength, people not knowing a great deal about me. I come into town to evaluate failing businesses and sometimes colleges for takeover. Knowing me might diminish my effectiveness at going unnoticed.
Rumor is you didn’t go unnoticed at Jefferson College. Can you tell me about that?
(He laughs.) Yep, maybe I wasn’t the best person to send for that project, but I am very glad I went, very glad. As a fast-talking New Jersey Jew, I stand out like a sore thumb in rural Kentucky. Everything is wrong about me from my accent to my clothes to my unexpected attraction to a certain buttoned-up writing teacher.
This sounds promising. Could you elaborate?
(He grins.) There she was with her wild curling red hair clubbed backed into one of those old lady hairstyles. Teresa, the teacher, favors dark business suits two sizes too large. Maybe she dons her disguise to hide the passionate woman inside, but she’s not fooling me.
It sounds like romance is in the air. Do you believe in love at first sight? Are you currently involved with anyone?
You are a nosy one. (Wags his index finger at the interviewer.) I am not a big one on love period, except I do know some happily married couples. It works out for some.
Nope, not involved with anyone at the current time. Couple of years ago, my former fiancée claimed I spent too much time at work. She left me while I was away on a business trip taking every major appliance in the house with her. Heard she hooked up with another workaholic executive. After that incident, the only women I’ve met up with are those who chase after me. It’s all good until they decide to chase after someone else.
That sounds so sad. Don’t you want to settle down with someone special?
(Marcus looks reflective and sighs.) Lately, I’ve given more thought to that since I am hitting forty. Back home, when I jog through the park I see this old man walking alone. I don’t want that to be me.
What are you going to do to change your path? What about Teresa?
Hey, are you working for the FBI? Maybe they need to hire you since you have an uncanny ability to weasel information out of me. As for changing my path, I’m not sure how I can. I am flying to a new job site about a third of the year. No woman wants to put up with that. Worse, how could you have any type of home life?
As for Teresa, (rubs his hand over his face) she’s something special. I would like to get to know her better. (He grins.) She’d like to get to know me better too. Of course, when she finds out why I am really at Jefferson and that I am using a fake name, let’s say I might catch a flash of some of those hidden passions and it won’t be on satin sheets either.
Are you going to take a pass on the attraction between you and Teresa?
I didn’t say that. It won’t be easy, but it will be interesting.
Stay tuned for other interviews. Incognito will be out in July.