Juste un peu d'amour

by Chris Patrick Morgan

Everyone calls him Z. Z is a mess. His girlfriend breaks up with him, but won't leave him alone. He works for a failing San Francisco startup and hates his job, but finds it physically impossible to quit. Unable to resist the charms of his beautiful co-worker Mallory, Z takes up her task of writing a proposal for a joint venture with a French conglomerate which could save the company from bankruptcy – assuming he sobers up long enough to write it, navigates a sea of office politics and remembers how to speak French. All that he really wants, however, is a maybe a couple of weeks of vacation near Santa Barbara, or maybe a longer journey deep into the South Pacific. 'Juste un peu d'amour' tells the story of the son of first-generation immigrants who comes to discover that hard work and perseverance get you nowhere in America, but with good timing, a little luck, good looks and a bit of talent, you just might find you have it all – but if that happens, be sure to know what to do with it.

399 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 1, 2014