The father of a college friend of mine retired from a Big Eight accounting firm. At one time or another he audited Hollywood studios, a carrot farm, and oil companies—and came away with a lot of colorful stories. High-level auditors are not milquetoasts in a back room. The best of them are smart, personable professionals who know how to ask the right questions.
I used this background information for my hero in my story Mascot in the Embrace the Romance: Pets in Space 2 anthology. Rik Gole is an auditor and more: he has an unusual family background that comes back to haunt him and help him.
By the way, my college friend’s father is an attractive, dynamic fellow—the romantic hero of his own long and happy marriage. So yes, an auditor can be the hero in romance, science fiction or otherwise!
About Mascot by Alexis Glynn Latner, an Aeon’s Legacy novella
Daya Tattujayan is the manager of a remote and nearly derelict space mining station. She has plenty of problems to deal with even before the interstellar syndicate that owns the station sends an auditor to check up on her work.
Rik Gole is a nomadic interstellar auditor with no roots to tie him down. He is ruthless when he has to be and very good at what he does, but Rik would be the first to admit that a woman like Daya and a place like this station are way outside of his previous experience.
Before Daya and Rik can decide whether they are antagonists, allies, or something more, an unexpected enemy attacks the station. To save their lives, they must dare to trust each other. And they need help from a very unconventional defender—Daya’s mysterious alien pet, the mascot of Star Corner Station.
Alexis Glynn Latner writes science fiction and fantasy romantic adventure, teaches creative writing, and works at the Rice University Library in Houston, Texas. For fun and the romance of flight, she is a sailplane pilot. Her website is www.alexisglynnlatner.com.