Vengeful in Love Hearts on the Line, Book 1 Publication Date: December 19, 2013 Revenge is sweet... Self-made billionaire Alex Damon wants his pound of flesh from the people who ripped his family apart. When he discovers his enemies' daughter is working at his company -- and most likely spying for them -- he decides to start his revenge by seducing her. Natalie Hall is stunned at the personal interest from the CEO of her company. Vulnerable, with an already bruised heart, she wants to avoid any involvement -- but she can't deny the desire he arouses in her. ...but love is sweeter...
What should've been a straightforward eye-for-an-eye starts to unravel as Natalie's unflinching loyalty and kindness begin to thaw Alex's cold intent. But caring for her is unthinkable...since he plans to use everything in his power to ruin her family and everyone else she holds dear.
Reunited in Love Hearts on the Line, Book 2 Publication Date: January 9, 2014 A temporary reunion... Newly jobless and adrift, former investment banker Kerri Wilson travels to Virginia to see her best friend and regroup, only to run into billionaire playboy Ethan Lloyd. It's been years since she's snuck out of his bed after the most amazing sex of her life, and he's so not her type -- she likes them tall, dark and manageable. But he's too hot to resist, and she succumbs to another sizzling, no-strings-attached (or so she thinks) night.
Unwilling to let her go this time, Ethan makes a simple proposition: a job, a place to stay, and an exclusive affair that will end when either of them finds someone else. But with her dark, painful past catching up to her, Kerri may have to bolt again -- even though her heart is telling her to stay. And Ethan's not giving her up without fighting to make their "temporary" arrangement something far more permanent...
Excerpt:
“So what do you think?” He was
looking at her expectantly.
She blinked. “About…?”
He sipped his coffee, squinted at
her a little. “Have you been listening?”
Oh god, how humiliating. She never
daydreamed in the middle of a conversation, and certainly not because she was
fantasizing about the other person’s tongue. “I’m just a bit surprised,” she
said, trying to wing her way through it. “Could you just take me through it
again, just to make sure I understand exactly what you’re trying to say?”
His mouth curved into a knowing
smile.
Damn it.
“How about if I just summarize? I
need somebody with a good head for finance and an eye for detail.”
“Okay.”
“I want to hire you.”
Hire her? “What? You
haven’t even seen my résumé.”
“Don’t need to. Natalie said you’re
brilliant at what you do. That’s enough for me.”
She put her fork down. “Ethan…I
don’t know.” It was one thing to sleep with a guy, quite another to work for
him. Work was a commitment.
“Before you decide, you should know
there are other conditions of the job. Some nice and unusual benefits.”
“Such as?”
“For example, your pay.” He named a
figure that momentarily stunned her.
“Do I get medical and dental?” she
asked.
“Of course. And how about 401k
while we’re at it?”
Her head spun. She’d been certain
he’d come to confront her about sneaking out like a thief, not offer her a job!
“Uh…what will my responsibilities entail?”
“You’ll be going over some family
business. My family, to be exact. The Lloyds Development.”
“I thought you were working at Global
Strategies.”
“I am. That’s why I need you. I
don’t have the time or energy to devote my full attention to TLD, and it’s
important I become familiar with it ASAP.”
“You said it was your family
business.”
“Right.”
“But you don’t know much about it?”
“I know the basic outlines of the
business, of course, what we’re involved with and so on. But I don’t work there
and I’m not part of management.”
“That’s kind of hard to believe.
Not that I don’t think you’re telling the truth, but most people wouldn’t be
able to stay away.”
“As long as the company’s doing
well and continues to provide for the people who depend on it, I don’t care who
gets the credit for running it.”
He gave her a small friendly smile,
but it sent shivers up her back the way a shark’s fin cutting through dark
water would. A man who didn’t care who took the credit so long as he got what
he wanted was ten times more dangerous than one whose ego couldn’t take not
being number one. No manipulation would shake someone like Ethan from his course
of action until he achieved the desired outcome.
“Who would I report to?”
“Me. And only me.”
“Okay,” she said slowly. “Where
would I work?”
“TLD has a fully furnished
corporate penthouse in Northern Virginia, so you won’t have to waste time looking
for a place you’d only be leasing for a few months. It’s not a bad perk.”
She shook her head, unable to
follow his train of thought. “You don’t actually work at the company, but you
want me to report to you, and not to the other executives?”
“Yes.”
She narrowed her eyes. “I presume
you want me to sleep with you, too?”
“I do, but that has nothing to do
with the job.” He steepled his hands and leaned back in his chair in that
particular boneless way he had. “I want you, period.”
Steady, Kerri, steady.
“And you’ll leave when you get bored?”
“Just like you will, I’m sure. Stay
together until we find somebody else we’d rather be with.” He gave her a
gleaming smile. “But until then, we’ll be totally exclusive, no fooling around
with anybody else. I don’t like to share.”
“Neither do I.”
He watched her over his fingers.
“Look, it’s a great deal. Your housing’s fully paid for. If you want, I’ll even
toss in housekeeping and groceries.”
She considered. She couldn’t
believe what he was proposing. “How bad is this job anyway, that
you’re offering me so much?” she asked.
“Honestly? I don’t know.”
“It’s your family business. You
must know something.”
“Look, I’ve never been involved in
it. It was my older brother Jacob’s job, and he’s currently”—Ethan’s mouth tightened
briefly—“unavailable to continue, so I have to deal with it. Unfortunately, I’m
not in a position to leave Global Strategies right at the moment.”
“I see.”
She wasn’t too worried about the
job itself. She had yet to find the corporate position that she couldn’t
handle, and it’d keep her mind occupied, might even provide some challenge.
Plus, she was going stir-crazy without anything to keep her busy. And wouldn’t
it annoy Barron to know she was working for one of Sterling & Wilson’s
rivals?
But a no-strings-attached temporary
arrangement with a guy who made her wet with just a look was something else.
She was sure this wasn’t going to end up being one hundred percent work.
“I need to think about it,” she
said.
“I understand.” Ethan glanced at his
watch. “I’ll give you a minute.”
“A minute?”
Bilingual former management consultant Nadia Lee has lived in four different countries and enjoyed many adventures and excellent food around the globe. In the last eight years, she has kissed stingrays, been bitten by a shark, ridden an elephant and petted tigers. She shares an apartment overlooking a river and palm trees in Japan with her husband and son. When she's not writing, she can be found digging through old Asian historical texts or planning another trip. Website: http://www.nadialee.net Mailing list: http://www.nadialee.net Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/nadialee
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/nadialeewrites
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