Excerpt:
“No, I am busy. And I would never dream of trying
to avoid you. You’re my best friend. Although I do have other friends, you
know. Maybe tomorrow? My treat.”
“Busy doing what, if I might ask?” Åsa said, not
letting the possibility of a free lunch tomorrow distract her.
Natalia didn’t say anything. She looked down at her
buried desk. Now would be a good time for one of her phones to ring, or maybe
the fire alarm could go off, she thought.
Åsa’s eyes widened as if she’d had a realization.
“Aha, who is he?”
“Don’t be silly. I’m just going to eat lunch.”
Åsa’s eyes narrowed to two turquoise slits. “But
you’re acting so weird, even for you. With who?”
Natalia pressed her lips together.
“Natalia, with who?”
Natalia gave up. “With someone from, um, HC.”
Åsa furrowed her light eyebrows. “With who?” she
stubbornly demanded. She might have made a good cult leader, but she also would
have made a terrific interrogator, Natalia thought. All that blond bimbo fluff
was misleading.
“It’s just a business lunch,” she said defensively.
“With no agenda. He knows J-O,” she added as if the fact that her lunch date
knew her boss explained everything.
“Who?”
She capitulated. “David Hammar.”
Åsa leaned back and beamed at Natalia. “The big
guy, huh?” she said. “Mister Venture Capitalist himself. The biggest bad boy in
the financial world.” She cocked her head. “Promise me you’re planning to sleep
with him.”
“You’re crazed,” Natalia said. “Sex-crazed. I
actually wish I could cancel it. I’m really stressed out. But one of the things
I can’t find in this mess is my cell phone, which has his number on it,” she
added. How could you lose a phone in an office that was smaller than forty
square feet?
“But for God’s sake, woman, why don’t you get
yourself an assistant?”
“I have an assistant,” Natalia said. “Who, unlike
me, has a life. Her kids were sick, so she went home.” Natalia glanced at the
clock. “Yesterday.” With a sigh she sank into her desk chair. She closed her
eyes. She couldn’t look anymore. She was really done. It felt like she’d been
working nonstop for ages. And there was so much paperwork she was behind on, a
report to write, and at least five meetings to schedule. Actually she didn’t .
. .
“Natalia?”
Åsa’s voice made her jump, and Natalia realized
she’d been dozing off in her uncomfortable chair.
“What?” she asked.
Åsa looked at her seriously. Her mocking expression
was gone.
“Hammar Capital isn’t evil, no matter what your dad
and your brother think. They’re tough, yes, but David Hammar isn’t Satan. And
he’s really hot. You don’t need to be ashamed if you think it’ll be fun to meet
him.”
“No,” said Natalia. “I know.” But she’d been
wondering what Hammar Capital’s legendary CEO wanted with her. And maybe he
wasn’t Satan, but he had the reputation of being hard and inconsiderate even by
financial industry standards. “No, I’m just going to have lunch and get the lay
of the land,” she said firmly. “If he has business with the bank, he’s going to
want to deal with J-O, not me.”
“But here’s the thing. You never know with Hammar
Capital,” Åsa said, gracefully standing up. “And you’re underestimating
yourself. Do you know anyone as smart as you? No, exactly.” She ran her hand
over her completely stain- and wrinkle-free outfit. Even though she was wearing
an austere suit (Natalia happened to know that this specific Prada suit had
been tailor-made for Åsa), a simple silk blouse, and light-beige pumps, she
looked like a glamorous movie star.
Åsa leaned over the desk. “You know very well you
shouldn’t care so much what your father thinks,” she said, as usual putting her
finger right on the sore spot and pushing. “You’re brilliant, and you’re going
to go far. You can make your career here.” Åsa gestured to the building they
were in, the Swedish headquarters of one of the world’s biggest banks, the Bank
of London. “You don’t have to work at the family company to be worth
something,” Åsa continued. “They have the world’s least progressive view of
women’s rights and you know it. Your dad is hopeless; your brother is an idiot,
and the rest of the board wins the male chauvinist pig prize of all time. And I
should know, because I work with them.” She cocked her head. “You’re smarter
than all of them put together.”
BLURB:
In the
cutthroat world of Sweden’s financial elite, no one knows that better than
corporate raider David Hammar. Ruthless. Notorious. Unstoppable. He’s out to
hijack the ultimate prize, Investum. After years of planning, all the players
are in place; he needs just one member of the aristocratic owning family on his
side—Natalia De la Grip.
Elegant,
brilliant, driven to succeed in a man’s world, Natalia is curious about David’s
unexpected invitation to lunch. Everyone knows that he is rich, dangerous,
unethical; she soon discovers he is also deeply scarred.
The
attraction between these two is impossible, but the long Swedish nights unfold
an affair that will bring to light shocking secrets, forever alter a family,
and force both Natalia and David to confront their innermost fears and desires.
Buy
Links:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio:
Simona Ahrnstedt was born in Prague and is a
licensed psychologist, a cognitive behavioral therapist, and most importantly,
a bestselling author. As her novels have swept bestseller lists in her native
Sweden, she has become a spokesperson for books by women, for women, and about
women. Her provocative women’s fiction has been sold in multiple languages as
well as audio format. She lives
outside of Stockholm, Sweden, with her two teenagers.
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