Sparks in the boardroom
and the bedroom…
She can’t let anything derail her passion project,
Not even a second chance with the sexiest man alive…
The deal that could bring Quinn Bazemore’s career back from the brink has one catch: she must partner up with her ex-lover Max Abbott. Quinn can’t forget the pleasure-filled summer they shared. But now she’s butting heads over business strategy with the mouthwatering marketing VP, even as their reawakened desire threatens to expose her deepest secrets…
Good second chance romance. Max and Quinn had a secret relationship one summer before leaving for college. Quinn was eighteen, and Max was twenty. Quinn was heartbroken when Max suddenly broke off the relationship and disappeared from her life. They haven’t seen each other for thirteen years until Quinn walks into the boardroom at King’s Finest and upends his life.
Max and his sister worked for two years to convince their father and grandfather to take a chance on producing fruit brandies. Now that they have agreed, as Marketing VP, Max is ready for the next step. He is angry when told that the marketing project will be headed by someone else, and stunned when he finds out it is Quinn.
Quinn is determined to make this campaign a success for two reasons. First, the fruit for the brandy comes from her grandfather’s farm. The success of the venture will make or break his business. Second, Quinn needs this job to repair the professional reputation trashed by her vindictive ex-fiancé and his father (her former employer).
I enjoyed seeing the relationship develop between Quinn and Max. On the work side, Max had to get over his resentment at having Quinn put in charge. It took a little doing, but he did finally realize that it made sense to have someone who could devote the time to it. I had to laugh when he admitted that he couldn’t come up with any ideas that were better than hers. That helped them relax into a good working relationship. But under that working relationship simmered the renewal of their attraction.
I liked the fact that Max immediately tried to apologize for the way he broke off their prior relationship. He knew he was wrong when he did it, but the intensity of his feelings for Quinn scared him. Quinn doesn’t want to hear his apology. She wants to keep the past in the past and keep the present professional. Having been burned by her recent relationship, Quinn doubts the wisdom of getting involved with Max again, both for the risk to her heart and the risk to her career. In addition to working together, they are also thrown together during several social occasions. It doesn’t take long for Max to realize that he wants Quinn back in his life, but overcoming the obstacles won’t be easy. Quinn fights against her feelings and tries to convince herself that a secret fling is all she wants. I loved it when she got to the point where she trusted him enough to tell him about her ex. Max’s understanding and patience went a long way toward making Quinn believe in their feelings. I loved the ending scene with the family.
One of my favorite things about this series is the
closeness of the Abbott family. Their love and respect for each other is evident
but doesn’t preclude some familial difficulties. There is an ongoing storyline
dealing with brother Parker’s belief that he should be the next CEO, rather
than the oldest brother Blake. That comes to a head in this book. I thought the
issue was handled realistically, and I’m looking forward to seeing how it plays
out. I liked seeing more of the youngest and only girl, Zora. She is good at
what she does but is also the one who tends to stick her nose in everybody’s
business. I liked her interactions with Quinn and loved how she poked at Max. I
found the youngest brother, Cole, very intriguing. He is the only one not
involved in the family business, which has caused some stress. Things between
him and Max are especially tense and become more so when Max discovers that
Cole and Quinn have been good friends for years. Max’s jealousy was obvious,
even when Cole tried to set him straight. I ached for Cole, who is hurt by the
attitudes of Max and the rest of the family. I look forward to his book and
seeing him come into his own - and lose his womanizer status!
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