by Kaira Rouda
“Mr. Putnam will see you now.” Without moving from her seat, Marlene pushed a button and the stainless steel door to his office swung open. Samantha could almost hear the drum beat of doom, and she felt Marlene’s eyes on her back as she entered Mr. Putnam’s office. Mr. Putnam was seated behind a glass desk, and beyond him, was a glass wall with a commanding view of the city. As she entered, he remained seated and swiveled his chair, turning his back to her. Along the far wall of his office to her left was a large fish tank with spectacularly colored fish. The other two walls were floor to ceiling glass. The air smelled of success and ocean. Blake Putnam was on the phone. She turned around to leave, but the door had closed tightly behind her. Unsure what to do, Samantha stopped, frozen about five feet from his desk.
Breathe, she reminded herself, even as she started to get angry about the situation. Sure, he was the boss but ordering her to what she privately thought of as his lair and then turning his back on her without so much as a nod in her direction? She tried to keep the irritation off her face. He finished the call, swiveled his chair in her direction and waved her to the white leather chair in front of his desk. He wore a crisp white dress shirt and a black and navy striped tie, the blue matching the color of his deep blue eyes. His black suit jacket hung from the back of his black leather chair. Samantha hurried to the seat.
“Ms. Jones,” Mr. Putnam tilted back in his black leather chair, steepling his hands below his chin. Samantha could see his biceps push against his shirt, but forced her attention back on his words. She waited for him to explain why she was here, but he stared at her.
Samantha tried not to fidget. He continued to stare, and she wondered wildly what game was this? He could win tournaments in poker. World championships. What could he possibly be thinking? Maybe she should speak, but the longer the silence stretched, the fewer words jangled around in her brain.
“I’m impressed by how you handled the preliminary Daycon meetings. Even with all the friction over the increased rates and government regulation, you walked through all of the reasoning better than some of my more senior executives could have done, frankly,” Putnam said. Whatever she’d been expecting, it hadn’t been praise. Samantha sagged in relief. “You think well on your feet,” he said.
Samantha smiled. He liked her work. He had noticed her during the meeting. And he had the bluest eyes she’d ever seen.
“You’re smart, and you have a great grasp of Blake Genetics’ future.” He leaned forward. “I like your presentation skills. Exactly what I need for this upcoming weekend.” Basking in his praise, Samantha almost missed the last line. She leaned forward and pursed her lips in the shape of a W, but for once managed to still her question.
“I need an associate to attend a business meeting with me. We will finalize Monday’s Daycon pitch and review every aspect of the presentation.”
“Me? You?”
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Read other books by Kaira Rouda
Thanks to you, the reader, for supporting my dream! I love writing stories and that wouldn’t be possible without you!
Thank you to my team, including the fabulous cover designer Sarah Hansen, my son, Trace, for sharing his photography with me, and my publicist Autumn Hull. Special hugs to Marlene Engel, Alicia Klick, Karla Heller, and Nancy Stopper for all their help.
And to Ashley Wahler for your spark of inspiration – thank you!
All of you mean so much!!
Kaira Rouda is a bestselling, multiple award-winning author of contemporary fiction that sparkles with humor and heart. She has won the Indie Excellence Award, USA Book Awards, the Reader’s Choice Awards and honorable mention in the Writer’s Digest International Book Awards. Her books have been widely reviewed and featured in leading magazines. Her nonfiction title, REAL YOU INCORPORATED: 8 Essentials for Women Entrepreneurs, continues to inspire women internationally. She lives in Southern California with her husband and four almost-grown kids, and is at work on her next novel. Connect with her on Twitter, @KairaRouda, and on Facebook at Kaira Rouda Books.
For more about Kaira and her books, please visit www.KairaRouda.com and sign up for her newsletter!
Copyright © 2015 by Kaira Rouda
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted downloaded, distributed, stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, without express permission of the author, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages for review purposes. This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to any person, living or dead, or any events or occurrences, is purely coincidental. The characters and story lines are created from the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
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Cover photo by Trace Rouda Photography.
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Table of Contents
Title Page
Books by Kaira Rouda
About Laguna Nights
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Dear Readers!
Laguna Heights
Weekend with the Tycoon
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Copyright Notice