“Thanks!”
“Hannah? Are you there?”
A beat of silence, while Hannah weighed her daughter’s need for a second hot dog against six months of practicing law in a specialty Hannah loathed, dreaded, and despised.
“I accept the job, Gail, though be warned I will transfer to corporate law as soon as I can.”
“You haven’t met Trent. You’re going to love him.”
No, Hannah would not.
Gail went on to explain details—starting day, parking sticker, county bar identification badge—and all the while, Hannah watched her hot dog disappear and knew she was making a terrible mistake.
* * *
“Trent Knightley is a fine man, and his people love him,” Gail said, passing Hannah’s signing bonus check across the desk. “The only folks who don’t like to see him coming are opposing counsel, and even they respect him.”
“He sounds like an ideal first boss.”
What kind of fine man wanted to spend his days breaking up families and needed the head of HR singing his praises at every turn?
The entire first morning was spent with Gail, filling out forms—and leaving some spaces on those forms blank. Gail took Hannah to lunch, calling it de rigueur for a new hire.
“In fact,” Gail said between bites of a chicken Caesar, “you will likely be taken out to lunch by each of the three partners, though Mac tends to be less social than his brothers. You ordering dessert?”
People who could afford gym memberships ordered dessert.
“I’d like to get back to work if you don’t mind, Gail. I have yet to meet the elusive Trent Knightley, and if he should appear in the office this afternoon, I don’t want to be accused of stretching lunch on my first day.”
Not on any day. If Hannah had learned anything temping for the Baltimore firms, it was that law firms were OCD about time sheets and billable hours.
“Hannah, you are not bagging groceries. No one, and I mean no one, will watch your time as long as your work is getting done, your time sheet is accurate, and most of your clients aren’t complaining. Get over the convenience-store galley slave mentality.”
Gail paid the bill with a corporate card, and no doubt the cost of lunch would have bought many packages of fancy 100 percent beef wieners.
“Don’t sweat the occasional long lunch,” Gail said as they drove back to the office. “Trent takes as many as anyone else, and the way he eats, he’d better.”
Gail’s comment had Hannah picturing Mr. Wonderful Boss, Esq., as a pudgy middle-aged fellow who put nervous clients at ease and probably used a cart and a caddy when he played golf with the judges.
Thank you for reading!
We hope you enjoyed Return to You by Samantha Chase.
Help others find books they’ll love by writing a review or lending this book to a friend.
The book you’ve just finished is Book 4 in the Montgomery Brothers series. Book 5, Meant for You will be available in April 2015. In case you missed them, previous books in the series are Wait for Me, Trust in Me, and Stay with Me. If you loved Return to You, check out our mailing list for updates on new releases and access to exclusive content.
Sign up now to be one of the first to get the scoop on Samantha Chase, her latest books, and other great titles from Sourcebooks!
SIGN UP NOW!
About the Author
New York Times and USA Today bestseller Samantha Chase released her debut novel, Jordan’s Return, in November 2011. Although she waited until she was in her forties to publish for the first time, writing has been a lifelong passion. Teaching creative writing to students from elementary through high school and encouraging those students to follow their writing dreams motivated Samantha to take that step as well. Stay With Me (Montgomery Brothers book 3) hit the USA Today bestseller list upon its debut. Catering to the CEO was included in the romance bundle Loving the CEO, a five-book package that made the New York Times and the USA Today bestseller lists. In March 2013, The Christmas Cottage was nominated for two Indie Romance Convention Awards: Best Indie Romance Novella and Best Indie Contemporary Romance, while Samantha was nominated for Indie Author of the Year. When she’s not working on a new story, she spends her time reading contemporary romances, blogging, playing Scrabble on Facebook, and spending time with her husband of more than twenty years and their two sons in North Carolina.
One Mad Night
by Julia London
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author
Two Romantic Adventures
One winter’s night a blizzard sweeps across the country, demonstrating that fate can change the course of lives in an instant…and fate has a sense of humor.
One Mad Night
Chelsea Crawford and Ian Rafferty are high-profile ad execs in cutthroat competition for a client. When a major winter storm puts New York City on lockdown, the two rivals have to make it through the night together.
The Bridesmaid
When the weather wreaks havoc with transportation systems, Kate Preston and Joe Firretti meet as they are both trying to rent the last car available… As Kate races to her best friend’s wedding, and Joe races to a job interview, it looks like together is the only way they’ll make it at all.
Praise for Julia London:
“London knows how to keep pages turning…winningly fresh and funny.” —Publishers Weekly
For more Julia London, visit:
www.sourcebooks.com
The Bridesmaid
by Julia London
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author
Two mismatched strangers on a disastrous cross-country trek
Kate Preston just moved to New York, but she has to get back to Seattle in time for her best friend’s wedding. Joe Firretti is moving to Seattle, and he has to get there in time for a life-changing job interview. But fate’s got a sense of humor.
Kate goes from rubbing elbows on the plane with a gorgeous but irritating stranger (doggone arm-rest hog) to sharing one travel disaster after another with him on four wheels. Joe thought he had his future all figured out, but sometimes fate has to knock you over the head pretty hard before you see that opportunity is standing right in front of you…in a really god-awful poufy bridesmaid dress.
Praise for Julia London:
“London’s ability to draw real-life characters and settings is superb…her characters cope with life’s curveballs and keep on trucking.” —RT Book Reviews
For more Julia London, visit:
www.sourcebooks.com
I’ll Stand By You
by Sharon Sala
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author
No one is alone
Dori Grant is no stranger to hardship. As a young single mother in the gossip-fueled town of Blessings, Georgia, she’s weathered the storm of small-town disapproval most of her life. But when Dori loses everything within the span of an evening, she realizes she has no choice but to turn to her neighbors.
As long as there is love to give
Everyone says the Pine boys are no good, but Johnny Pine has been proving the gossips wrong ever since his mother died and he took over raising his brothers. His heart goes out to the young mother and child abandoned by the good people of Blessings. Maybe he can be the one to change all that…
Praise for The Curl Up and Dye:
“A delight…I couldn’t put it down.” —Fresh Fiction
“One of those rare treats.” —RT Book Reviews
For more Sharon Sala, visit:
www.sourcebooks.com
The Unexpected Consequences of Love
by Jill Mansell
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author
How many secrets can one seaside town hold?
When it comes to falling in love,
the consequences are impossible to predict. That’s why Sophie Wells is working in St. Carys as a photographer, with a focus on putting her painful past firmly behind her.
When handsome Josh Strachan moves back to St. Carys to run the family hotel, he can’t understand why Sophie has zero interest in letting him—or any man—into her life. Meanwhile, he’s duped into employing Sophie’s impulsive friend Tula, whose crush on him is decidedly unrequited. Josh’s friend, the charming but utterly feckless surfer Riley Bryant, nurses a massive crush on Tula, and Riley’s aunt—superstar author Marguerite Marshall—has designs on Josh’s grandfather…
Love comes with complications, and the town of St. Carys has more than its fair share! Only one thing’s for sure—that love will change you forever, in ways you never expected.
For more Jill Mansell, visit:
www.sourcebooks.com
Find My Way Home
Harmony Homecomings
by Michele Summers
She’s just the kind of drama
Interior designer Bertie Anderson has big dreams for her career, and they don’t include being stuck in her hometown of Harmony, North Carolina. After one last client, Bertie is packing up her high heels and heading for her dream job in Atlanta. But her plans are derailed by the gorgeous new owner of that big old Victorian she’s always wanted to renovate…
He’s vowed to avoid
For retired tennis pro Keith Morgan, Harmony is a far cry from fast-paced Miami—which is exactly the point. Keith is starting a new life for himself and his daughter Maddie, and he’s left the bright lights and hot women far behind. Bertie’s exactly the kind of curvaceous temptation he doesn’t need, and Keith refuses to let their sizzling attraction distract him from his goals. Keith and Bertie both have to learn that there’s more than one kind of escape, and it takes more than wallpaper to turn a house into a home.
For more Michele Summers, visit:
www.sourcebooks.com
Return to You Page 29