by Alexa Rowan
The subject, FW: last night was epic!!, sounded like something his best mate, Dave Watson, would send. Especially since last night had been rather epic. But why had it been forwarded…by…
His brain couldn’t process what his eyes were telling him.
The sender’s name was Shane, Tracy. Meaning, there was someone at the firm named Tracy Shane? Who’d received an email that was probably about Shane’s activities last night? No effing way. His luck couldn’t possibly be that bad.
He opened the message, skipping straight over the brief note at the top of the email to check the signature block. Yes, one Tracy M. Shane, Esq. apparently worked as an associate in the firm’s New York City office.
With a growing sense of dread, he read Tracy’s note next. “Hmph.” It wasn’t actually that bad.
Welcome to the firm, she’d written. I’m sure this is just the first of many emails that will go astray. I’ll forward yours if you forward mine?
Tracy seemed like an alright chick. Holding his breath, Shane scanned the forwarded message. Dave asked how Shane had gotten on with that girl…told him he’d hooked up with the girl’s hot friend after Shane and the girl had left the bar together…and suggested he and Shane get together tomorrow afternoon to celebrate—again—Shane’s first week at the firm.
He winced. Dave really, really needed to be more discreet.
And Shane’s brother really, really needed to be nowhere near here, so Shane could sort something out with Tracy and tell Dave to stop being a dickhead—not that accomplishing the latter would ever be possible. “Ah, Mark? I need to deal with this email.”
Mark opened the door but lingered in Shane’s doorway. “You coming over tomorrow? Mum and Dad will be there, and I was going to throw some lamb on the barbie, a few snags for the kids...”
Sounded like hell—incessant badgering about how he wasn’t living up to his potential interspersed with fawning over Mark’s perfect family. “Nah, I’ve got something on. But thanks.”
“Suit yourself,” Mark said. Though it was clear Shane’s dismissive answer hadn’t suited his brother at all.
Another email came through then. “See ya later,” Shane said, then turned back to his monitor. This message was also from Shane, Tracy.
The subject? FW: You were incredible last night.
He swallowed hard, trying to keep his breakfast from making a reappearance. Shane knew who this email had to be from. No matter what it said, with a subject like that, it couldn’t be good.
“Later,” Mark said. Then his footsteps shuffled away down the corridor. Thank Christ.
Shane took a deep breath, then exhaled in a rush, hoping to settle his churning stomach. Time to find out if he was going to get fired from the second job in as many weeks.
He opened the message. But all the mysterious Tracy Shane had to say this time was, You might consider a Gmail account. Just a thought.
A sick sense of relief flooded him, then the heat of embarrassment swept across his face. Accompanied by a chuckle. She had a wry sense of humor, this Tracy Shane did.
The forwarded email was, of course, from the girl he’d left the bar with last night. They’d met at a networking mixer earlier in the evening, then joined a smaller group that had gone for drinks down on Circular Quay after the official event had ended. Hooking up with her afterward had been an unexpected and welcome bonus. Until she’d sent a racy morning-after email to the wrong person.
Was it really so hard to understand that his email address was tracy.shane and not the other way ’round? It must be, since two people had already messed it up. He would definitely use a personal email address for all personal emails from here on out, to avoid the risk of this ever happening again.
He fired off a message to Dave. And he ignored the email from last night’s folly. Plausible deniability, right?
He should get back to reviewing the asset purchase agreement. Unwanted conversations with his brother and reading humiliating misdirected personal emails couldn’t be billed to clients. Nor did they help him wow the partners. But he could spare a few more minutes to indulge his curiosity about Tracy M. Shane, Esq. He owed her a reply, anyway.
Since she was an associate—as opposed to a paralegal or administrative staffer—her headshot and bio were included on the firm’s website. And she was… Even with her arms folded across her chest in one of those ridiculous corporate headshot poses, she was a knockout.
Glossy hair tumbled over her shoulders, a warmer shade of brown than Shane’s own. And her confident smile undoubtedly appealed to her clients as much as it did to Shane. But what he found himself coming back to again and again were her remarkable eyes, as if he had to keep making sure her irises really were that unusual pale golden-green, ringed by dark gray.
Her bio was equally remarkable. She’d graduated from University of Chicago law school five years ago, and with honors from Harvard three years before that, which would make her, what…thirty? She didn’t look thirty, but he supposed her picture could have been taken when she’d joined the firm, fresh out of law school. Or maybe it was just that Americans tended to look a few years younger than their Australian counterparts, who spent more time in the sun. Shane’s years of surfing and playing rugby—not that he’d had much time for either of those activities, lately—had already given him crows’ feet and a tan that faded during the winter, but never completely disappeared.
Like Shane, Tracy was in CMH’s corporate department. Her areas of specialization were exactly the sorts of things he wanted to do—M&A, complex cross-border transactions, other cool-sounding stuff. And not in a relative backwater like Sydney. In New frickin’ York, the financial capital of the world.
The way his luck was going, he’d probably end up working on a deal with her. And after receiving those two stray emails, she’d probably already written him off as a partier and an idiot. At best. Nice going, arsehole.
Or maybe his luck would improve, and they’d never meet in person. He could always hope.
In the meantime, he’d thank her for forwarding his emails, and he’d pretend for as long as he could that he still had a few shreds of dignity left. The truth was, he couldn’t afford another screw-up. Or he’d end up as a small town lawyer out in Cowra, and his dreams of leaving Sydney behind to work on billion dollar deals would be history.
Want to know what happens? Find out more about An International Affair here.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Winning Her Over would not be the book it is today without the emotional support and writing assistance of my invaluable critique partners, London Setterby, Isley Robson, and Delia Devry. I am likewise tremendously grateful to my editors, Jessa Slade and Martha Trachtenberg.
Thank you to my fabulous beta readers, Martin, Aimee, Diane, and Jessica. You guys rock! Special thanks to massage therapists J.T., and Linda Guttman, LMT, for keeping me on the straight and narrow. All errors are, of course, my own.
Gina Bernal’s feedback on the original version of Winning Her Over was incredibly helpful in shifting the course of this book. And Serena Bell, your encouragement, especially in the early days, means more to me than I can say.
Can’t forget a shout out to the Dragonflies! I’m so lucky that you’ve got my back, and I will always have yours. You ladies are amazing, every single one of you.
Last, but certainly not least, I can’t thank my family enough for your understanding and support. I heart you guys, with all the hearts in the world.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
An attorney by day, Golden Heart®-winning author Alexa Rowan squeezes in as much writing time as she can for her steamy, intelligent contemporary and paranormal romances. She also enjoys hiking and is an avid romance reader.
Alexa lives in a leafy New England suburb with her husband, two energetic children, five backyard chickens, a dumb but adorable cairn terrier, and a female leopard gecko named Fred.
You can connect with Alexa at:
@Alexa_Rowan
Alexa.Rowan.Books
www.alexarowan.com
[email protected]
CHANGES TO THIS BOOK
Jasmine Press strives to produce books that are 100% error-free, and this book was carefully proofread before publication. If you find a typo or formatting error in this book, please let us know at [email protected] so it can be fixed!
Here are the updates to this book that have been made so far:
First edition (5/19/2016)
Thank you, eagle-eyed readers!
COPYRIGHT
Publisher’s Note: This book is a work of fiction. References to real people, events, establishments, organization, or locales are intended only to provide a sense of authenticity, and are used fictitiously. All other characters, businesses, places, events, incidents, and dialogue are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or companies, events, institutions, or products is purely coincidental.
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please lend it or purchase an additional copy for each person. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of the author.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review; provided, however, that where such permission is sufficient, the publisher grants the right to strip any DRM which may be applied to this work.
To obtain permission to excerpt portions of the text or for other rights inquiries, please contact the publisher at [email protected] or by sending a letter to the attention of “Rights Coordinator” at the address below:
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P.O. Box 3222
Fayville, MA 01745-0222
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Text and cover: © 2016 Alexa Rowan | www.alexarowan.com
Cover image: © Yuri Arcurs | Thinkstock
Winning Her Over | Alexa Rowan
ISBN: 978-1-942802-00-6
Table of Contents
About The Book
Dedication
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
Chapter 14
Thank You!
Excerpt from An International Affair
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Changes to This Book
Copyright