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All characters in this book are fiction and figments of the author’s imagination.
Praise for Carrie Ann Ryan
“Count on Carrie Ann Ryan for emotional, sexy, character driven stories that capture your heart!” – Carly Phillips, NY Times bestselling author
“Carrie Ann Ryan’s romances are my newest addiction! The emotion in her books captures me from the very beginning. The hope and healing hold me close until the end. These love stories will simply sweep you away.” ~ NYT Bestselling Author Deveny Perry
"Carrie Ann Ryan writes the perfect balance of sweet and heat ensuring every story feeds the soul." - Audrey Carlan, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author
“Carrie Ann Ryan never fails to draw readers in with passion, raw sensuality, and characters that pop off the page. Any book by Carrie Ann is an absolute treat.” – New York Times Bestselling Author J. Kenner
“Carrie Ann Ryan knows how to pull your heartstrings and make your pulse pound! Her wonderful Redwood Pack series will draw you in and keep you reading long into the night. I can’t wait to see what comes next with the new generation, the Talons. Keep them coming, Carrie Ann!” –Lara Adrian, New York Times bestselling author of CRAVE THE NIGHT
"With snarky humor, sizzling love scenes, and brilliant, imaginative worldbuilding, The Dante's Circle series reads as if Carrie Ann Ryan peeked at my personal wish list!" – NYT Bestselling Author, Larissa Ione
"Carrie Ann Ryan writes sexy shifters in a world full of passionate happily-ever-afters." – New York Times Bestselling Author Vivian Arend
“Carrie Ann’s books are sexy with characters you can’t help but love from page one. They are heat and heart blended to perfection.” New York Times Bestselling Author Jayne Rylon
Carrie Ann Ryan's books are wickedly funny and deliciously hot, with plenty of twists to keep you guessing. They'll keep you up all night!” USA Today Bestselling Author Cari Quinn
"Once again, Carrie Ann Ryan knocks the Dante's Circle series out of the park. The queen of hot, sexy, enthralling paranormal romance, Carrie Ann is an author not to miss!" New York Times bestselling Author Marie Harte
AT FIRST MEET
NYT Bestselling Author Carrie Ann Ryan continues the Montgomery Ink Legacy series with an emotional, friends-to-lovers romance where second chances begin with a promise.
I fell in love with the wrong man and learned the hard way to ask for help.
I don’t plan on falling again and have no intention of trying.
But when I get invited to a high-powered CEO retreat, I know I can’t say no.
And I can’t go alone.
When my frenemy, Nick, invites himself as my escort, I should walk away.
But there’s no stopping the connection we’ve both ignored for far too long.
Only Nick’s past is far darker than he lets the world know, and the shell he encased himself in is stronger than my own. And when the pain from my past comes back with a force, I’m afraid that walking away will be the only choice—even if it breaks us both.
Chapter 1
Lake
I might be a Montgomery, but I felt like a fraud. That is, until I looked around my office and remembered that a Montgomery could do anything. I might not have been born into this family, but I held the name, the connections, the love, and the will to succeed.
I smiled as I tapped on the keyboard, replying to another of the countless emails that had made their way to me.
My assistant and staff went through most of my emails before they even hit my inbox. Mostly because I worked way too many hours a day, had more than one job, more than one multimillion-dollar business, and somebody needed to organize my emails for me.
As somewhat of a control freak, it was odd to think that I even did that. Only here I was, looking through a list of emails that I should probably go through since they were forwarded to my private email address rather than the public one.
My intercom buzzed and I tapped it, smiling, even though Desiree couldn’t see me.
“Yes, Desiree?” I asked, leaning back into my chair while rubbing my neck. I had been working nonstop for the past few hours, and as I looked at the clock, I knew exactly why she was buzzing.
“Don’t skip lunch, or I’m going to have to deal with your parents. Please don’t make me deal with your parents.”
I held back a laugh because my parents weren’t mean or overbearing. No. It was because my parents could love you to the point of feeling guilty when you weren’t taking care of yourself. They would never blame Desiree for me forgetting to eat when I was focusing. But they would ensure that Desiree was eating.
“You only don’t like it because if I forget lunch, it means you have also. Even though it’s on our calendars.”
Desiree walked in rather than finishing the conversation through the intercom.
I might have a corner office in Downtown Denver in one of the few large skyscrapers, but Desiree had her own office right next to mine. I wasn’t going to put her in a tiny little seat where people would call her the dragon when they tried to get to me.
Okay, well, they still called her the dragon, and they had to get through her to get to me, but I wasn’t going to force her to work out in the open where she couldn’t have space to herself. So she had her own office. Her own office with a set of windows, a mini fridge, and more than one timer to remind us to eat lunch.
“I brought us salads because I was in the mood for it, but they’re Mediterranean ones with tons of protein and chocolate chip cookies because it’s not like we don’t deserve it.”
I rolled my eyes and gestured towards the seating area in my office. “Come on, the last time I ate dressing over my keyboard, the IT department growled at me. It’s my building. If I want to drop a large drop of dressing and a crouton on my keyboard, I can.”
Desiree rolled her eyes and sat down, handing me my food. I went and got us two sparkling waters, as well as a few napkins.
“Are we taking a true break, or are we having a working lunch?”
“You and I are both leaving early today, and when do we ever actually not talk about work during lunch?”
I winced. “Okay, you’re right. Now let’s talk.”
“You have a meeting with Diana at one. Which is good because it was supposed to be noon, and then we would be meeting with her while eating salad.”
“I could do that. With dressing running all down my chest.”
“You do throw salad at yourself, don’t you?”
I snorted and placed my napkin in my cleavage so I could protect my shirt. I might run multimillion-dollar companies, have a few million in the bank, and have graced a few magazine covers in my time, but I still ate sloppily. I couldn’t help it. My mind was on a thousand different things, and I really was a dork.