Lady Boss: Big City Billionaires, #3

By Michele de Winton

She's a billionaire and his boss. But her body doesn't seem to have got the memo...

Samantha Williams has always been the one that succeeded. The youngest woman to make money from the dot com boom. The youngest woman to graduate her class. The youngest tech CEO in silicon valley. The youngest self made female billionaire. She's a success in every sense of the world and a roll model to thousands of girls world wide. But when she takes over Tyson Jenkins' company and he pushes her to examine what she really wants, she discovers her needs are just as hot and human as his. Can she trust him to do the best by her company and her heart...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Michele de Winton
• Release date: May 30, 2019
• ISBN: 9780995108998

Michele de Winton

Michele loves sunshine, chardonnay, (preferably together), chocolate, beaches, trees, great vegetarian food, steamy writing and happy endings. She’s been known to be an all-round arty type, dancing and producing theatre around the globe so it's no wonder that her first romance had a little sparkle of the stage tucked into its pages.  Being a writer was not was she was supposed to be when she ‘grew up' but then neither was being a dancer. Her poor parents. They thought that when she toddled off to law school they'd bred a responsible, useful adult and instead they got a performer and word junkie. Sometimes her performing past jumps into the dress up box and requires attention. But most of the time she’s content to stay in her PJs. All day. She writes surrounded by the whisper of trees from her home in New Zealand and with only intermittent interruptions from her two young sons and husband. (Okay more like regular interruptions, but dreaming is free.) You can check out her other work or get in touch at www.micheledewinton.com Thanks so much for reading! Luck Stuck the next book from the Big City Billionaires Series is coming September 2017. To find out about this, and other work ranging from Motorcycle Gangs to Dream Destination Romantic Comedy, follow Michele on Facebook or twitter or sign up to her newsletter for updates, giveaways and bonus reads.

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

The room was packed with people and tables. On every surface, kids had stacked their lovingly prepared science exhibits so industry leaders like him could pass judgment. Tyson Jenkins took a deep breath and walked into the carefully orchestrated mayhem. It was loud. Very loud. Because beside every table and stand and surface in the school hall, there was kid running full tilt through their pitch, out loud, to anyone who would listen.

Tyson smiled. The New York Schools’ Science Expo was one of his favorite charity obligations. It was both gratifying and intimidating that he was being asked to look over the next generation's hopes and dreams like this. He peered at the closest exhibit and almost snorted. Flatulence level monitoring and audio recognition. The kid standing next to it gave him a cheeky wiggle of his eyebrows and Tyson let the laugh out. Hope it comes with fart jokes? he said.

One hundred and one of the world’s best fart jokes. And also science, said the kid.

Tyson laughed again. You’ll go far, he said and walked further into the hall. As he looked up, a girl in a stiff blue uniform, standing on the stage, caught Tyson’s eye. She looked out over the bustling crowd of people and nodded at Tyson. Her gaze was strong, clear, and assured. Tyson smiled and gave her a short salute. The kid grinned and walked into the wings out of sight. For a moment, Tyson was thrown back into his childhood. It was him standing on the stage looking down as his parents beamed up at him. Tyson could almost feel the ache in his arms from holding all the awards. Could almost hear the applause as the headmaster read out his name for coming top of his class, again. He was the first in his family to do well at school. The first to ever go to university. It had been great. But it had been a lot of pressure. That was then, this is now. He shrugged off the memory but relished the feeling of being a part of this. A part of making the history of these kids lives.

Are you lost?

Tyson shook his head to pull himself from the memory and turned, finding his gaze locked with cloud-gray eyes. It felt like something hit him, hard, in the chest. A fist? An elbow? A foot? He put his hand to his sternum. No, nothing. He looked up again. The eyes were wide, rimmed with thick, long lashes, and set above cheekbones that were so sharp, they might have sliced a less confident man to ribbons. Then there was her mouth. Man. Full lips, colored a deep pink but free of makeup, and pulled back in a half smile, the mouth seemed to promise it might whisper dark, visceral secrets at midnight if he could be patient. And the eyes, cheekbones, and mouth were all surrounded by a mass of soft blond hair, falling in waves around a face he’d never seen before. Tyson dropped his hand as he realized it wasn't his chest that had taken a blow, it was something much deeper. Your heart? Gimme a break, Jenkins. He snapped back to reality and realized she was still waiting for his answer.

Just lost in thought. I'm the judge for the innovation section?

Oh, right. She pulled out a photocopied map of the displays and traced the categories. It gave him a chance to check her out again. In a soft blue t-shirt and jeans, she was effortlessly casual, the fabric almost inviting him to put his hands on it and feel the warmth of her skin through it. But there was something about her that didn't quite fit. As if, despite the well-worn nature of the clothes, she wasn't sure about wearing them outside the house. Really? You're analyzing her wardrobe choices, not the fact that you want to pull everything she's wearing off her? He opened his mouth to say something and then shut it again, unsure of what he was going to offer. This was irrational, foolish, irresponsible. He shook his head. He never did this. After a lifetime of having to prove himself, he was never lost for words. And yet here he was, gazing at this stranger as if she was about to tell him how to solve his uncertainty over his work troubles. That's what you're doing? Okay, a bit of that, and also a bit of – he checked his racing heart rate – greedy need. His whole body was focused on hers like he wanted to own it.

You're over there. At the far side of the hall. I had a look at some of the entries, pretty amazing. I wish this sort of thing had been around when I was a kid.

She looked him in the eye and smiled, and his body shuddered as it leapt to a picture of her smiling at him as she lay amid his tangled bedsheets.

Say something, say something. So, are you one of the organizers?

He hadn't expected her to laugh but when she did, his stupidly sexy thoughts about her softened. She looked at him clearly, her eyes sharp and focused, not the soft, bedroom-heavy version he'd just imagined. Rather than feeling disappointed, he was pleased. Relieved that his fantasy was just that: a temporary traverse into lust orbit. He clearly needed to get out more.

I'm judging the transport section, over there. She pointed to an area where small models of cars, jets, and even rockets were placed on tables and suspended on impossibly fragile scaffolding. It's a big ask, holding the hopes of all these kids in my hands.

Finally, he smiled. That’s exactly what I thought when I first walked in here. I mean, it's nice to be asked, but what if I crush someone's dream of going into tech by not choosing their entry?

"I know. I realize I said I wished this sort of thing had been around when I was a kid, but then the pressure I would have felt to win. She blew out through her teeth. I always needed to win. You know?"

The smile spread to his whole body. He did know and he nodded. Although not everyone takes it as seriously as us. Did you see the fart joke kid?

She grinned. Yes. He’s hilarious. And his monitoring system is actually pretty genius.

I didn’t get that far. He sold me on the one hundred and one fart jokes. And also science, Tyson tried to imitate the kid’s voice.

The woman grinned and he was struck by her easy warmth as much as her beauty. "Sorry, we haven't met. I'm Tyson, maybe we could get a coffee afterward? Or a wine if you'd prefer? We can fight over who gets