Series: Bound #3
Author: Nicole Flockton
Genre: Adult, ContemporaryRomance
Published: October 8, 2015
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From Nicole Flockton comes the intense, emotional conclusion of her bestselling Bound trilogy…
Reclusive, exclusive, and world renowned, Jeffrey Courteux might get a lot of attention for his exquisite jewellry, but he keeps his personal life under tight wraps. His solitary life fuels his creativity and keeps him sane, and he’s not willing to give it up – until a pair of sexy legs in killer heels makes hiding away less appealing than it used to be… Smart, driven, and ambitious, Greta Adamas knows she’s the only suitable candidate for Vice-President of her family’s advertising firm. Landing the Jeffrey Courteaux account for his new line of jewellry will only catapult her to the upper echelons of the advertising world, and nothing will keep her from achieving her dreams – not even the overwhelmingly attractive designer who won’t leave her thoughts… Mixing business with pleasure is always a potent cocktail, but one with consequences. What happens when two people who know what they want suddenly want something completely different – and completely out of their reach? |
‘Oh, sorry, I thought this was the boardroom.’
The other woman laughed. ‘Well it is, sort of. I’m Heather, Mr Morelli’s assistant. You must be Greta Adamas from the Adamas Agency?’
‘Yes, that’s me.’ Still running on the high of delivery Sheree’s baby, Greta paused to gather herself before continuing. ‘Could you please direct me to where the boardroom is? I’m running a little late and want to be able to set up before everyone arrives.’
The other woman hesitated. ‘Umm, don’t you want to clean up first?’
‘Pardon?’
‘You have a little blood on your face. There’s some on your shirt as well. Did you get hurt?’
Greta groaned. She’d been so concerned about getting to her meeting she hadn’t given her appearance a second thought. ‘No, I didn’t get hurt, I delivered a baby.’
‘I’m sorry, did you just say you delivered a baby?’
Greta laughed. ‘Yes. It’s still rather surreal.’
‘What happened? And why did you have to deliver the baby? Why not a paramedic or doctor?’
‘The lift in my apartment building got stuck. My neighbour was on the way to the hospital as she was in labour. The baby decided the elevator was a good place to be born.’ Greta paused and closed her eyes. Reliving the moment when she was holding baby Greta. ‘I don’t think I’ll ever forget it.’ She finished on a whisper.
‘I’m sure you won’t. Babies are so sweet and innocent.’
‘They certainly are.’ Silence surrounded them until Greta worked out where she was and what she needed to do.
‘Guess I’d better clean up before I go into the meeting. Can you tell me where the bathroom is?’
‘Let me take you. There’s still time before your appointment. Plus a couple of other people from your agency are already here. If you’re a few minutes delayed, I’m sure they’ll be able to handle any questions.’
‘Good. I’m glad they made it,’ Greta said as she schooled her features, hiding the shock at hearing some agency representatives were there.
Who the hell was here? And why?
Maybe her father decided to come along after all. She hoped to God it wasn’t Graham. If he was in that room she’d be really pissed off.
They made their way to the bathroom. Greta gasped at her appearance. Her hair was falling loose from the sleek bun she’d put it in that morning. Her shirt had blood and God knows what else stained on it. It was basically ruined. There was no way she could go into the meeting looking like this.
How had she not realised the state she was in? Why hadn’t anyone mentioned it to her when she’d been standing in the foyer at the apartment building?
Simple.
The place had been buzzing with excitement over a baby being born in a lift. She’d been as caught up as everyone else. When the situation had died down, she’d grabbed her things and headed out the door.
Now what was she going to do? She couldn’t do her presentation like this. She might as well kiss the account goodbye.
Sensing her distress, Heather placed her hand on Greta’s arm. ‘I’ve got a spare blouse. I picked it up from the cleaners this morning. It will work fine with your suit. You fix your hair while I get it for you.’ Heather pointed to a powder blue bag sitting on the counter. ‘If you want to touch up your make-up, feel free to help yourself to mine.’
Heather turned and walked out of the bathroom. Greta quickly washed her face and slipped off her blouse. Luckily her jacket was clean. She’d just finished fixing her hair when Heather walked back into the bathroom, blouse in hand.
‘Here you go.’
Greta turned, took the blouse from Heather and slipped her arms into it. ‘So, do I pass muster now?’ Greta asked, wanting to get her mind off the baby and back onto why she was standing in the bathroom. She had a presentation to give.
Heather ran a critical eye over her. ‘Yep, you’ll knock them off their feet.’
‘I hope so. Let’s go to the boardroom.’ Heather laughed and held the bathroom door open for her. On the way past Heather’s desk, Greta collected her materials. Glancing at her watch she saw that it was eleven fifteen. She hated being late.
‘How did you explain my lateness?’
‘I told them that there’d been an incident on your way to the meeting and you needed a few moments to straighten up.’ Heather shrugged. ‘They all understood, and seeing as Mr Courteux has only just arrived, it’s worked out fine. You couldn’t have started the presentation without him in the room anyway.’
Greta didn’t know what she’d done to deserve to have Heather supporting her, but she was grateful. ‘Thank you, you don’t know how much I appreciate it.’
‘Oh no worries, us girls have to stick together. Besides, I want you to win the account.’
‘From your lips to their ears. I’d love to work on this account.’ They stopped outside the door. ‘Do you have any last minute tips before I enter the lion’s den?’
Heather grinned. ‘Mr Courteux hasn’t been impressed with anyone’s campaign as yet, including the other man from your agency. I have a feeling you are just what he needs.’
Heather opened the door with a flourish.
Greta strode into the room, a lingering buzz from delivering the baby giving her added confidence. She placed her portfolio case and laptop bag on the table and turned to face the room. Pasting a smile on her face, she looked directly at Luciano Morelli.
‘Good morning, Mr Morelli. I’m Greta Adamas and I apologise for being late. If you’ll give me a few minutes I’ll have everything ready.’ She started to pull out her presentation boards and laptop. ‘As your assistant informed you, I needed to change my blouse. It’s not everyday you get caught in a lift and have to deliver a baby.’
Greta turned to the other people in the room and gave a short laugh at seeing the shocked expressions on their faces.
She assessed the people seated at the table. She nodded her head at her father’s assistant and a young intern. Opposite them was an attractive woman and a man dressed in an impeccably cut suit. She recognised him as Nick Bishop, Luciano Morelli’s business partner. A movement toward the back of the room diverted her attention.
Stepping out of the shadows was the last person she expected to see. Wearing a dark suit and dark glasses, he commanded the attention of the others in the room. She would know those glasses anywhere.
What the hell was Jeff Court doing in this meeting?
As he pulled his sunglasses off and placed them in his top pocket, realisation struck. The person she’d spent an illicit afternoon with, the person she knew as Jeff Court, wasn’t Jeff Court at all. He was the one and only elusive jewellery designer, Jeffrey Courteux. How had she not made the connection the day they met? It was so obvious to her now. If she hadn’t let her emotions take away her sense she would’ve worked it out when he’d said his name.
She was so screwed
Not sure how to start this one. This couple has to be one of my top 5 couples of all time. Yes, all time. And no, I’ve never shared my other 4 on this blog. I might later on but not today. He He! I’ve never read a book where the couple were in sync with each other like Jeff and Greta. Sure that had some misunderstandings but what couple doesn’t. Where they perfect? Oh no. Jeff messed up a couple of times but realized his mistakes and always apologized to Greta.
Greta is one of those heroines that is smart, almost too smart for her own good. She has major issues with her dad and that puts her job in jeporady with Jeff’s account. Of course, Nick and Luc manage to save her from her dad in the best possible way. 😉 I wouldn’t want to meet those two in an alley any time soon. Ruthless doesn’t even explain them when it comes to business. The best part…they both realized that Greta was perfect for the job and for Jeff.
Jeff was mysterious to me in a many ways. What’s with the sunglasses and the other name? I understand that he valued his privacy but thankfully, Ms. Flockton let us and Greta in and the rouse. I hate the whole “who is this guy” plot thread. Get on with it already and she did. Bravo. I must tell you that this category romance at its finest. I’m sure how to classify this one. The other two were easy for me to pick but not so much Jeff and Greta’s story. But that’s the beauty of category romance. Sometimes there are no ONE category that it falls in.
Without going into much detail, this book and conclusion to the trilogy is brilliant. Great characters and OMG, the secondary characters are fantastic. I read this one first and then devoured the first two within two days. Each book stands on its own simply because with only a few sentences Ms. Flockton shows you the characters. I immediately wanted to know more about Nick and Luc as soon as I met them in this book. Yes, she’s that good and it doesn’t happen often in my book that an author can do that in a trilogy.
In some ways I wish this book never ended. I want to know Jeff and Greta more. I could read their stories forever. I would read about their kids. Yes, I’m that obsessed with them and I think you will be too.
*disclaimer* I’m a huge fan of Escape Publishing. They are a imprint of Harlequin and the quality of books that I have read from their authors is some of the best in the business. Just saying…
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Mini review: I wish I could say that I loved this book but Luc was more a miss for me. At times, I really wanted to slap the crap out of him. I didn’t care for his attitude towards Jasmine at all. Too heavy handed for me. On the flip side, Jasmine was totally AWESOME! She managed to put Luc in his place every single time but it was exhausting at times. He never once questioned her dad about the accident or even let her explain why she didn’t remember him. He is redeemed in the end and I liked that.
Of course this being the first book in the trilogy, we get more of them as they appear in the other books and my taste for Luc improved greatly. Especially in Nick and Pamela’s book. Oh boy…I almost swooned for him in that one.
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Bestselling author Nicole Flockton writes sexy contemporary romances, seducing you one kiss at a time as you turn the pages. Nicole likes nothing better than taking characters and creating unique situations where they fight to find their true love.
On her first school report her teacher noted “”Nicole likes to tell her own stories””. It wasn’t until after the birth of her first child and after having fun on a romance community forum that she finally decided to take the plunge and write a book. Apart from writing Nicole is busy looking after her very own hero – her wonderfully supportive husband, and two fabulous kids. She also enjoys watching sports and, of course, reading. |
