Title:
The Real Deal

Author:
Lucy Monroe

Published By:
Kensington Brava

ISBN #:
0-7582-0860-X

Release Date:
September 2004

Format:
Print

Since her divorce, the only thing that has meaning in the life of Amanda Rogers is her job. She spent her whole life trying to gain the love and acceptance of her family and thought she had finally gained that when she married her jerk of an ex-husband. After catching him in a compromising position, she decided it was time to cut her losses and get on with her life.

Amanda is now in the second year of her five-year career plan and on the threshold of the deal that can catapult her straight to the top. All she has to do is convince the president of Brant Computers that a friendly merger with Extant Corporation, the company for which she works, will be the best thing for both companies. As he seems more than agreeable to her plan she is not worried . . . until she walks into the meeting. There she comes face to face with not only the president but his cousin, Simon Brant. Simon has equal say in the company, is every sexual fantasy she has ever experienced and is definitely NOT agreeable.

Simon is furious when he discovers that his cousin is even considering the idea of merging the friendly family business with that of a larger one. He doesn’t care how wonderful the deal looks on paper he knows that the merger will mean layoffs and changes that he has no intention of allowing to take place within the company that their grandfather worked so hard to build. He does agree to give luscious Amanda the opportunity to present her ideas but that opportunity will come on his terms and on his turf.

The Real Deal opened with a scene that had me absolutely howling with laughter and it only got better. While the humor of the opening scene immediately snags your attention, it is the emotion and intensity in the remainder of the book that will keep you up all night reading. Both Simon and Amanda bring emotional baggage to the relationship that make it interesting, realistic and kept me enthralled wondering if they would be able to work through their vulnerabilities. Ms. Monroe touches on issues that all women can relate to when dealing with men and relationships and as a result has earned both my respect and a place on my auto buy list.



Reviewed by: Missy