BLURB
When a workaholic lawyer meets a fun-loving music marketing executive for opposites attract, friends-to-lovers adventures, which partnership will she choose?Workaholic lawyer Audrey Willems is not going to take any chances with her bid to become a partner at her New York law firm—especially with only six months until the decision.
Until she bumps into Jake—her new neighbor. Jake is a fun-loving music marketing executive who might just be The One.
He’s funny, caring, supportive—and able to kill water bugs in the bathroom.
But Jake will never date a woman married to her job. His father was a workaholic lawyer who never had time for family.
And she’s just got the case of a lifetime—the one she needs to win to make partner. Working 24/7 at the office may not even be enough hours to pull off a victory.
If only she had not met him now.
Audrey is determined to prove that she can juggle work and romance—even if managing court cases, candlelit dinners, and bike rides around Manhattan is a lot harder than it looks. She keeps canceling dates for yet another case crisis.
But when making partner is like a game of musical chairs and the last seat is a business-class alone, which partnership will she choose?
EXTRACT
Jake invites Audrey to check out a concert at Irving Plaza, and they are taking a cab down to Irving Plaza from the Upper West Side.Jake held open the door to the Uber car as Audrey slid in, trying not to let her dress slide up too much. She didn’t have supermodel thin thighs. She had put on a yellow dress, deciding that she should put some effort into this and that jeans might be too hot. Jake was wearing a white button-up, open at the neck, and jeans. He looked amazing.
The taxi felt intimate in the dark. She could feel the heat of him next to her in the cab seat.
“I’m glad you could come,” Jake said. “I’m sorry, I have to reply to a few texts. I invited a bunch of people. My friend in A&R, Devon, is trying to sign this band, and he wants to get a crowd together to hear them.”
“No problem. What’s A&R?
“Artists and repertoire—he finds talent.”
“Is that what you do too?” she asked. Another career she’d never considered.
“No. I started in A&R, but marketing was more my thing. If he signs them, I’ll be doing the marketing.” His phone beeped. He typed a reply.
“So, is this work for you?”
Jake grinned. “In a sense. But you can’t beat it for work, can you?”
“It definitely beats my late nights of running around like a drill sergeant trying to file a brief.”
“I can’t see you as a drill sergeant.” As the headlights of a turning car illuminated the interior of the cab, Jake’s glance met hers.
“No, that’s true. I’m more of a ‘we’re all in this together—let’s get it done’ team leader.”
“That’s the best kind.”
“Let’s hope the law firm partners agree.”
“Even if they don’t, it still is,” he said. “Look at Central Park lit up. I never get tired of that sight.” They were speeding down Fifth Avenue, past the streetlights illuminating trees against the milky black night sky.
“You grew up here, right?”
“Yeah, Upper East Side. Where did you grow up?”
“Upper West Side,” she said.
“Oh, a west side New Yorker. That explains it.”
“Explains what?”
“Explains why I like you.” His phone rang, and he picked it up.
Her stomach fluttered. Did he mean like you or just like you?
His head was turned, but she could see his profile, the streetlights playing off his angular cheekbones, his tousled brown hair, his kissable lips. She had to get ahold of herself. She didn’t have time for full-blown crushes.
Their glances met, and his mouth tipped up, then he looked back out his window.
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AUTHOR BIO
Kathy Strobos is a writer living in New York City with her husband and two children, amid a growing collection of books, toys and dollhouses. She grew up in New York City and graduated from Stuyvesant High School and Harvard-Radcliffe University magna cum laude. She previously worked as a lawyer. She left law to pursue her dream of writing fiction full-time and getting in shape. She is still working on getting in shape.
