Tycoon Reunion

By Candace Havens and Shannon Leigh

Sparks fly when a project brings a heartbreaker back to town and into the path of the woman he left behind. He's determined to win her over in the boardroom … and the bedroom!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Publishers
• Release date: Feb 10, 2014
• ISBN: 9781622664863

Candace Havens

Candace "Candy" Havens is a best selling and award-winning author. She is a two-time RITA, Write Touch Reader and Holt Medallion finalist. She is also the winner of the Barbara Wilson award. Candy is a nationally syndicated entertainment columnist for FYI Television. A veteran journalist she has interviewed just about everyone in Hollywood and you can hear Candy weekly on New Country 96.3 KSCS in the Dallas Fort Worth Area.

Book preview

TR_500.jpg

Tycoon Reunion

Candace Havens

Shannon Leigh

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

Copyright © 2013 by Candace Havens and Shannon Leigh. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce, distribute, or transmit in any form or by any means. For information regarding subsidiary rights, please contact the Publisher.

Entangled Publishing, LLC

2614 South Timberline Road

Suite 109

Fort Collins, CO 80525

Visit our website at www.entangledpublishing.com.

Edited by Shannon Godwin

Cover design by Heidi Stryker

ISBN 978-1-62266-486-3

Manufactured in the United States of America

First Edition March 2013

Second Edition February 2014

The author acknowledges the copyrighted or trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction: Meals on Wheels, Monty Python, Romeo, Mata Hari, Nob Hill.

Table of Contents

Tycoon Reunion

Dedication

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

About the Authors

Next Date By Mistake Novella

Also by Candace Havens

Indulge in More

This is dedicated to all those princesses who kissed one too many frogs.

Chapter One

The woman in white turned around as she was seated at an empty table, and Jake Michaels forgot everything he ever knew. Except her. Annabelle Darlington. His high school girlfriend, who he dumped on graduation night as he left town to make a name for himself in the big bad world of business.

The one mistake he couldn’t forget.

Jake gulped his scotch and let it burn for good measure, a reminder he had business on the table and guests to entertain. Annabelle was not an issue he particularly wanted to deal with tonight, his first night back in his hometown, and not with tens of millions riding on his bid for this new project.

He’d hoped to have some time before he ran into her again. But what wasn’t under his control, frequently jumped up and slapped him square in the face. Case in point: A white dress that showed off every curve and every asset. Annabelle, in sexy high heels that had him thinking of bedrooms and not boardrooms.

The appreciative stares—which he now considered leers—of his dinner guests made him grip the whiskey glass too tight. Ray, his frequent wingman and first class architect, threw him a look, as if to say, problem? Ray, like Jake, was a fixer, a deal maker. Just with different talents. And if Jake needed Ray to fix the problem of Annabelle Darlington sitting a few tables away, he would.

But Jake was an experienced adult. He could handle an ex and some high profile business all in the same night. He offered a barely discernible shake of his head, and Ray went back to slapping backs and telling jokes.

Gentlemen, Jake said, pausing until he had their attention once again. No matter what we decide here tonight, I want to make a pledge to bring all of my influence— he heard Ray not so subtly cough and inject money into the toast. Of course, funding plays a part, Jake continued, acknowledging Ray’s comment with a sardonic smile. But beyond that, I commit to bringing back to my neighborhood, the streets I grew up on, back to a place where families can live in safety with their children, walk them to school, shop at the local corner store, and experience a sense of place and community that inspires pride and ownership.

I’ll drink to that. Again, Ray said, lifting his crystal-cut whiskey tumbler and slapping one of the city councilmen on the back.

Sounds big. Lots of money. Lots of people to bring to the table, the Congressman, who in his early thirties, had the polished look of a newly minted penny, chimed in with a bit of cold water on the warm and fuzzies. Jake had expected as much from the newly elected representative, as his participation was at no small cost. The Congressman had to secure millions of dollars in federal funding to bring the overhead exchange of the Interstate down and away from the wharf district. It was the only way the revitalization project could advance. Without the Congressman’s help to secure the federal funding, the effort was sunk before it began.

Tell you what, the Congressman took a liberal swig of his drink and pointed at Jake’s chest. "Let’s have some fun while we discuss this. That’s what we’re here for,

Reviews for Tycoon Reunion

[gloria.herrera · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The girl he left behind is the girl that can make or break his next big project. Ten years have not altered how he feels about her.
Jake is in trouble here.
Annabelle has not forgotten how he left her. Not the best exit ever! When she sees him again, she knows she is still in love with him...even after 10 years.
This is a delightful short story. Fun reading all the bantering and the final outcome!

[thehistorychic · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Read for Review (Author Copy)Overall Rating: 3.50Story Rating: 3.50Character Rating: 3.50First Thought when Finished: Tycoon Reunion by Candace Havens was a very quick read with two characters I would have loved to read in a full length novel!Overall Thoughts: I am not much of a short book fan so I tend to read them with two thoughts in mind: A) Do the characters grab my attention and B) Does the story want me to read more. Tycoon Reunion was a win in both of these categories. While fans of short stories will find this complete and fulfilling, I admit that I wanted to know more about these characters. I wanted more of their story and their romance. I caught glimpses of a past I would have liked more details on and their "banter" was fun enough I wanted more of it. In other words, I really enjoyed what I got but wanted more!Final Thought: Would have liked Tycoon Reunion to be longer but enjoyed the story as it was!

[beckymmoe_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was a very short, quick read. The writing was fun--it had quite a few lines that made me laugh. For example:She'd lost him with the word seduce. Flashes of her sweet lips covering his and her body pressed against him."Jake?" She snapped her fingers."Sorry. I'm listening," he promised. "You don't want to seduce me." This made him sad, because now all he could think about was seducing her.Poor, poor Jake.It's a lovers-with-a-past story, which a short novella really needs in order to make a HEA ending reasonably believable. The beginning is very strong--Jake's back in town, years after having dumped Annabelle, his high school sweetheart. Things have changed for both of them, naturally, and they're both successful in their chosen careers. Annabelle's on a blind-date-from-hell with "Darrell McFondler" and ends up ditching him in order to help Jake, who happens to be at the same restaurant, wine and dine some prospective business contacts. Excellent start.About two thirds of the way through, though, things start to feel really rushed. We get to our HEA, but it almost felt as if we skipped a couple of steps along the way. I'd really liked to have seen the last part of the story expanded into greater detail, making their reunion feel more realistic.Still, this is an entertaining story with sympathetic characters that can be read in a single setting. I'd check out more from these authors in the future.Rating: 3 stars, C+I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[hcollins_25 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Great Novella. The characters, Jake and Annabelle, are perfect together and make this story worth reading. I do wish it had been a full length, as I would have liked to get just a little bit more of their story, but still very enjoyable! I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.