A Miami Affair Read online

  He’ll give her everything

  Corporate raider Joshua DeLong is at the top of Miami’s list of most eligible bachelors, and happy to stay there. Always playing to win in the boardroom and the bedroom, he intends to shake up the refined Millionaire Moguls. Josh has big plans for their next benefit—especially once he meets the charity’s beautiful, buttoned-up PR director, Becca Wright.

  Although independent overachiever Becca isn’t looking for a bad boy with big bucks, she needs to convince Josh to support her foundation. That means visiting his yacht and accompanying the sexy tycoon to glitzy events. Suddenly Becca’s letting her hair—and her guard—down...and starting to see beneath the trappings of Josh’s success. Is she just the latest challenge for a man addicted to conquest, or the first to make him dream about forever?

  “If I ever marry, I need a woman who’s going to challenge me in ways I’ve never been challenged. A woman who wants me to walk beside her as we go through life, but is independent and filled with vigor and passion.”

  He was so close that all Becca had to do was turn her head and their lips would be centimeters apart. Her heart was beating so fast that she couldn’t hear anything else. She chanced a glance in his direction and was taken aback by the look she saw in his eyes.

  “For this night to be about business,” she said, “we sure are talking about a lot of nonbusiness-related topics.”

  “Is this just about business?” Josh asked. “Because this feels like a lot more than just business.”

  She turned to him then, filled with questions that she refused to ask and answers he’d never give. Don’t get lost in those baby blues. She wasn’t sure if it was the moonlight hitting his profile perfectly or the sound of the waves crashing on the shore in the distance, but the energy around them became even more electric.

  “If we take this any further, it would be wrong.”

  “I disagree, Ms. Wright.” Josh’s eyes bounced from her eyes to her lips. “I think stopping here would be the real tragedy.”

  Dear Reader,

  Although well-off, successful characters are a trademark of mine, millionaires were a new venture. I was drawn to a world of opposites in which two people start off in completely different places in life and cross unspoken boundaries, landing them exactly where they were destined to be.

  Bad-boy millionaire Joshua DeLong may appear to be self-centered, but he earned his money and lifestyle through hard work while also breaking the rules along the way—a devilish trait that left him vulnerable to the dynamic and limitless Becca Wright. Becca’s a destined debutante who left her lavish life behind to achieve more rewarding goals. She knows Josh’s type, which means she’ll do anything to ignore their chemistry...

  I laughed out loud while writing Josh and Becca’s story. My obsession with the little flaws that make people wonderful and perfect for one another made writing this book enjoyable and entertaining. Hope you enjoy it!

  Much love,

  Sherelle

  [email protected]

  @sherellegreen

  Sherelle Green is a Chicago native with a dynamic imagination and a passion for reading and writing. She enjoys composing emotionally driven stories that are steamy, edgy and touch on real-life issues. Her overall goal is to create relatable and fierce heroines who are flawed just like the strong and sexy heroes who fight so hard to win their hearts. There’s no such thing as a perfect person...but when you find that person who is perfect for you, the possibilities are endless. Nothing satisfies her more than writing stories filled with compelling love affairs, multifaceted characters and intriguing relationships.

  Books by Sherelle Green

  Harlequin Kimani Romance

  A Tempting Proposal

  If Only for Tonight

  Red Velvet Kisses

  Beautiful Surrender

  Enticing Winter

  Wrapped in Red (with Nana Malone)

  Falling for Autumn

  Waiting for Summer

  Nights of Fantasy

  A Miami Affair

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  To Auntie Mickey, an independent, amazing and fun-loving woman whom I’ve always admired. I’m not sure if you remember this, but I recall that one of the first books I ever got as a little girl came from you. It was called The Rainbabies, and I read that book so many times that the binding weakened. You always understood my love for reading, and even as an adult, you’ve supported me in all my endeavors. When asked why I’m so creative, I often say it’s because of you. Every family has that one hidden treasure who passes down traditions and values while ensuring that everyone remains close-knit. For our family, you’re that person, and because of your generous and selfless spirit, every single family member always feels like they have you in their corner rooting them on. Saying thank you doesn’t seem strong enough to portray just how much I appreciate having you in my life. You mean so much to me and I am honored to be your niece.

  Acknowledgments

  To Auntie Val, a woman whose smile and laugh is as infectious as her warm hugs. One of my fondest memories is with you and Auntie Mickey on one of our infamous shopping trips. I learned at a young age that having aunts who I felt so close to was something I would always cherish. One of the qualities that I’ve always admired about you is your ability to teach a life lesson in such a creative way that oftentimes your nieces and nephews don’t realize they’ve been taught a lesson at all. You always give good advice, and it’s obvious to anyone that meets you that you keep your strong faith and family values close to your heart. Thank you so much for always being a sound voice in my life. I feel so lucky to have you as my aunt.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Epilogue

  Excerpt from Playing with Temptation by Reese Ryan

  Chapter 1

  “You’ve reached The Aunt Penny Foundation. Sorry, we are unable to take your call at the moment. Please leave your name, number and a detailed message, and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.”

  Joshua DeLong cringed at the sound of the annoying beep indicating that he had to leave yet another message for Becca Wright, the director of public relations for The Aunt Penny Foundation. It was even more frustrating that he didn’t have Ms. Wright’s direct cell phone number, forcing him to call the main line. Just as he was about to leave a voice mail, he got another call.

  “At least someone is calling me back today,” he said right before he switched to the incoming call. The call went precisely how he wished most of his business calls would go. Brief and in his favor.

  Josh welcomed the light breeze that twirled through his curly cocoa-colored hair. It was the perfect Miami June morning to spend outside on the upper deck of his luxury yacht that was more of a home to him than his condos in New York and LA. Maybe he preferred his yacht more than his other homes because it was the only one that offered the
opportunity to escape reality whenever he wanted to. It’s not that Josh normally needed a break from his everyday life, but lately he hadn’t found solace living in any place that wasn’t gently rocking from the waves made by boats leaving the private South Beach marina.

  Josh placed his iPhone on the polished teak table and picked up his iPad while scoffing at his sunny-side up eggs and crisp turkey bacon. A quick glance at the time indicated that the morning was already getting away from him. He needed to leave for LA in the afternoon, so he had to be productive this morning. Unfortunately, Ms. Wright played an important part in that. Last night, he’d emailed a couple contacts to see if they could get ahold of Ms. Wright’s personal cell number, but he hadn’t heard back yet.

  He scrolled through the articles about The Aunt Penny Foundation he’d bookmarked yesterday and began reading where he’d left off last night. It was an interview with Becca Wright and the founder of the organization, Haley Adams. Although both women had impressive résumés, it was Becca’s that had caught his eye. Ivy League graduate with years of charity and fundraising experience. Accomplished violinist. A host of academic accolades. Given what he’d briefly read about Becca in two other articles, he wasn’t surprised by those details.

  A calendar reminder popped up on his iPad prompting him to call his friend and fellow Prescott George member Daniel Cobb. Josh remembered a time when he’d been building his brand as a corporate raider, hoping for an exclusive invitation to join Prescott George—or the Millionaire Moguls as they were informally known—a prestigious, all-male national organization that was as powerful as it was discreet. However, he’d always assumed it was wishful thinking. Prescott George didn’t invite just anyone to join, especially a man of his caliber, who was considered a nouveau riche tycoon instead of an old-money legend. The latter were handed invitations into the organization based on their last names or historic financial statuses. When he’d finally gotten invited, by another member of the nouveau riche, he’d jumped at the opportunity to join Prescott George.

  Staring at the calendar reminder once more, Josh reset the notification to have it ping him in another hour. He scrolled a little further through the article he was reading until he landed on a picture of Becca Wright. She was wearing a white collared shirt buttoned to the neck underneath a black suit jacket that appeared two sizes too big for her. Either that or she just had broad shoulders. He couldn’t tell.

  Josh opened another tab on his iPad to Google images of Becca. More pictures appeared, each one more conservative than the next. One photo made him pause. In it Becca was wearing a beige cardigan over a plain white top. Her hair was pulled atop her head in a tight bun and her large black-rimmed glasses were a tad too big for her oval face. She was wearing little makeup and although she was smiling, her smile didn’t reach her eyes. Have I seen her somewhere before? There was something vaguely familiar about her photo, but he couldn’t quite place it.

  Grabbing his phone, he decided to call the foundation once more and leave another voice mail. Once again, he was greeted by the beep.

  “Hello, this is Joshua DeLong from Prescott George calling for Ms. Wright, again. As you know, The Aunt Penny Foundation has been chosen as the charity beneficiary for our annual fundraising gala this summer. As I stated in my previous voice mail, I have to go out of town this afternoon and therefore...” His voice trailed off as he realized why Becca looked so familiar. She looked exactly like Ms. Perkins. His horrible middle school principal. Although according to his research Becca was only twenty-eight years old, Josh had no doubt that his middle school principal—who was much older than Becca—had been dressed in the exact same shirt and cardigan, with the exact same hairdo and glasses, for one of their school pictures decades ago.

  “We need to meet this morning,” Josh said, abruptly ending the call. He had definitely planned on leaving his cell phone number and a couple other details in his voice mail, but he hadn’t been able to shake the feeling that Becca reminded him of the woman whose office was still etched in his memory, since Josh had always found himself in some type of trouble.

  He obviously knew that he hadn’t been leaving a voice mail for Ms. Perkins, but the minute the realization had hit him, he hadn’t been able to shake the feeling. Ms. Perkins was probably the meanest woman he’d ever met in his life, and that was saying a lot since Josh had met his fair share of unpleasant people.

  “I couldn’t stand that lady,” he said aloud to no one but himself. “She made my childhood hell.” He shivered as he glanced at Becca’s photo once more. He could only hope that he wasn’t dealing with Ms. Perkins’s clone.

  * * *

  “Ten, nine, eight, seven...” Becca Wright tried her best to calm her rattled nerves as she shuffled through stacks of unruly papers and file folders on her desk. “Six, five, four, three, two, one.” She stopped what she was doing and took a deep breath. She’d been doing intervals of ten while trying to organize her desk for thirty minutes straight, then taking ten-second breaks in between.

  Ever since the receptionist for The Aunt Penny Foundation suddenly quit last week, Becca had been under more stress than she’d ever been before. Usually she was great at multitasking and managing several projects simultaneously. However, the temporary receptionist that had arrived yesterday had spent more time chatting on the phone with her friends or stepping outside for cigarette breaks than actually doing the work she’d been hired to do.

  “Stacy!” Becca yelled after her short break was over. “Where is the file for the incoming students who arrived yesterday?”

  After several minutes, Stacy strolled around the corner, loudly smacking her gum. “Um, what do you expect from me? I just started a few days ago, so why would I know where it is?”

  Becca rapidly blinked her eyes. Teenagers today... I’d never talk to my boss like that. “Well, yesterday your only project was to enter the information for the new students who just joined The Aunt Penny Foundation into our intranet. It was a simple job.”

  Stacy gave her a blank stare.

  Becca waved her hands in frustration. “Never mind. Just tell me where you put my messages. I’m expecting an important call.”

  “Don’t you have a cell phone?”

  “Yes,” Becca said through gritted teeth. “But not everyone has my cell phone number and it’s your job to answer the phone. I haven’t heard it ring off the hook for a while, so at least you’re doing that.”

  “Oh no, I’m not.” Stacy flipped her long black hair over her shoulder. “I took it off the hook because I couldn’t hear my phone call over the loud ringing. A Jonathan Delaney kept calling.”

  Becca went through a mental checklist of important calls she was expecting and couldn’t recall that name. Nor did she find it in her Rolodex.

  “You know,” Stacy continued, “you should think about getting rid of the landline and only using your cell phone. No one uses landlines anymore. They don’t keep business cards, either. Everything is online now.”

  Unbelievable. “I’m surprised you even know what a landline is.” Normally, Becca would have had some more choice words for the young woman, but for now, she just needed to check her calls. Haley was working offsite with a few students, which meant Becca had a lot to accomplish with zero help from the useless temp. She wanted to confirm her appointment tomorrow with the Prescott George representative she was scheduled to meet. What was his name again? She scrunched her forehead and snapped her fingers when it came to her. Joshua DeLong.

  “Oh no,” Becca said as she rushed out of her office to the main desk. What are the odds that Jonathan Delaney is actually Joshua DeLong? She hoped her inkling was wrong, but given her week so far, she feared he was the one who’d called before Stacy had taken the phone off the hook.

  The front desk was even more unorganized than hers was. She moved Stacy’s oversize book bag from the desk. After a little more digging, she
finally found the phone and was able to listen to the messages. She skipped a few until she heard the deep, silky voice of a man who introduced himself as Joshua DeLong. He’d called twice and the last abrupt voice mail he’d left was from an hour ago.

  “Stacy!” Becca yelled again. And yet again, Stacy took her sweet time strolling to the front desk. “Don’t you remember me mentioning yesterday that I was expecting an important call from Joshua DeLong? Did you even stop to think that maybe you heard his name wrong when he called?”

  “Oh, that explains it,” Stacy said, nodding her head. “He sounded even more annoyed during his last voice mail.”

  “You listened to his messages and didn’t tell me?”

  Instead of responding, Stacy just shrugged and walked away. Becca jotted down the number Joshua left and called him back.

  “Hello, this is Joshua DeLong.”

  “Mr. DeLong, it’s Becca Wright with The Aunt Penny Foundation. I want to apologize for not receiving your voice mails until now.”

  “It’s quite all right. I still have a couple hours before I have to go to the airport. Can you meet today?”

  “Sure, just name the place and time.” Meeting Mr. DeLong today as opposed to tomorrow was a bit of an inconvenience, but the foundation needed the assistance of Prescott George so rearranging her schedule was a necessity.

  “So I’m meeting you at the Southern Royal Yacht Club in South Beach?” Becca was a little taken aback by the location. One had to be a member to even enter the gate of the high-class boutique marina. Members included the rich, famous and elite.

  “Yes. I’ll meet you at the clubhouse gate entrance. And in case you have any apprehensions, rest assured that you’ll be fine. We Royal yachtees get a bad rep since we’re so exclusive, but we’re just regular people.”

  Yeah, right. “Okay, not a problem. I can be there in forty minutes.” She ended the call a little less frazzled than she’d been before. She was sure Mr. DeLong was unaware of her upbringing since she rarely discussed her family’s social or financial status in interviews. However, she knew exactly what type of members frequented the Southern Royal Yacht Club and regular was not the word she would use to describe them.