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Her Sweetest Fortune
Stella Bagwell
Friends with Benefits?Sophie Fortune Robinson is certain the office heart-throb is her one true love, but when he turns out to be a dud, Mason Montgomery is ready and waiting for her. Will these two be able to set aside their doubts to pursue their feelings?
Friends With...Benefits?
Sophie Fortune Robinson is on a mission. The word around the office watercooler is that the boss’s youngest daughter is intent on landing Mr. Right by Valentine’s Day—and that she has her eyes, and heart, set on a certain hunk in Marketing. But when she enlists her longtime pal and coworker Mason Montgomery to teach her how to get a man to notice her, little does she know she’s already captured his attention!
Now Mason’s in a real bind! He has just a few short weeks to fight his way out of the “friend zone.” On his agenda: convincing sweet Sophie that he is the real man of her dreams! Will Fortune smile on true love’s venture?
MEET THE FORTUNES
Fortune of the Month: Sophie Fortune Robinson
Age: 24
Vital statistics: Long brown hair, big brown eyes and a big fat trust fund.
Claim to fame: At Robinson Tech, she’s in charge of hiring and firing—and is most likely to steal hearts.
Romantic prospects: She is Jerome Fortune’s youngest daughter, so why shouldn’t she get what—or whom—she wants?
Time is running out. Valentine’s Day is coming soon, which means I’ve got only fourteen days to get Thom Nichols, that superhot guy in Marketing, to notice me. My sister Olivia thinks I shouldn’t try so hard, but what does she know?
Luckily, I’ve got a secret weapon:
Mason Montgomery. He works across the hall from me in IT. It’s really helpful to have a man’s point of view on all this. Mason is a great guy, and I trust him completely. He’s handsome and smart and loyal as a Saint Bernard, and he gives good advice to boot. With Mason’s help I’m sure to land my Mr. Right. Who is Thom Nichols. Not Mason. Or at least, that’s what I keep telling myself...
* * *
The Fortunes of Texas: The Secret Fortunes— A new generation of heroes and heartbreakers!
Her Sweetest Fortune
Stella Bagwell
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
After writing more than eighty books for Mills & Boon, STELLA BAGWELL still finds it exciting to create new stories and bring her characters to life. She loves all things Western and has been married to her own real cowboy for forty-four years. Living on the South Texas coast, she also enjoys being outdoors and helping her husband care for the horses, cats and dog that call their small ranch home. The couple has one son, who teaches high school mathematics and is also an athletic director. Stella loves hearing from readers. They can contact her at stellabagwell@gmail.com.
To Susan Litman for all her hard work on
the fabulous Fortune saga. Thank you!
Contents
Cover (#u96419ba8-9af8-5edc-9343-610e769cbe74)
Back Cover Text (#u23389fd2-6a26-5805-8f8b-1e03c7923509)
Introduction (#u74f9b580-5794-54d3-808a-b9e8e303d2fc)
Title Page (#ub01bc86c-1b8e-5300-93f0-a657d098be16)
About the Author (#u7be74ba2-a4e7-5322-9f77-0e61cbc0bb1f)
Dedication (#u344425b9-1e54-5f4e-9311-7c643bf16249)
Chapter One (#ulink_869ec490-e4ac-519c-bb42-ab994040ff8a)
Chapter Two (#ulink_5d224a57-3e87-5a93-8128-f8331104d1cc)
Chapter Three (#ulink_30a8b417-bff5-50da-9e11-36c7aa704790)
Chapter Four (#ulink_ca90050d-39ac-51b6-863a-94ae2bb93f1b)
Chapter Five (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter One (#ulink_a331441a-1eb2-5308-bb5f-ace634ccc549)
She had to do something and fast!
For the past several hours, the words of warning had made a monotonous loop through Sophie Fortune Robinson’s mind, making it virtually impossible to concentrate on the work scattered across her desk.
As assistant director of human resources at Robinson Tech, it was Sophie’s responsibility to make sure two new training programs were ready to be implemented in a few short days. At the rate she was going, the task would never get finished.
Darn it! If Sophie hadn’t turned a corner at just the right moment, she would’ve been spared the sickening sight of her dream man with another woman. Now the image of Thom Nichols stepping off the elevator with his arm wrapped around Tanya Whitmore’s slender waist was stuck in Sophie’s head.
The sexy grin he’d been giving the willowy blonde had made it quite apparent he was enjoying every minute of her company. The realization had left Sophie nauseous and even more desperate. She couldn’t sit back and wait for Thom Nichols to take notice of her. She had to come up with some sort of strategy to snare the man’s attention.
But how did a woman go about making herself appealing to the sexiest man alive? There was hardly a female working at Robinson Tech who didn’t sigh at the mere mention of Thom’s name. Sophie didn’t want to think of her opposition in terms of numbers: it would be too staggering. Besides, she already knew the task of snaring her man wasn’t going to be easy.
But Sophie’s father, the giant tech mogul Gerald Robinson, had lectured her plenty of times about setting goals and achieving them through hard work and confidence. The same could be applied in this situation. Her goal was to have Thom Nichols as her Valentine dream date.
Now, if she could just figure out how to make that happen.
“Sophie? What are you doing here at this hour?”
Since everyone in her department had left hours ago, the unexpected voice caught her by surprise, especially when she’d been sitting there with her head in the clouds.
Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Mason Montgomery shoving back the cuff of a pale blue dress shirt to study his watch. The tall, dark-haired computer programmer had probably seen her staring off into space like some lovesick teenager. The notion sent a flood of pink embarrassment to her cheeks.
Mason was far too intellectual and mature to understand a woman’s crush on an attractive man. Or was he? With him working just across the hall from her, they’d often exchanged greetings and talked about work or current events, but they’d never been more than casual friends. He was a crackerjack programmer who’d created several highly successful apps for the company. He was also mannerly and nice-looking in a boy-next-door kind of way. He just wasn’t Thom Nichols.
“Oh, hi, Mason. I guess I’ve been so engrossed in my work I didn’t notice the time.” Which wasn’t a complete lie, she thought. It had been hours since she’d glanced at the clock on her desk, but only because she’d been too busy fantasizing about her Valentine date. At least, the man she was hoping would become her Valentine.
A frown furrowed his forehead. “Surely your father doesn’t expect you to wear yourself out. I realize he’s a stickler about deadlines, but I don’t think he’d want his daughter to collapse with fatigue.”
Laughing, Sophie swiveled her chair so that she was facing her late night visitor. “Most everyone in the building thinks Gerald Robinson is a taskmaster, but he’s really just a big teddy bear with a loud growl.”
His smile exposed a row of straight white teeth and Sophie could see the expression was sincere. She liked that about Mason Montgomery. He always seemed genuine. But Thom’s dazzling smile could charm the fleas right off a cat. How could any other man compare to that?
“Drop the teddy and I’ll believe you.”
She tossed strands of long brown hair over her shoulder before gesturing to a thick folder lying open on her desk. “I’ve been going over a presentation for a new job-training program the company will soon put in place. Actually, there’s a new program for your department and marketing.”
His brows lifting with interest, he moved inside the cubicle and rested a hip against the side of her desk. “Oh? Robinson Tech is going to put its programmers through more training?”
She laughed at his wary expression. “Only the newly hired employees. Not the old veterans like you.”
“Ouch!” he said with a chuckle. “I’m not so sure I like that old part.”
Shaking her head, she gave him another smile. “I just meant you’ve worked here for a long time. As for your age, you couldn’t be much older than me. I’m twenty-four.”
“Try five years,” he admitted. “I’m twenty-nine.”
“Ooooh, that’s terribly old,” she joked, then added in a more serious tone, “Speaking of working late, I’ve noticed you’ve been burning the midnight oil here lately. You know, my father wouldn’t want you collapsing from fatigue, either.”
His brown eyes twinkling, he picked up a hunk of raw amethyst Sophie used for a paper weight. “We’re getting a new app ready to roll in a few days. I want to make sure there are no glitches before Wes sends it on to your father for final approval. Sometimes that means losing sleep and a meal or two. But there’s no need for you to worry you might have to scrape me off the floor. I’ve been eating my spinach.”
Mason was hardly a muscle man, Sophie decided, as she studied him from beneath her lashes. But he had a trim, athletic build that implied he hit the gym on a regular basis. Although from the long hours he put in at Robinson Tech, she couldn’t imagine where he found the extra time for himself.
“Mmm. I like my spinach in enchiladas,” she said. “But I’d eat it raw or standing on my head if it would make me as tech savvy as you.”
He shook his head. “And I wish I had your gift for communicating with people. I’ve seen you in action—how easy it is for you to soothe irate employees. I wouldn’t have the patience to listen to their complaints, much less calm their tempers. And you can do something around here that no one else can do.”
Intrigued, she leaned back in her chair and arched a brow at him. “Oh? I can’t imagine what that might be.”
“You can put a smile on our boss’s face. I’ve never seen anyone but you make Gerald Robinson happy.”
Her short laugh dismissed the compliment. “That’s only because I’m the baby of his eight children. My siblings all complain that our father lets me get away with murder. But that’s not really true. I just happen to be a positive thinker.”
A doubtful grin lifted one corner of his mouth. “Positive thinker, huh? So that puts you in your father’s good graces?”
She shot him a clever smile. “In a roundabout way. I happen to think if you can dream it, you can do it. And Dad likes it when people get things done.”
* * *
Mason tossed the piece of lilac-colored quartz from one hand to the other and forced his gaze to remain on the rock rather than Sophie’s lovely face. Not for anything did he want her to think he was staring. Even though he wanted to.
Of all the women who worked at Robinson Tech, Sophie had to be the most beautiful, he decided. Her long brown hair hung straight against her back, while her creamy skin glowed as though she was lit from within. And those brown eyes fringed with long, black lashes were like looking into a cup of hot, sweet chocolate.
She was the youngest child of the famous Fortune Robinson family. Their wealth was the sort that a simple man like Mason could only dream about. And yet none of those obstacles had stopped him from watching her from afar and wondering how it might be to actually take her on a date. If that made him a fool, then he was a big one, even by Texas standards.
“So you’re a dreamer.” His gaze settled on her face and suddenly he felt a hard tug deep inside him. Unfortunately, the sensation had nothing to do with him missing dinner and everything about the effervescent glow in her eyes. “Tell me, Sophie, what does a woman like you dream about?”
Her cheeks turned a darker pink. A telltale sign that when he’d walked up on her a few moments ago, she’d been thinking about a man. What else could put that sort of spaced out look on a woman’s face?
She shrugged one slender shoulder and the slight movement caused Mason’s gaze to dip from her face to the curve of her breasts pushing against the magenta colored top, then farther downward to where a close fitting black skirt stopped just above her knees and a pair of strappy high heels covered her small feet.
“Oh, I dream about lots of things,” she said. “Like work and travel and family. But mostly I dream about—”
His eyes lifted to see a smile tilting the corners of her soft, pink lips. As Mason studied the moist curves, he felt the sudden urge to clear his throat.
“About what?” he prodded.
Her gaze dropped shyly from his. “Finding true love like some of my brother and sisters. They’re married and happy and planning families of their own.” She sighed. “But I need the right man for that. And I think I’ve found him.”
The right man. Austin, Texas was full of eligible bachelors, but he couldn’t imagine any of them being good enough for Sophie. So who could possibly be the right man for this pampered princess, he wondered, while attempting to swat away a stab of foolish jealousy.
Folding his arms against his chest, he hoped he appeared cool instead of moonstruck. “Does the lucky guy know he’s targeted yet?”
With a nervous little laugh, she said, “Uh, not exactly. But I’m planning on letting him know soon. Very soon.”
It was stupid of Mason to feel deflated, but he did. Sophie could fly to any place in the world anytime she wanted. The man who’d caught her eye could be in Paris or London, anywhere besides Austin. “Do I know this guy?”
She picked up a pencil and tapped it against a notepad. As Mason looked at her dainty hands with their perfectly manicured fingernails, he doubted she’d ever had to lift more than a pencil. But to her credit, she and her siblings contributed long hours to their father’s company, even though their financial security had been set the day they’d been born.
She said, “I’m not ready to name names, but yes, you certainly know him. He’s handsome and very smart. And has a great job here at Robinson Tech.”
Hey, she could be describing him, Mason thought hopefully. He was smart and certain people had told him he was handsome. He also had a great job with the company.
“Sounds like a nice guy,” Mason admitted.
A wistful smile put a foggy look in her brown eyes. “Oh, he’s very nice. And practically oozes charisma. When my guy walks into a room all the women catch their breath and stare. And wish he belonged to them.”
Dang. That definitely crossed him off the list of possibilities. Though finding a date for himself wasn’t exactly as difficult as moving a mountain, Mason hardly had women swooning at his feet. He was the one with the shoulder they wanted to cry on. The one they came running to whenever some reckless rebel threw them over for a biker chick or rich cougar. Always the friend, but rarely the lover. That was good ole Mason.
“Nadine, one of my coworkers, says there are plenty of hunky men working in this building. Your guy must be one of them,” he said.
