Today I am so pleased to welcome Hudson Lin to Joyfully Jay. Lin has come to talk to share an exclusive excerpt from her latest release, Hard Sell. Please join me in giving her a big welcome!

Excerpt

The Danny sitting across from him was different from the one he’d grown up with. Not better or worse, just dif­ferent in ways Tobin never would have expected. The cus­tom tailored suit, the shiny gold watch, the authoritative and entitled way he held himself. It was going to take a bit of getting used to.

What had Tobin expected, though? He knew Danny was successful. It was kind of hard to ignore when he regularly sent Mom and Dad off on luxury cruises or got his hands on the not-yet-released hottest toys for Wei’s kids. Hadn’t he gotten Mom that limited edition Chloé handbag last Christmas? Sure, Tobin grew up wealthy and privileged, but these days Danny was next level.

Yet, there was still a little bit of the old Danny in there somewhere. Tobin could see it peeking through every now and then, but only because he knew what to look for. The older boy with the buzz cut, who looked like he could and would take on anyone in a fistfight. His silent intense stare that instilled fear in playground bullies had morphed into intimidation in the boardroom. Seeing Danny handle Cyrus that morning? Hot. Really hot.

Like, jerking off fantasy–level.

Everyone had said he’d grow out of his childhood crush on Danny. He’d thought maybe he would too. But then he’d turned nineteen, gotten drunk at Wei’s bachelor party, and decided to test the theory. He hadn’t grown out of it then, and it didn’t look like he’d grown out of it since. If anything, those childhood daydreams had matured into adult-rated fantasies.

Tobin shifted and gave his chubby a mental note to calm the heck down. “Do you come to Calgary a lot?” He took another bite of his cold burger.

Having polished off his steak and salad with record speed, Danny leaned back against the plush padding of the booth. Tobin kept his eyes trained on his burger for fear of drool­ing over the image of carefully restrained power.

“I’m here more these days than I used to be. There are a number of promising technology start-ups in the city.”

“Like WesTec.”

“Like WesTec.”

Awk-ward. Usually, Tobin didn’t mind getting pulled into random last-minute meetings by clients. It gave him a scoop on the inner workings of the company he was try­ing to save, and the more information he had, the better able he was to do his job.

But he’d never expected to get dragged into a meeting room and confronted by Danny Ip. “You’re trying to buy them out?”

“That’s the idea.”

“The offer you made was kind of shitty.” Tobin didn’t know tons about the private equity corner of the finance world; they were the cool kids in the yard. Tobin was over in the teacher’s pet corner, vying for brownie points from the client in hopes it would result in more consulting work down the line. A client couldn’t hire Paradigm for future consulting contracts if the client went belly-up.

But he knew enough about valuing companies to know WesTec was worth more than what Jade Harbour was of­fering.

Danny smirked, looking amused and impressed. “It’s an opening bid.”

“So you plan on going higher?”

“That’s how the negotiating game is played.”

Right. When he thought about it, buying and selling entire companies wasn’t so different from bartering at a local market. Know what the item is worth, then open the bidding at half the value. Just add about a half dozen more zeros behind the figure.

Tobin took a sip of the red wine Danny had ordered for them. It was delicious. Probably the best wine Tobin had ever had; not difficult when he never spent more than ten dollars on a bottle. The warmth of the wine coursed through him.

Being here with Danny, it was so easy to regress back to the little brother role he’d held for so many years. It didn’t seem to matter that Tobin was proud of the adult he’d be­come. He was self-sufficient, successful in a job he enjoyed. Autonomous—for the most part—and he didn’t have to answer to anyone other than himself.

Yet, Danny would always be older, more experienced, more worldly.

Maybe that was part of his appeal. Mysterious, slightly dangerous. The bad boy hidden beneath a veneer of polish. If anything, it made Danny even sexier than before, this backdrop of high-powered glitz and glamour.

Blurb

One night wasn’t enough.

Danny Ip walks into every boardroom with a plan. His plan for struggling tech company WesTec is to acquire it, shut it down, and squeeze the last remaining revenue out of it for his Jade Harbour Capital portfolio. But he didn’t expect his best friend’s younger brother—the hottest one-night stand he ever had—to be there.

Tobin Lok has always thought the world of Danny. He’s funny, warm, attractive—and totally out of Tobin’s league. Now, pitted against Danny at work, Tobin might finally get a chance to prove he’s more than just Wei’s little brother.

It takes a lot to get under Danny’s skin, but Tobin is all grown up in a way Danny can’t ignore. Now, with a promising patent on the line and the stakes higher than ever, all he can think about is getting Tobin back into his bed—and into his life for good.

If only explaining their relationship to Wei could be so easy…

Jade Harbour Capital

• Book 1: Hard Sell
• Book 2: Going Public

Add Hard Sell to your Goodreads!

Carina Adores is home to highly romantic contemporary love stories featuring beloved romance tropes, where LGBTQ+ characters find their happily-ever-afters.

A new Carina Adores title is available each month in trade paperback, ebook and audiobook formats.

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• For the Love of April French by Penny Aimes (coming August 31)
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Bio

Hudson Lin was raised by conservative immigrant parents and grew up straddling two cultures with often times conflicting perspectives on life. Instead of conforming to either, she has sought to find a third way that brings together the positive elements of both.

Having spent much of her life on the outside looking in, Lin likes to write stories about outsiders who fight to carve out their place in society, and overcome everyday challenges to find love and happily ever afters. Her books are diverse romances featuring queer and disabled people of color.

When not getting lost in a good story, Lin hosts a podcast, interviews queer people of color, and a does bunch of other stuff.

Connect with the Author

• Website: https://www.hudsonlin.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hudsonlinauthor
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/hudsonlinwrites
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hudsonlinwrites/
• Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17681173.Hudson_Lin
• Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Hudson-Lin/e/B07B6RKS72