One transposed digit. One corporate takeover. One billionaire who doesn't forgive easily—until he learns what's worth more than winning.

Layla

I gave Chicago's hottest mystery man my number at a street festival, felt that electric instant connection, then accidentally sent him to my recently-separated mother instead. Epic disaster. But I figured I'd never see him again.

Until I walked into my father's boardroom and discovered my mystery man was Bennett Mercer—ruthless billionaire CEO, corporate raider with a reputation for dismantling companies, and the man about to destroy the medical device company my father spent twenty-five years building.

He thought I played him with that fake number. I thought I was completely screwed.

Bennett

She thought giving me the wrong number made her untouchable. She had no idea I always get what I want. And I wanted her—every dangerous curve, every defiant look, every breathless gasp when I backed her against my office door.

I came to Chicago to acquire Carmichael Innovations, extract value, and move on. Standard corporate restructuring. But Layla Carmichael wasn't standard anything. She was the COO fighting for her team's jobs, a neural mapping expert protecting her father's legacy, and the woman who made me question everything I'd built my empire on.

The deal neither of us saw coming

Secret phone calls that turned dangerously intimate. Professional boundaries that dissolved into stolen moments in my penthouse. A forbidden workplace relationship neither of us could resist. She was trying to save her father's company and protect her team. I was trying not to fall for the woman on the opposite side of the negotiation table.

Then she discovered I hadn't been honest with her. The betrayal in her eyes when she walked away taught me that some acquisitions cost more than they're worth. And some things—like the woman you love—are worth rebuilding everything for.

Now I had to prove I'd learned to build instead of destroy. That legacy matters more than profit. That she was worth more than any deal I'd ever closed.

Perfect for those who love billionaire romance with real stakes, enemies-to-lovers where they actually hate each other first, plus-size heroines with agency and backbone, workplace romance with genuine conflict, and redemption arcs where the hero has to prove through actions that he's worthy—not just show up with flowers and expect forgiveness.

Megan Wade's Sugar Promise: High heat, low drama, guaranteed HEA. BBW billionaire romantic comedy with explicit scenes and emotional depth.