Billionaire Blackmail was born from a lie. Not mine, of course. I’m an angel, just ask my mom. :-) The falsehood was someone else’s. A stranger. A young woman I didn’t know who was hanging out in the hip restaurant stall behind me while I washed my hands and fidgeted for the hundredth time with a dress I could not get to look like it had when I’d bought the darn thing. Fashion challenges aside, I was getting ready to leave when I heard the woman confess to her friend that she’d told a tiny lie to her new boyfriend about where she’d gone the other night, not because she’d been with another man, but because she wasn’t yet ready to tell him about the family business.
As an author, heck as a nosy-Nellie, I was dying to hear the rest of that conversation—had to, in fact, stop myself from asking her to speak up over the muffling effect of the stall walls—but even I knew I had to force my feet out the door when she emerged from the stall and I was standing there drying my hands for the umpteenth time. So, painful as it was, I left. But my mind remained in that bathroom, thinking over what I’d heard. Lies. Truth. Trust. How do they affect our most important relationships?
We’ve all lied at times. Some times out of kindness. Some times desperation (I’m pretty sure the woman who sold me that dress and told me it looked fabulous wasn’t practicing deception to be cruel, but more because I’d already been through ten other dresses and she was running out of hanging space.) Some times we lie because it’s the cowards way out. But whatever the reason, there are always consequences. And as I considered the potential consequences of this woman’s lie, the story Billionaire Blackmail was born.
I don’t know if the woman I overhead in the bathroom that night was as damaged or had as much to overcome as the strong heroine Sara Turner in Billionaire Blackmail. Or if she had a sexy, dirty-talking billionaire like Nik Valenti for an ex-boyfriend with a zillion control issues who was chomping at the bit to strip away her every secret, expose her every lie, even as he fought to protect her. Or if she stumbled her way through the consequences of her actions and found the kind of raw, honest passion and truthful connection as the hero and heroine of my story, but I hope so.
Because I truly believe that something beautiful can come from even the roughest of starts. Just look at the less than glamorous origins of Billionaire Blackmail. It might have sprung to life in a bathroom stall, but the story flourishes in the opulent halls of New York City’s wealthiest office buildings and penthouses, smolders on a stunning tropical Greek island getaway, and lays bare the kind of primal, wild, white-hot love that nothing, not even distrust, can extinguish.
I hope you love Billionaire Blackmail as much as I do.
Happy reading.
Best,
Alison
About the book:
After a childhood spent on the streets, ruthless billionaire Nik Valenti has had his share of dealing with crooks. He thought that was behind him. Until the woman he’s been casually dating turns out to be the biggest con artist of them all. Now, with pride, money, and his company’s survival at stake, he won’t rest until she’s experienced his own brand of justice.
Sara Turner knows she’s no angel, but a few deliberate omissions…well, compared to the rest of her family, that’s choir girl behavior. But now the one man whose heart she’d hoped to steal is accusing her of embezzling from his company. Worse, he wants answers. And he’s come up with a foolproof way to ensure he gets them. One Sara must accept if she doesn’t want to end up in jail.
Nik might be trying to save his company, but he has a tough time ignoring the way Sara makes him burn. The passion between them is all-consuming, and each time he peels away a layer, he discovers there’s more to her than first meets the eye, but he can’t give in to his need. Nik will put everything on the line to find the truth…except his heart.
Find it online:
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About the author:
Alison Aimes is the award-winning author of the sizzling contemporary romance Billionaire Blackmail as well as the action-packed, sexy sci-fi romance series The Condemned. A romance junkie with a PhD in Modern History, she’s an all-over-the-map kind of woman with a love for dramatic stories and great books, no matter the era. Now, she’s creating her own stories full of intrigue and passion, but always with a happy-ever-after ending. She lives in Maryland with her husband, two kids, and her dog. When not in front of the computer, she can be found hanging with family and friends, hiking, trying to turn herself into a pretzel through yoga, or, last but not least, sitting on the couch imagining her characters’ next great adventures.
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