Executive Sweet

Westerley

by Sage Ardman

Kay Samson is fresh out of business school and has a job as a junior executive—or so she thinks. Instead, the job turns out to be something a bizarre game of erotic high-finance business deals. Although it starts off innocently, with just a little teasing, the game draws her in deeper with each new deal, and thrills her more than she could ever imagine. Who would have thought that her brains and her beauty could work together so powerfully? Kay’s partner in this game is Dan Avery, the handsome CEO of the company. The two of them might seem like a perfect match, but neither wants to get romantically involved. Dan has a history of bad relationships, and refuses to wreck the game by having another bitter breakup. Kay is wary of men, who always lust for her looks and never care about what’s inside. Besides, they’re both having too much fun manipulating unsuspecting businessmen. But with all the sexually-charged business deals going on, how long can they keep the game going and stay out of trouble?

330 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 29, 2013

About the author

The "Westerley" books were my first romance series, and they came at me faster than I could write them down. Much more fun than the technical books I had written in my youth.

After that came my "Fame" series, stories about Rock and Roll. Interestingly, I was once the lead singer of a California garage band back in the 1990s, so I had a taste of rock and roll fame. Nothing like what my characters go through, of course, but it was fun to pretend.

The third series is actually a prequel to my Fame book, Rock Con Roll, and tells about the youngest in a family of con artists who builds a team called "The Adjusters" to trick powerful people into doing the right thing.

I’ve always liked a good story, but I never knew about romance novels until I was 59 years old, and in the middle of writing one. I quickly fell in love with it, and now I fill my time reading and writing romance stories.

Also, I never drank whiskey before. But since I wrote characters who drink it, I became curious. Now it’s my favorite drink.

Life is full of surprises, including these romance novels. I have been happily married for forty years, and we have raised two wonderful children. I honestly wouldn’t trade places with anyone else, living or dead, real or imagined.

Reviews

[Ginnie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was given this book for an honest review.

Ok I am going to attempt to write this review again, but if this time I fail then I am done. Now let me go ahead and say that just because I didn't find this book enjoyable doesn't mean that you shouldn't give it a chance. This is my opinion and my opinion alone, and with that said here we go.

Sadly as hard as I tried I just couldn't bring myself to finish this book. Sigh, I will however tell you the good things about it. 1) The story wasn't really all that bad, maybe it just needed to be executed better or something. 2) I found little grammar and spelling errors, so that's a positive. Sigh. Where this book completely took a dive for me was with the characters. And that to me is a very important part of a book. Let's talk about Kay......... Hold on I am trying to get this out. I think maybe she was suppose to come off as one of those beautiful and intelligent woman that didn't let her looks go to her head and all that jazz. Sadly she just seemed egotistical, snobby, flaky and I really just found her quite disgusting. She was suppose to be doing what she was doing to prove to men that women were more than sex objects, in all reality I believe she had every feminist shaking their heads and finding new bras to burn. She pretty much sent women to the pole(stripper pole). It was sad. And ahhh here we have Dan the Man as I like to call him, I just wanna kick him in the balls. He was pretty much just like all the men he and Kay set out to take down. He was just ewwwwww. Kay take a cold shower and open your eyes, do you see him or are you letting your lust blind you?

And the other down side was some of the story was just so far out there maybe it should of read like a paranormal romance at times. I mean really, who in the hell is that perfect and pretty much has every man in the universe willing to bend over and hand you everything, but maybe a Siren? NO ONE!! And wow so Dan was going to hire a detective to investigate this glass company but since Kay used her beauty and got the info for him he just gave her the $90,000 that he was going to pay the detective. Wait! What!? Is this detective a part of the President of the US secret service? Who pays that much really? Oh I just couldn't take it anymore and put the book down.So there ya go.

[Mary - Buried Under Romance · Rating 4 out of 5]

What could be more fun than having a high-paying job where one only has to distract men? The stakes in the corporate world are ever so high; the promises of real love its ultimate prize!

Kay Samson is smart, driven, and remarkable talented. But more than her fantastic grades and an MBA, she has the body of a goddess and a face of a siren. Essentially, she’s blessed with enough beauty to turn men’s heads. When Kay excited goes to her first job with a famous company, expecting to slowly work up the corporate ladder, she is faced with an unexpected proposal from the company’s CEO, Dan Avery, to become his partner in a game of seduction. She would be his negotiations partner, help him make his business deals with her business acumen, but more importantly, to use her body to “distract” their negotiators into accepting their proposals. At the outset, Dan had promised Kay that their relationship would be purely business, but how long could it stay professional when both are sizzling with passion on and off the negotiation floor?

There is a lot to commend the author in the crafting of this book. The characters are charming and both very appealing in their own way, yet unmistakably honest with themselves. Kay knows how to wield her beauty as a weapon, yet she chooses to gain ahead through her own merit, and not be seen as inferior, as an empty-headed beauty whose only asset is her body. Dan, though labeled the “Playboy CEO,” had worked hard to get to his position, and he values in Kay her humor and intelligence just as much as he desire her body. Despite his reputation with women, he is kind and honorable, restraining himself in front of Kay even when he knows in his heart that he’s met his soul mate, the one person who could match him on every front. With the two of them, they were honest with each other of their wants and desires, but it took a while for them to admit to deeper feelings beyond lust and companionship. I had so thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, with its wonderful characters and amusing dialogue, and would very much recommend it to all readers who want a bit of spice and love in the corporate world.

*Reviewed courtesy of The Romance Reviews

[Liezel Felix · Rating 4 out of 5]

Welcome to the world of Corporate power play!

A new graduate Kay Sampson is immediately ushered into the executive office of Yorick on her first day of her dream job. What would the CEO of a highly successful company possibly want with her? Kay has her assumptions knowing that the CEO is known as the "Charmer". Kay happens to be attractive and intelligent. Is this meeting some kind of way that the CEO wants to seduce her? She didn't know what to expect.

As soon as she walks in his door, Dan Avery - millionaire playboy and CEO can not believe his eyes. He has finally found "the one", the one he dubbed the "killer colleague." He's been searching for someone like her for years. Immediately, sparks fly but surprisingly their first conversation steers away from that. At first she can not believe what he's asking her to do. As everything sinks in she realizes she's absolutely going to love this challenge. The power of using seduction and her savvy intelligence to take down some of the worst CEO's in the business.

What I thought about this book?
I loved Kay's character. Kay is a beautiful and attractive woman known to turn heads anywhere she goes but this isn't her primary asset. She is also clever and intelligence, smart as a whip and even graduated top of her MBA class. Where would you hear of such a thing? Normally a woman like this would use that charisma to get through life but she didn't want her beauty to define her. You would expect her to be conceited, arrogant and perhaps egotistical but she wasn't nowhere close to that. She was friendly , outgoing, open-minded and never let her intelligence of her beauty get to her. She was also loyal to her friends and even went as far as planning a takedown on one CEO that did her friends wrong.

Dan too was quite impressive. He was misunderstood and stereotyped. Behind his charm was also an intelligent man. Modest if you would ask me. He worked hard to get to where he was even if he didn't have to work at all. His family comes from a very rich and influential background where he could have been living the playboy lifestyle like his friends he was instead in board meetings earning his keep.

At first I was hesitant about this one. The first chapter sounded so Fifty-ish to me that I thought I would have to put it down. But I'm glad I didn't give because this story read like nothing I've read before. I thought it was absolutely invigorating and refreshing. Whoever thought that corporate dealings could be this interesting? The seduction and mind games that they set against the dirtiest business men in the corporate world were well thought out and played. With their perfect teamwork, they could have swindled anyone they wanted to but remained honorable and take down those that definitely deserved it.

The chemistry and angst between Kay and Dan were well-played out too. You would think that they would have immediately jumped into bed with each other given the highly seductive and sexually charged mind games that were at play but they took it in stride. They remained professional as long as they possibly could and just let everything flow naturally. And mind you it was worth the wait!

"Don't you know? I've been in love with you for a long time now. The dismissal just made me realize how important it is that I stop hiding it. You've put a spell on me."

Now I know that some of us may still judge a book by its cover but you definitely need to get past that and read this one. It may not be for everybody because the story is more intellectual than most and almost 50+ longer compared to other books but for me I never wanted it to end. I wish I could have heard more power plays at hand and even get a glimpse of Dan and Kay's life after ...

Casting Picks:

Jason Lewis as Dan Avery.

Model Marissa Meyer as Kay Sampson.

For more of my ramblings, Click Here

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kay Samson is excited to finally start working after graduating college as Valedictorian and receiving her MBA. She worked hard to get straight A’s, but she also piled up a large amount of student loans. She knows her life is about to change, because she is going to be able to use all of her knowledge and work her way up in the Yorick Corporation. Unfortunately for her, the CEO is known as the Playboy around town and it seems Kay’s impressive good looks have made it to the top of the food chain. Her first day orientation is delayed and she is directed to the top floor to speak to Dan Avery, Mr. Playboy CEO, himself. Dan Avery is not your typical CEO that was born into the highly wealthy and famous Westerly family, since he has worked hard to make it to the top. Dan has been in search for the perfect, killer partner to plan out a few distraction games and he knows Kay is the one, just so long as she accepts. Will their games flow smoothly, or will the game cost them everything?

Sage Ardman weaves a tale straight from the fantasy of corporate romance. Executive Sweet is a contemporary romance with a taste of business suspense. Each new distraction game not only increases the financial opportunity, but it also increases the inner-debate within the main characters. The book starts off a bit slow, but quickly picks up at heated pace. Kay comes across as the perfect woman, not only extremely smart, but incredibly beautiful too. Though these are not necessarily attributes most women will relate to, her struggles to accept herself and the morality of the games will give readers a question to ponder: How far would they go to bring down the bad guy and pay off their debt? Executive Sweet is a tantalizing start to the Westerly series.

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect with this book. The first chapter had me wondering just how much spice would be involved in this high-stakes corporate game. Each “game” amped up the heat factor, without crossing the line into the popular, provocative world of BDSM. Though some women readers may not approve of Kay using her body to the company’s advantage, they will appreciate her using her brains to come out on top.

Notes:
The author provided a copy of this book for me to review.
This review was originally posted on Ariesgrl Book Reviews.

[Sharrice · Rating 2 out of 5]

See original 1.5 bat review on my blog Reese's Reviews" MA2F

I received a copy of Executive Sweet for an honest review.

Kay Samson is beautiful and smart a curse if there ever was one in her opinion. Kay is always looked at as an object but as soon as she opens her mouth men go running the other direction. Dan is looking for the killer college who can make him lots of money for the company by charming men into selling their souls. In between cheating rotten business men out of their money Dan and Kay find themselves entangled in each other while still balancing on the tight rope of nobody finding out what they’re doing to get all this money from these sexist business men.

I wanted to like this book but I had so many problems with it.
1. Kay did not seem like a real person to me. Her character and roles she played were so unrealistic to me it was hard to relate or even like her. I get people can be beautiful and smart and while that might intimidate some people did she ever consider she has bad taste in men. I have never met as many men that Kay has that are complete douches and yet every male Kay came across unless they were gay were douches and easily manipulated by a sexy woman. Dumb. Also I was incredibly sick of her “I’m so beautiful and intelligent” remarks ever few lines in the book I could honestly not find it in my heart to like or sympathize with her.
2. Dan was honestly not my favorite either although the better of the two he was just…bleh to me. He seemed like every other man in Kay’s man hating world except he wanted a smart woman. Eh he was nothing special.
The story line was original I just wish it was executed better but it just wasn’t there for me and that was a real let down on this books part.

I have to give this story a 1.5 bat rating because while the story line was original everything else fell short for me. I really wish this story had turned out better but it just wasn’t there for me.

I want to thank the author Sage Ardman for sending me a copy of her book. While I didn’t love it I am happy and thankful you gave me the opportunity to read your book.

[Adria's Musings · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally posted at Adria's Romance Reviews

First time romance author Sage Ardman manages to make the ordinarily dull sounding business world fun, dangerous and sexy. Who knew it could be done right? The two lead characters are serious about their work but not so serious about the romance budding between them.

Dan Avery and Kay Samson are an ideal couple even if they don't realize it. They're both intelligent, driven and fiercely independent. They compliment each other without trying to and work well as a team... of con artists.

Yes, the hero and heroine of this book are con artists out to settle the score with unscrupulous buisnessmen by hitting them where it hurts, their money belts. Because who hasn't imagined doing just that right?

Executive Sweet is a series of Cat-and-Mouse games that can keep readers on the edge of their seats wondering if and when Dan and Kay will be caught, and of course, when will they realize they're fast falling for each other.

While Dan is the hot shot boss in the book, it's Kay that really steals the show. She's beautiful, she knows it and she's not afraid to use how men see her to her advantage. However, Kay never makes the reader feel like she's rubbing her beauty in their faces, more like she's owning up to it and not trying to present a sense of false modesty. It was also great to see a female character who could match and in some cases, outsmart men who were both powerful and rich.

The supporting cast of characters, many of whom know what Dan and Kay are up to (which in my opinion wasn't very smart, I mean, people can be bought you know) are silly, fun and sometimes a great diversion from the seriousness of the game.

With each successful con, the suspense builds and builds while also making readers feel like they're along for the ride, the thrill of the game but the uncertainty of the outcome plagues not only the characters but the readers as well.

Executive Sweet is an interesting read, definitely the first con-artist romance I've read, so if you're looking for a different setting for a contemporary romance, then give this one a try.

[Naomi · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Executive Sweet is an amusing read, but I don't think this is a truly accurate story of how the business world is. Having a hot smart girl manipulate people for money is always entertaining and that is what I thought about this book. It may or may not take place in the real world, but I enjoyed the idea of it actually happening.

The main characters, Kay and Dan have real chemistry, but due to their working relationship they try their best not to cross that line. Everyone can see how compatible they are and it may only be a matter of time before things are too much and they follow their hearts.

Kay is a very straight forward person and is extremely good looking and smart, and really it annoyed me… she is just so perfect!! Damn it! Lol We all want that. She is oozing with confidence and men don't intimidate her. Men all see her as a bimbo though, so she likes to put them in their place and she has worked very hard to get to where she is today.

Dan is the CEO of the company that Kay is now working for and it’s his plan that has put Kay into the game. For a CEO of a large company, he is a pretty laid back person and we get that impression of him right from the start. He is a good and honest guy and is always upfront about what he is thinking or planning.

Some of the things they do are a bit corny, as adults they really wouldn't act like that, but it was fun to read about. Playing the game where Kay uses her body to distract the men, while getting them to sign contracts was cheeky and some of the situations they get into we're cute. The author has done a wonderful job at telling this story and her world building was fantastic. I felt like I was a fly on the wall watching these deals unfold and giggled my way through it. The romance as fun and I liked how the story played out in the end. I recommend this book to anyone who wants a fun easy read!


I received a copy of this book from the Author in exchange for an honest review.

[Sage Ardman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book 1 of a three-story series. Each story stands on its own. Enjoy!