Wanted: Billionaire's Wife

Titans of Tech #1

by Susannah Erwin

Falling for the matchmaker isn’t part of the business plan…
Is Silicon Valley ready for the scandal?

Tech CEO Luke Dallas needs to save a business deal gone south at any cost—even if that means marriage! His solution is to hire executive recruiter Danica Novak to be his unconventional matchmaker. After all, marriage is just like business: a negotiation between two parties who have a mutual investment in a future outcome. Or so Luke thinks…

The only problem? Beautiful, captivating Danica is distracting him from his goal. When all three candidates she chooses fall through, Luke realizes the perfect partner is the one he’s been working with all along. Danica agrees to play along and they get married, but their passion quickly makes a mess of everything. Soon Danica won’t settle for anything less than love and walks away. Will Luke realize his mistake and chase after her to seal the deal for real before it’s too late?

Genres: Romance, Harlequin

224 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published May 1, 2019

About the author

Susannah Erwin is a former Hollywood studio executive who decided to stop publicizing other people's stories and tell her own instead. Her first novel, Wanted: Billionaire's Wife, won the Golden Heart™ award from Romance Writers of America and was published by Harlequin Desire. She continues to write about strong-willed, ambitious people who just can't help falling in love - whether they want to or not - while living in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband.

You can find her on Facebook as @SusannahErwinAuthor and on Instagram and Threads as @SusannahWrites. Or visit her website at www.susannaherwin.com.

Reviews

[Dorian Jandreau · Rating 3 out of 5]

Danika- kroatė, ką tik netekusi darbo ir susidūrusi su finansiniais sunkumais dėl brolio gydymo išlaidų, susiduria su Luku. Lukas- viršininkas ieškantis žmonos, nes nuo to priklauso jo verslo reikalai. Tačiau, kad ir kaip Danika stengiasi surasti Lukui žmoną- reikalai krypsta į jos pusę, nes po labdaros renginio jie permiega ir Lukas ima suvokti, jog ta reikiama žmona yra... Danika. Nors jis netiki meile ir jausmais- jie jį aplanko.

Skyriai ilgi, bet jų nedaug. Istorija gan nuspėjama ir tikėjausi daugiau tad įvertinimas bus mažesnis.

[SuperWendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Look, anytime you get the ol' "Have To Marry for XYZ Reason" trope you just gotta roll with it. Which I did because I really enjoyed this story that Erwin spins. CEO tech hero with ALL the family baggage needs to find a wife when a business deal goes sideways (again, just roll with it...). The heroine returns from a family emergency (her brother was in an accident and the medical treatment means $$$$), only to come back to an empty office and a note from her boss saying "so long, off to greener pastures." So the hero hires our heroine (an executive recruiter) to find him a wife. What could possibly go wrong?

Inhaled in a couple of sittings. Enjoyable. Looking forward to Erwin's next book.

[Sharon Peterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick read with a handsome billionaire and the woman who finds her way into his heart without trying. This was well-written and the ending definitely made me smile. :)

[Vonne · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's kind of interesting that I vaguely recalled the most important tidbit of this book. I assume it is why I gave this HQ Desire the rating that I did because it managed to remain stuck in my brain, loosely. And doing the re-read I did today made me certain..."oh, yeah, this was one of those memorable ones"

It's not that the Hero hires the heroine to be his matchmaker [find him a wife]...it was that the first portion of the book is her landing after a flight, being away for two weeks to find that her Boss has not just left and taken another job with another company...but she stripped the whole entire office of all equipment and furniture...so Danica returns to an empty office building/floor where her cubicle just has an empty office supply box with all of her desk items inside.

Luke, the Hero, has shown his face to this recruiting company he hired, awhile back, to talk to Johanna... Danica's old boss, but it is very apparent NO ONE and NOTHING remains while Danica had been gone.

Let me see...this is kind of a... Office Romance... built from BOTH MCs having high-stakes in this matter.

Danica...has a younger brother, Matthew [8yrs younger] who is now concussed and permanently disabled [cannot walk] because of a three-man collision during a football game. He has some kind of fascinating spinal shock injury that has rendered him immobile, but the whole entire family is looking for great insurance and also a really good money-drop of huge cash. Danica thought she had it with this job with Johanna...except... now she has nothing, not even insurance...

...then Luke just came from a Brunch/Lunch meeting with a Father/Daughter duo, Nestor & Irene...who are money lenders?/company investors...and Luke thought this was a simple "money-injection" for his company. But Stavros, the Father/Daughter duo, kind of hoodwinked Luke into their nefarious grip. Nestor used to date Luke's Mom...who then dumped HIM to marry Luke's Father... but BOTH of his parents are fairly even-steven on still being crappy people and crappier parent figures. It seems that Luke is being "punished"...eh, "blackmailed", really... for what his mother did 30yrs prior. And if Luke signs with this investment company/firm, then the contract has a clause deep inside that will force him to BEHAVE... and curb his Player/Playboy ways.

Luke is not really like this. This is a business game the Father/Daughter duo likes to do to yank CEO chains and make them all jump through hoops for them.

So, Luke had this idea that he could utilize this company's "recruitment" skills to locate him a great candidate for a Wife.... for the business deal only. Not forever because he does not believe in love...and why?? is because his crappy parents divorced and have each kind of had numerous amounts of re-marriages...basically giving Luke a revolving door of Step-parents, one after another.

So...in 2 months' time, Luke wants and NEEDs to be married or on his way to having a wedding with a perfect Trophy Wife. Since Johanna is long gone... Danica sees an opportunity and, yeah, wants to hear Luke's job offer. For finding him a list of potential women, she will receive $300,000 for this single job... PLUS, he added a $50,000 signing Bonus... and, yeah, Danica is desperate for the money so she takes the job.

Luke is pressed for time so he expects Danica to find him THE ONE right away... but she does her job so well that she wants to know things about Luke and get to "know" him, what he likes and dislikes in certain things...especially with women. She thinks giving him a random list of 10 will appease him... but when half the women are from the Tech World he already lives in... he knows a majority of them and has either been with them or knows they won't be what he truly needs.

With a good quantity of the book, Luke and Danica try to bond. Danica really tries to do as good of a job as she can. But there are ways in which she thinks she has helped... and manages to not help Luke whatsoever.

Like when she has started him on some "dates" with women... there was one who was SO PERFECT... except she never revealed she was secretly engaged to another man. Most of the women do not know exactly what they are applying for... because once Luke has made his decision...I suppose this was when he would have broken in with the honest truth. They were not being hired for charity endeavors, but... to be his "wife".

Then a situation arrives, making Luke's issues more High Stakes when Irene Stavros [who Luke use to have an on-and-off affair with...] makes a shocking return, with no warning...and Luke throws caution to the wind and calls Danica his "wife", with no qualms.

This sets forward...a "NEW" deal/job offer for Danica and Luke... as it now has become a marriage of convenience. And, yeah... they had a one-night stand right before this moment...and Luke makes it clear this will be a genuine real marriage. Except, it does have a timeline that will end once he has signed this business deal with Nestor & Irene Stavros...

And this is what ruins the happy ending for them. Danica fore-saw that if Luke gives over his Tech Company to The Stavros... he will have to "play" in their Dog-and-Pony show...well, forever.

And, hmm, there was a small moment where because Danica got rid of the already-engaged potential "wife"/woman, Felicity... Danica had to become Luke's Plus One for a charity event. While there, two Tech Bros, who have admired Luke, interrupt Danica and Luke's moment at the Casino Night; they have been wanting to pull him aside for a long-time now to chat him up and see if he wanted to get into some of their Med-Tech ideas. Of course, they merely want to pick his brilliant brain, so they really were never expecting him to like or want to help with ANY of their ideas.

So, at Zero Hour...when BOTH Nestor & Irene have infiltrated Luke's company offices for him to sign with them... to browbeat him into how "fake-y" his marriage to Danica feels...and kind of strong-arming him, even more, to sign his life away to be their Dog On a Leash... Danica tries to make Luke see what she has been seeing... that this Stavros family WILL NEVER LET HIM GO...unless he makes it clear they can no longer Use and Abuse him.

Close to the end of the book, Danica has left Luke...with no idea if he signed the contracts or not. The next day, she hears HE DID SIGN... but then... she returns to her family's side in order to make certain that Matthew, her brother, and her Mom and Dad... are good.

A couple of chapters ahead of the end, Luke had finally learned WHY Danica needed all this heavy cash flow...and Luke just so happens to be considering getting involved in those Tech Bros medical tech company?!?!?! Perfect symmetry because, once Luke shows up... while Matthew is taking his first couple of steps with a walker, after receiving the go-ahead of some truly expensive experimental "therapies" from the company Luke is now a part of.

Seems like he not only signed the contracts, allowing Stavros to take hold of his old company, but he left his CFO in the new position of CEO...so he no longers will run it as he moves over to this other company...so, yay...

I am such a NERD for business and company dealings. So i am never bothered or annoyed by Office Romances. I love a good intrigue story...and this one had it in a very light, yet high-stakes tension moment...Luka had built his company from the ground up--so it was his "baby". Danica understood about him wanting to sink with the ship if it was on its way to tanking. But had he remain CEO, he knew he would always be in Nestor/Irene's clutches...and simply walking away assured that ALL EMPLOYEES under him got money out of the investment deal.

I know, I know... some of these stories inside these books seem so convoluted. But when you read them unfolding, chapter by chapter, they "play" easily in your head. So it may sound like I am rambling a bunch of nonsense but this was actually one of those great NEW Author reads I like to see come through. Mainly because this is a typical trope, kind of spun on its butt...and Danica and Luke were a different kind of couple. Also they were different as individuals, and their chemistry was there and was allowed to slow-build, which I love to see happen.

Danica is the daughter of war refugees from Croatia. And Luke's family situation was simply deplorable, so it was explicable why he had the personality that he did. Except...catching Luke when most vulnerable---almost desperate not to "look a fool"-- he had the rug unexpectedly pulled out from under him, when he thought he was finally going to put money into his business. The cruel, sadistic "snag" he faced turned into something that was going to unravel his whole Life Plan, ruin his business [and all his employees] and even his reputation. So, when I say this is mostly high tension, high stakes office romance... it's true.

And Luke wasn't as Alpha as one would have thunk he would end up being. He was asshole-ish, at times... but who wouldn't be when he was just outmaneuvered by a crafty, sinister Father/Daughter Duo who keeps dangling his parent's bullshit [well, his MOM's bad decision bullshit, really] in his face. I do fathom Irene was possibly jealous, so there are remanents of HER not being the ONE WOMAN who could make Luke change... that ended up being silly, useless Danica.

I really liked Danica... plus I enjoy this new name because it makes me think of Danica Patrick. And surprisingly, for me... Luke ended up being a charming persona, underneath all that feisty bite he kept having when Danica would not DO what he wanted with the stupid LIST OF WOMEN... which reminded me of Mitt Romney's BINDERS OF WOMEN...hehehe...

Looks like the rest of this series might be the rest of the Tech Bros Luke bumped into at the charity event...and I was easily sucked into this story even though it had some old-and-exhaustive romance tropes. The way this Author executed the story made it a bit more enjoyable than most HQ Desires, of late.

[Beverly Diehl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in the SF Bay area, Danica Novak is having a not-so-great day, that abruptly turns worse. Enter hottie billionaire entrepreneur Luke Dallas, with an unusual proposition she's in no position to refuse. But will their super hot attraction to each other ruin the plans they've so carefully made?

Disclaimer: I'm personally acquainted with the author, and was thrilled for her when this novel won RWA's Golden Heart award.

There are lots of humorous touches, like Danica being mistaken for wait staff, after she shows up at a fancy charity ball. The heat and connection between the two is evident from the first scene. The one thing that was missing is personal growth on Danica's part - Luke has to get over a fear of love, but whatever hurdle Danica had to overcome wasn't evident to me. For genre romance in the billionaire trope, this is a good one.

[Kristen Lewendon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Luke and Danica’s fake marriage is just a paper tiger to hide their very real feelings. But will Luke be able to recognize real love and affection before it’s too late? This story was everything I look for in a Harlequin romance. It’s sweet, it’s spicy, it’s angsty, and it left me with a great big smile on my face when it was over. Part fake relationship, part Cinderella story and all fabulous. There might even have been a touch of Beauty and the Beast in there considering the emotional growth and transformation Luke has to undergo. I loved Danica. She is so strong. It’s the only way she’s ever known to be. She’s learned the hard way that family are the only ones you can depend on. Luke’s learned, in an equally hard fashion, that not even family can be counted on. As a pairing, these two frustrated me as much as they delighted me. Thank heavens the delight won out in the end.

[Dj · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars - He hired a recruiter to match him with a wife. But the woman he wants is off-limits. (Tech CEO) Luke Dallas will save his business deal—even if that means marriage! And he hires (executive recruiter) Danica Novak who arrives at her job to find her boss has taken another position and left the country and their client arrives and ask her to be his unconventional matchmaker. The only problem? Her brother’s treatments and pesky things like rent and food are needed and his salary of $300,000 is too enticing. Beautiful, captivating Danica is distracting him from his goal. He knows they have chemistry, but Danica won’t settle for anything less than love. Will that be the deal breaker?

[Eri | Encrucijadas cotidianas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Luke está en aprietos, su empresa está en grandes problemas y contrata a Danica para que le busque una esposa falsa... pero la atracción entre ellos es mucho más fuerte de lo que quieren aceptar.
¿Podrán hacerle frente a la atracción?
Divertido, de lectura rápida, ideal para una lectura ante de dormir. Me gustaron los personajes y la situación, que no fuese exclusivamente ella la persona para la relación hizo que todo entre ellos pareciera más fuerte y los momentos de exclusividad entre ellos bastante hot.
Si buscas algo ligero y con una historia simple, es una buena historia.

[Trudy Miner · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great short read. Billionaire CEO Luke Dallas needs to save his business deal even if it means marriage. He hires executive recruiter Danica Novak to find a suitable match. Unfortunately, the sparks between the two makes finding a suitable match. Danica, meanwhile, won't marry for anything but love. However, true love never fails.

It's been a long time since I read a Harlequin Desire but this story is worth it. I truly enjoyed it.

[Cami Brite · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was lucky to read an early draft of this book and recently finished it again with a goofy smile on my face.

I loved it. This book is such a fast read. I love Danica and Luke, and the struggles they have to work through to get their HEA. There are interesting side characters that I hope to see soon in future books. I eagerly await Susannah's next book!!

[Yesenia Ubence · Rating 3 out of 5]

“I’ll marry you a hundred times. You can plan the next wedding.” 3 stars. I found the beginning kind of boring. I understand the backstory is important, but i was struggling to keep reading. The last chapters were my favorite. It was sweet to see Luke let go of some of his control and just be with Danica. I would’ve liked more moments of just them two or an epilogue, but overall 3 stars.

[Didi Ps · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great short story with a few romantic twists & turns... It was fun to read. 😉

Here's a fun quote about a bite mark: "If she leaned forward, she could kiss the reddened area better... or do more damage. Right now, she was torn."

I got this book as an ARC, free as part of New England Readers' Choice Awards.

[Jennie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5 stars