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THE WHAT IF GUYA GUYS WHO GOT AWAY NOVEL

ABOUT

It should be an easy rule to follow - don't bang your boss...

But I didn't know who he was when I met him.

And the first time I saw him, our connection sounded like the stuff of romantic legends -- that whole "their eyes locked across a crowded room" moment that turned into more.I didn't believe it. . . . until it happened to me.

Fine, the charming, clever, sexy-as-sin guy in the tailored suit was only trying to buy the same Snoopy lunchbox (as a gift!), but still, our eyes totally locked, and my lady parts definitely tingled as we vied for the prize.

Naturally, I did what any badass business woman would do.

Negotiated for the lunchbox, then found my what-if guy online and made plans to see him the next night.

One night only -- that was the deal we made.

But one fantastic night had us both changing our minds in the morning. And making plans for another.

Until I walked into the office to learn he just bought my company.

And here's the biggest rule of romantic legends -- no matter what, don't bang your boss.

Especially if you're already falling for him.

THE WHAT IF GUY

By Lauren Blakely

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PROLOGUE

Logan

Some things in life are hard, some are damn hard, and some might as well be impossible.

Snagging a dream job?

Tough, but I finagled it.

Raising a kid solo?

Anything but easy, but I must be doing something right, because mine is awesome.

But try meeting a woman when you’re in your thirties, a single dad with zero free time.

Wait. Make that a woman you like, who’s fun to talk to, and who’s not going to stab you in the back, or the spleen, or right in the heart with a jagged knife.

Now that’s a Herculean task.

I’m not sure it’s possible to find someone like that no matter who you are. You might call me jaded, but I prefer to think I’ve learned from my mistakes.

I live in the present, sure, but I don’t forget what life has taught me.

I’m careful. I’m cautious. And when it comes to my romantic life, I am as skeptical as a fact-checker, looking for hoaxes, lies, and emotional scams like it’s my job.

And that’s worked well for me.

Right up to the day I pop into a store to grab a gift for the most important person in my world. I know what I’m after. I should be in and out in a minute.

Instead, I lock eyes with the sexiest brunette I’ve ever seen.

And her hand is on the same Snoopy lunch box I want.

Game on.

Game fucking on.

I thought I knew what “tough” was. But I forgot that it’s when you assume you have life all figured out that it decides to make an ass out of you.

And I have a feeling I’m about to get schooled.

1BRYN

From the very first line, I know.

This is it. This article will be perfect for impressing the new site owners next week.

Attention, cynics! “Their eyes locked across a crowded room” is not a lie. It’s based on science.

“See?” I tap my tablet, showing the piece to Teagan. “It’s not just a movie cliché or a romance novel trope. There is real science behind the power of the gaze.”

With a flip of her red hair, Teagan gives me a grin that could be a You know it, girl meme. “Love is science, and science is sexy.”

We shuffle closer to the front of the line at my favorite coffee joint in all of Manhattan, which happens to be next door to a delightfully quirky collectible shop I might need to hit up next.

“Truer words,” I agree. The science of love is one of the many topics we aim to tackle on the dating and relationship advice site where we work, with me in charge of content and Teagan handling social media. One of our writers submitted this article this morning, analyzing whether those much-derided romantic standbys hold water outside of rom-coms and chick flicks.