Hard Sell
21 Wall Street • Book Two
🔥 Steamy
A Wall Street broker at the top of his game, Matt’s playboy lifestyle lands him in hot water with the boss—and into the arms of the one woman who can save his reputation.
Hard Sell
Sabrina & Matt
🔥 Steamy
Trope: frienemies-to-lovers, Fake Relationship
21 Wall Street | Book Two
Hard Sell is an effortlessly chic, hopelessly romantic, seriously sexy and exceptionally entertaining romance that truly stands out.” - USA TODAY
He’s a Wall Street wolf. She’s been hired to tame him. From New York Times bestselling author Lauren Layne comes a wildly sexy novel of business and pleasure.
Twenty-eight and filthy rich, Matt Cannon is the youngest broker on Wall Street. He may be a “boy wonder,” but he’s every inch a man. Ask any woman—any night. But when Matt’s latest fling makes scandalous headlines, his clients get anxious, and his bosses at Wolfe Investments level an ultimatum: keep his assets zipped, get a “real” girlfriend, and clean up his act. Only one woman can help Matt with something this hard.
For PR genius Sabrina Cross, the best fixer in Manhattan, playing Matt’s steady is going to be a challenge, even if it’s just for show. They already have an explosive history, she can’t stand the cocky party boy, and worse—she can’t stop thinking about him. So who’ll dare to break her “no touching” rule first? Because when that happens, Matt and Sabrina’s game of let’s pretend will get so hot it could set both their reputations on fire.
about the story
if you're wondering...
Is this book for me?
I try to be as upfront as possible about each of my books. Everyone has unique preferences!
This book is written in first person, with alternating POV.
Matt is a bit of a naughty playboy at the start of the story. Proceed with caution if you like proper gentlemen.
This is my personal favorite of 21 Wall Street series. Do with that what you will.
I set out to write this as pure enemies-to-lovers. Matt and Sabrina caught me off guard, because they're more frienemies who genuinely care about one another—they just like to bicker!
🔥 This book is steamy with explicit sex scenes.
Excerpt
Simply and reluctantly put, men don’t come better-looking than Matt Cannon. He’s the epitome of a golden boy. Perfectly styled blond hair? Check. Mischievous blue eyes? Yup. Chiseled jaw? Uh-huh. Perfect body . . .
Yeah, you get the idea.
Also, I hate him.
I lean against my doorjamb, still blocking his entry. “Why are you here, and why in God’s name did my doorman let you up?”
Matt puts a hand to my waist as though it’s his right and nudges me aside so he can enter my apartment. As though that’s his right, too.
reviews & praise
“Hard Sell is a sexy and sassy story line about friendships, family, heartbreak and love. The premise is spirited and engaging; the characters are dynamic and energetic; the romance is sensual and captivating. Hard Sell is a breathtaking and delightful addition to Lauren’s 21 Wall Street series.” —The Reading Café
“My favorite in the series thus far, /Hard Sell/ was a fast-paced ball of longing. The characters were so well-suited for one another and created a wonderful story that sucked me right in from the first page. I cannot wait for the long-awaited third couple to do the very same.” —Book Reader Chronicles
“The chemistry in this book was absolutely intense! It’s been a bit since I’ve read anything Lauren Layne and I have to say I finished Hard Sell in about a 12-hour time frame. It was a book that I didn’t want to put down!” —Cali Book Reviews
“The chemistry between Sabrina and Matt was HOT!” —Debbie’s World of Books
“When I read, my fiancé can always tell when I am truly into something, or if I am just reading to pass the time. I find myself missing entire conversations, and find myself asking him questions to gauge his reactions. I’ll ask him what he would do faced with a particular scenario, and see if his reactions match the characters in the books. While reading /Hard Sell/, I found myself engaging him in the story lines, and asking him how he would react to such scenarios if it were me and him in real life. I also found him asking me how the story was coming, so even though he wasn’t reading the book, I already had him invested in the story!” —Garden of Reading
“The romance was on point. This was a steamy book and the chemistry between Sabrina and Matt was perfect!” —What to Read Next
“Two adversaries who have a friendship based on snark lose their walls and find a new definition of love and happy ever after for themselves, even if they never thought it possible. Another wonderful installment and my favorite of the series so far!” —I Am, Indeed
“It’s perfectly built up, filled with sassy, funny dialogue and chemistry that will burn your kindle up. The added bonus is seeing Ian and Kate from Hot Asset, and getting glimpses of Kennedy and Kate, I can’t wait for their book, Huge Deal!!! These two will be awesome I just know it!!!” —Schmexy Books
“Ms. Layne gives me all the trope-y goodness I want with all the warm and fun characters I expect. Bonus points: her playboys don’t make me want to punch them in their face with their arrogance.” —Romance Reader
“I really enjoyed Hard Sell. Layne is easily one of my favorite Romance authors and I just love her more with each book I read. I definitely recommend this to Romance fans.” —Stephanie’s Book Reports
Why it’s a must-read: HardSell reminds me exactly why Lauren Layne is one of my all-time-favorite authors. The characters are compelling and interesting, the story is smart, entertaining and heartfelt, and the writing is intelligent and engaging. Sabrina and Matt have annoyed each other and lusted after each other for years, and they have settled into a frenemies-with-benefits relationship. When Matt needs a fake girlfriend to quiet the rumors that he’s an out-of-control playboy, he knows Sabrina is the perfect candidate due to her expertise in fixing problems for high-profile people. She agrees to help him, but neither imagined the experience would push them see each other — and themselves — in a new, unvarnished light. Their layers are peeled back, their hearts are exposed, and love pushes its way in. Hard Sell is an effortlessly chic, hopelessly romantic, seriously sexy and exceptionally entertaining romance that truly stands out.” - USA TODAY, HEA Blog (Mary Dubé)
“Lauren Layne is working her strengths; she writes excellent friendships, new relationships and weaves them with situations that work. If she were a Stock on the Exchange, I would tell my broker to buy.” - Wendy, The Star Angels Reviews
“The connection between Matt and Sabrina jumped off the pages and the sexy scenes were HOT!” - Stacey is Sassy
“Hard sell is a bit slow burn but the chemistry between the characters is so strong, I was unable to put it down. Hard Sell was an enjoyable read. It was funny, it was hot, exciting and overall an awesome read.” - Vini, Goodreads
“Really adorable romance. Funny, sparky, sexy, cute! I really enjoyed reading it!” - BJ’s Book Blog
“I was sucked into this book immediately and was dying with laughter as I read the banter between Matt and Sabrina. The chemistry between them was off the charts!” - Ari, The Romance Corner Blog
“Lauren Layne, you're brilliant! I love you for writing such an amazing story! It's smart, funny and complex. I loved it will all my heart, as I knew I would.” - My Pink Fairytales
“Hard Sell did not disappoint.The characters were layered and so endearing. The plot was perfectly set up and I just could not stop reading!” Manon, Goodreads
“Hard Sell is a smart, sexy love story that set my heart to fluttering like crazy, and had me smiling so big. Seriously, the star rating on this one is directly reflective of the amount of time this book kept me smiling. I loved it. This story just got me, right in the feels, in the very best way. Definitely do not skip this one!” - Shelly, Bookgasms Book Blog
“Miss Layne is quickly becoming one of my favorite romance authors. I know her characters are always going to be fully developed and the plot well paced. Thoroughly enjoyed!” - Kimberly, Goodreads
“These Wall Street stories are excellent at showing how cocky men can be brought to their knees by a woman.” - Mandi, Goodreads
“Great characters combine with the LL-like writing—Smart, sassy, refreshing, and good amount of sexiness.” - Monica Books Blog
“LL doesn’t cut to the chase with a quick steamy scene and instead builds the characters and develops layers so that we feel the connection when the time comes. Definitely a great addition to the 21 Wall Street series!” - Tej, Goodreads
“I find whenever you start a series by Lauren Layne each book in the series becomes better than the last. She never ever disappoints.” - Sherri, Goodreads
“a humorous, sizzling enemies to lovers. A very entertaining read!” - Up All Night with Books
“This book was unexpectedly amazing. I completely loved it.” - Alexia, Goodreads
“My favorite in the series thus far, Hard Sell was a fast-paced ball of longing. The characters were so well-suited for one another and created a wonderful story that sucked me right in from the first page.” - Shelee, Book Reader Chronicles
“A witty combination of enemies-to-lovers and fake-relationship romantic comedy goodness.” - The QD Bibliophile
Hot Guys in Suits
21 Wall Street
First things first, this is one of my few series available in Kindle Unlimited, in case that's your thing! These books were a direct result of me missing Stiletto and Oxford, though I wrote the first two in first person to change it up a bit!
❗️This series is published by Montlake, an imprint of Amazon Publishing. Because of this, the ebook version is only available in Kindle format.
🔥 steamy
