Surprised by Love: A Contemporary Romance (The Armstrongs Book 4) Read Online Free Page A

mistake in the end. Her job was tough, and no matter how friendly she was, or how accommodating because she was imposed by the bank, her clients always saw her as ‘the enemy’. She’d learned not to take it personally, and after having done this a time or two, she had stopped caring whether her clients liked her or not.
    It was like it was. She didn’t need or seek the approval of her clients to validate her success.
    Her thoughts turned back to Douglas Armstrong. He’d been adamant about not wanting her here. She sighed as she sensed the problems ahead of her. They were all the same, and she knew all of their tricks. They think they know everything, even though they’ve never been in Asia before.
    Turning towards the desk, she put thoughts of the problems to come from her mind and got to work. She started by looking through the books and then jotting down some ideas to enhance the PR of his company. In Malaysia, most of the business people were of Chinese ancestry. Knowing the cultural background of those you wanted to do business with was a great advantage.
    She’d learned the hard way that it was very important to maintain good relations, before doing business together in the Chinese culture. After her first few catastrophic projects, she’d taken on Mandarin classes, and was now almost fluent in the spoken language.
    That had been the turning point in her career. Her mastery of the language and knowledge of the culture had proved to be a huge asset in past assignments and gained her the status as the top consultant of the bank.
    Wang Li, the owner of Wang Li Enterprises, was the richest man in all of Malaysia. He was also the future owner of the Wang Li Tower that Douglas’s company was getting ready to build.
    First order of business, arrange a meet and greet with Mr. Wang. Just because Stronger Constructions had already signed the contract with Wang Li Enterprises meant nothing. During the ‘probation period’ of three months, the contract was just an intention. This was usually the first, and most costly mistake foreigners made when coming here to do business. They didn’t get to know the business culture.
    Either party had the option of retracting from the business agreement, at any time during probation; and the Malaysian party did frequently, most especially if they were not feeling appreciated enough. It had happened many times before.
    This was one of the main reasons the Asia Bank always insisted on having a loan manager working closely on the project. They felt their investment was safer as long as they had someone with local knowledge of the customs and pitfalls helping guide the borrower.
    She picked up the phone and called Wang Li’s office. After introducing herself, in flawless Mandarin, she was allowed to speak with him directly. Another benefit of speaking the language. Even the most occupied businessmen couldn’t resist the curiosity to speak to a ‘Long-Nose’ in Mandarin. It had opened many doors to her. Even Wang Li’s.
    After exchanging pleasantries with Wang Li for several minutes, she suggested he and his wife join her and the principal of the company that would be building his skyscraper.
    She hung up and went back to looking over the books. She made notes as she went along, some questions that crossed her mind, and other ideas for how to more efficiently handle certain aspects of the project.
    A few hours later, Wang Li’s secretary emailed with the date and location for the meeting. Yes! Toni was proud of her accomplishment and rushed to Douglas’ office to give him the good news, when she remembered that she’d resolved not to like him.
    She slowed her steps, wiped the smile from her face and because Abby’s desk was empty, she simply approached the partially open door and knocked.
    “Mr. Armstrong?”
    “Come in.”
    She pushed the door open, but hesitated to enter the room. “I just wanted to let you know that we have a meeting with Mr. Wang Li and his wife two days