John Grisham The Client Novels & Stories

At the company's gathering, everyone has the right to order for themselves. When it's my turn, however, the new intern, Hayden Belmont, snatches the menu from me. "The order's complete, so there's no need to order anything else." I merely ignore Hayden as I tell the server, "I'd like some continental herb-baked snails, please." But Hayden slams the menu at my face while glaring at me angrily. "I said you're not allowed to order! Who do you think you are, huh?" The hard edge of the menu leaves a scratch on my face. Blazing pain is all I feel at the moment, which fuels my temper even more. So, I pick up the menu and throw it back at Hayden's face. He's quick to shriek and yell at me in fury. "Do you have any idea who I am? My mom is Natasha Belmont, the biggest client of this company! Even the CEO has to show some respect to me, and yet you have the nerve to lay a finger on me? "I'll have your 800-thousand-dollar bonus canceled right away! Soon, the entire industry will blacklist you!" I'm stunned, to say the least. My biological aunt, Natasha Belmont, has been single for 40 years. Since when does she have a grown-up son?

Nick Reyes has one rule. Never let a client believe the fantasy follows him home. By night, he’s an elite dancer at Velvet Halo. An exclusive club where politicians, billionaires, and the city’s most powerful men come to indulge their desires. On stage, he sells desires. Off stage, he belonged to no one. Until Alessandro De Luca walked in. The feared king of the De Luca Syndicate doesn’t believe in love, he believes in control. But the one dancer who treats him like an ordinary man, becomes the only thing he can’t control, and the one thing he can’t walk away from. Then the gifts begin. His debts disappear. A stalker vanishes. Broken things in his life are quietly fixed. By the time Nick realizes someone has been quietly rearranging his life from the shadows, it’s already too late. Because Alessandro was never after Nick’s heart, he was making sure no one else could ever have it. Because in a city ruled by power, blood, betrayal, where everything has a price, Nick is about to discover the one thing no amount of money can buy…freedom. And the most dangerous thing about falling for a mafia king isn’t loving him, it’s surviving after he decides you’re his.

Genre: Dark Romance, Billionaire, BDSM, Mafia, Dual Identity Blurb: By day, Nora Ellis is the efficient, sharp-tongued secretary to the elusive billionaire, David Reid. By night, she becomes Mistress Scarlet – the masked dominatrix who commands The Red Room. Her two lives never touch. Until the night her boss walks into her world as a new client. David's no stranger to control: by day, he's the ruthless CEO with a hidden mafia empire; by night, he's her most demanding client, unaware the masked submissive he craves is the woman who knows his every secret. What starts as forbidden pleasure turns into a dangerous obsession, one that blurs the lines between power, pain, and love. As enemies close in and Nora’s past resurfaces, she must decide which part of herself to save… the woman he commands, or the woman who could destroy him. Trigger Warning: This story contains explicit BDSM scenes (including dominance/submission dynamics, impact play, restraint, and sensory deprivation), graphic depictions of gun violence and murder, kidnapping attempts, mafia-related threats and organized crime elements, alcohol use, and themes of secrecy, betrayal, and emotional manipulation. Reader discretion is advised – safe, sane, and consensual practices are emphasized, but content may be intense for some.

I was the company's top sales performer, but I never clocked in or out, and I rarely showed my face at the office. Two-thirds of the employees had never even met me. Yet somehow, I single-handedly dominated the sales numbers, outperforming everyone else and propelling us to the number one spot in the industry. Then came the day they handed out year-end bonuses. Jeffrey Young, the new sales director, fired me on the spot, claiming it was bad luck that I stepped into the building with my left foot first. When I demanded to know what gave him the right, he sneered at me with pure contempt. "Because I'm going to be the future owner of this company! You just got lucky landing a few big clients, and that was all thanks to the company's existing customer base anyway!" He continued, "Let me tell you something... Kieran Campbell, whoever the company gives resources to, becomes the top seller!" I could not help but laugh. All they saw was that I never clocked in, but they never saw me out there day and night, running around to maintain those client relationships. The truth was, in this industry, clients were loyal to me personally, not to the company's brand. I pulled out my phone and called my wife, Melanie Gardner. "When did you get yourself another husband behind my back?"

On our anniversary, my husband, James Marshall, purchased a painting as a gift for me with my secondary credit card. When I got home, I went to my study to retrieve an urgent court document. The door was slightly ajar. Inside, I could hear the flirtatious voice of my assistant, Julie Summers, mingled with my husband’s low murmurs. “James, your wife is just a money-printing machine. What does she know about art? She could never appreciate you like I do.” James sighed. Then, in an indulgent tone, he said, “Claire is too perfect—so perfect it’s suffocating. Not like you, full of life and warmth.” Just then, my mother-in-law, Susan Marshall, called James. He put her on speakerphone. “James, you need to move faster. While Claire still trusts you, turn all her client contacts into yours. That Julie girl seems promising. She’s much easier to control than that iron-fisted career wife of yours.” I gripped the cold doorknob, listening to the pair of shameless lovers in the study and the wretched woman on the phone, and immediately drafted a divorce agreement. At the same time, I forwarded asset-protection filings for all my holdings to my legal team. “I’ll see you all in court, parasites.”

My best friend, Emily Summers, who had always been terrified of dogs, suddenly told me she was planning to buy a pet dog. That’s when I knew that she had been reincarnated too. In my previous life, I bought a pure white toy poodle from a pet shop. From the moment that little dog came into my home, everything in my life turned around. Morgan Hale, our manager who had always been at odds with me, suddenly offered me a promotion and a raise. Even the client I’d been struggling to win over for months personally requested to sign the deal with me. But the most unbelievable change of all? Silas Sullivan, the company’s tall, rich, and handsome CEO got down on one knee and proposed to me after a party, saying he wanted to marry me. I had said yes and even invited Emily to the wedding to witness my happiest moment. However, driven by jealousy, she stabbed me to death on the day of the wedding. "Why should someone like you get to marry a CEO while I’m stuck working three shifts a day like a damn slave?" The next time I opened my eyes, I was back at that moment, standing beside her, at the pet shop, looking at dogs…

I needed money, not love, not sin, not to become a fuck toy. Just enough to save my dying mother. So when a mysterious woman offered me a deal, one night with a rich client for a life-changing amount, I said yes. A decision I thought I’d regret for just a night…. not for eternity. But everything twisted when I didn't sleep with the man who paid for my virginity. I fucked not ordinary men instead. They’re the Velvet twins. Lucifer, the calm, manipulative, and calculative one Raven, the wild, and dangerous one, addicted to chaos. Sons of the mafia king who destroyed my father. They claim I’m theirs, their contract, their property, their future. And most importantly, the Mother of their unborn child. That's when I realized I didn't sell one night of my life. Turns out, I sold my future. Now I’m trapped between two devils who want to own me, break me, and maybe even love me. But when the truth surfaces, one question burns: Which of them murdered my father? Then, more questions stack. But what if the man who killed my father is the one I’m falling for? What if the twins didn’t just buy my body, they bought my bloodline?

In order to secure the five-million-dollar business deal with a major client, I end up getting hospitalized from overdrinking. On the day I get discharged, I see a text message on my department's group chat. My manager, Robert Spradlin, has tagged everyone in the group chat. "Everyone must attend the celebratory afterparty tonight. We're celebrating the fact that our department has secured the biggest deal of the year!" As I stare at the screen, I feel a hint of warmth bubbling in my heart. Even though Robert is often stingy and loves putting on airs, I'm pretty sure that this is his way of acknowledging my efforts. I specifically go home and change into new clothes. Then, I arrive at the private room right on time. The moment I open the door, I feel a blast of hot air mixed with a strong smell of spice hitting my face. It's so overwhelming that I can't help but cough violently. "Sit, sit! I've specifically ordered these dishes for you!" Kristie Madison, the newly-recruited admin, gushes. But when I take a good look at the dishes, I feel my smile freeze on my face. Spice, spice, and more spice. Kristie has ordered 20 dishes, and yet I can't even stomach every single one.

(Rewritten version of 'Playboy Rehab' - Wattys 2014 Winner) Leslie King is a publicist nestled in the heart of Los Angeles representing Garrett Harrison, president of Harrison Incorporated - one of the world's leading real estate and brokerage empires. Having had Garrett Harrison as her client for years, she has grown used to the uniformity in her job - not to mention the uniformity in her personal life. However, when Garrett Harrison shares the news of his retirement, Leslie's professional and personal life becomes anything but the harmonious routine she has grown used to. Sebastian Harrison - handsome Hollywood playboy and the youngest son of Garrett Harrison - enters Leslie's life in the most unusual of ways as she is asked to turn the King of Debauchery into a man fit and trusted enough to become the CEO of Harrison Incorporated. Even though Leslie vows to fulfill the expectations of the task handed to her, she soon discovers that Sebastian Harrison's past is darker and more complicated than what she has read and researched about him. Now, Leslie is caught between satisfying the expectations of her job description and helping the mysterious and twisted spirit that Sebastian Harrison possesses. Regardless of what choice she makes, Leslie knows that there is more to Sebastian Harrison than she could have ever prepared herself for.

Dante Santoro is a ruthless Mafia lord, feared and revered in equal measure. His empire stretches far and wide, and his control is absolute. But behind his cold, commanding exterior lies a man who will stop at nothing to protect what is his. Ethan John, an undercover agent and former doctor, has been assigned to infiltrate Dante's inner circle. Posing as Dante's personal physician, Ethan’s mission is simple: gather intel and bring down the Mafia kingpin before his criminal empire can expand further. But as the weeks pass, Ethan is torn between duty and desire. The cold, calculating mob boss he was sent to destroy begins to pull at his heart in ways he never anticipated. As passion ignites between them, Ethan finds himself in a perilous game of lies, deception, and betrayal. With the government breathing down his neck and Dante's trust tightening like a noose, Ethan must decide where his true loyalties lie, before it’s too late. Can love bloom in the most dangerous of places? Or will the Mafia lord’s grip be too strong to escape?