Come along for the fun, sexy ride as this business-savvy, pleasure-oriented billionaire gets the shock of his lifetime and finds out his ever-efficient virtual assistant is not the man he thinks he is but a beautiful businesswoman who knows many of his secrets and has some of her own in Sincerely, Mr. Braden.
Ebooks / paperbacks now available exclusively on Melissa’s online shop!
Retailers release date: January 28th, 2026.
Audiobooks can be pre-ordered from Melissa’s bookstore. Release date TBD.
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CHAPTER ONE
Seth
Icicles cling to street signs and winter-bare branches, glistening in the moonlight as I run along the sidewalks of Manhattan, my footfalls keeping time with my thoughts. I’m on the cusp of expanding my company internationally, and I’m looking at Australia. It’s a big risk, but there’s potential for an even bigger payoff. I’m all about analytics and bottom lines and stand at the helm of BRI Enterprises, a multibillion-dollar retail conglomerate with a dozen companies under its wing and more circling. I pull strings most CEOs can only dream of. Winning has become second nature. Chasing more is in my blood. My parents are wildlife biologists, and my mother is also a renowned wildlife photographer. They raised me and my four siblings primarily off-grid with few material possessions, while climbing to the top of their careers. But I don’t see myself as a chaser. I’m just a challenge-seeking guy cruising through life and enjoying the ride.
My phone vibrates in my armband, and Siri speaks through my earbuds. Call from Victory. Answer it?
“Yes.” When the call clicks through, I say, “Hey, sis. Tell me you’re not still working at this hour.”
Her laugh is light and short. “Says the man who, given your heavy breathing, is either out running or having sex. Please tell me you’re running.”
“Do you really think I’d answer the phone if I were with a woman?”
“Yes. You never ignore my calls. Why are you running at ten thirty on a Monday night when it’s freezing out?”
“It keeps stress at bay,” I say, and slow to jog in place, waiting for a light to change.
“You’re going to run yourself into the ground.”
The light changes, and I run across the street. “You say that like you’re not a recently reformed workaholic,” I tease.
Victory lost her first husband several years ago, and she buried her grief in work until last year, when restaurateur Wells Silver finally got her to give him the time of day. Now they’re engaged, and Wells has partnered with me and my other partner in the restaurant business, Jared Stone. We’re opening a new restaurant together in the spring. After a few complications, we’ve had to push the grand opening off until April, but it’s going to be phenomenal.
“You can thank me later,” she shoots back. “Wells and I set a wedding date. July twenty-fifth. So don’t you dare make plans for that weekend.” Her voice carries the mix of command and softness that has defined our entire sibling relationship.
I dodge a crack in the pavement, my lungs burning. “Do you really think I’d miss your wedding? Even if I’m halfway around the world, I’ll be there.”
“You’d better be.” She pauses, then adds, “Without your phone glued to your hand.”
“Now you’re asking for a miracle.”
She sighs. “You’re impossible. Do you need me to email Taylor and have him put it on your calendar?”
“No. I’ll reach out to my man T after we hang up.” Taylor has been my virtual assistant for years, though I’ve never met him in person or spoken with him on the phone. He keeps all communication to email and texts for clarity and recordkeeping, which suits me fine. He’s efficient, detail-oriented, and sharp enough to cut through the clutter with a single email, and I trust him more than most people I’ve met in person. He’s never let me down, and I’ve been throwing a lot of extra work his way the last few months. Which is why I’ve given him an all-expense-paid, work-free vacation to my home on Saint Aurelle Island in the Caribbean. He leaves on Friday.
“You’re calling him tonight?” Victory says with annoyance. “Leave the poor guy alone.”
“He doesn’t mind.”
“It’s too bad you’re not gay. If you two can carry on this bromance long distance for all these years, I bet you’d be good together.”
I hear the tease in her voice. “I think I hear Wells calling you.”
“Whatever. Love you. Don’t catch pneumonia.”
“Love you, too, and you know I don’t do sick.”
The second the call ends, my brain flips back to work.
“Hey, Siri, text Taylor.”
Me: Hey T, let’s move forward with Winston Arlo, the broker in Sydney. Please confirm the meeting for a week from Monday in his office. Tell him I want to see properties in Sydney and in Melbourne. He can hook us up with an associate in his Melbourne office. I can fly out next Saturday and spend a week there. Just rearrange whatever else I’ve got on my calendar. Also, Vic set a wedding date. July twenty-fifth. Better block off that week for me. Thanks.
Taylor’s response rolls in as promptly as ever, and Siri reads it to me.
Taylor: You do realize normal people stop working after dark, right?
I smirk and dictate, “Normal isn’t in my vocabulary. I’m out for a run.”
Taylor: I’d pay good money to see you typing a text while running.
Me: Siri allows me to multitask. He doesn’t care what time it is.
Taylor: News flash. Siri isn’t real.
Me: Don’t dis my bud Siri. We click.
Taylor: I think I’ve just figured out why you’re still single. Have fun with your fake buddy. I’m only doing real-life things until morning.
Chalking up another successful sparring match with my stubborn assistant, who is quite possibly the only person who can keep up with me, I push myself harder, running faster as it starts to rain, and the city blurs around me.
To continue reading, please buy SINCERELY, MR. BRADEN
Ebooks / paperbacks now available exclusively on Melissa’s online shop!
Retailers release date: January 28th, 2026.
Audiobooks can be pre-ordered from Melissa’s bookstore. Release date TBD.
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SPECIAL EDITION PAPERBACK | AUDIOBOOK
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Melissa Foster is a New York Time and USA Today bestselling and award-winning author. She writes contemporary romance, new adult, contemporary women's fiction, suspense, and historical fiction with emotionally compelling characters that stay with you long after you turn the last page.
