"Combustive." -Esquire - "This novel should come with an X rating." -Los Angeles Times - "All intensity and desire...will have you turning the pages as fast as you can." -Chicago Review of Books - "A new spin on forbidden lust." -Debutiful

For readers of Luster, All Fours, and Vladimir: a provocative, sexy, and unflinchingly candid novel about a white-hot relationship and the two complicated people who emerge from it transformed.

Noa Simon is a thirty-six-year-old filmmaker who knows what she wants, and when she meets Teddy Rosenfeld, an antagonistic, older CEO, she goes for the jugular. An electrifying encounter in a bathroom stall after their first meeting only serves to whet Noa's appetite, and despite Teddy's subsequent rejections, she is exhilarated by the challenge-and by her own insatiability. In her first power play, she takes a job at his office, setting up a battle of wills that Teddy proves unable to resist. Their ravenous, volatile romance will ultimately unearth difficult secrets from both of their pasts and finally force Noa to reckon with her deepest desires and most destructive impulses.

Written with visceral intensity and voyeuristic precision, Rosenfeld is an unputdownable story of sexual abandon that titillates and interrogates in equal measure.

Autorentext
Maya Kessler is a writer, film director, and producer. Kessler studied arts at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam. She currently works as a filmmaker for a global oncology company, alongside writing and developing original content for the international television market.

Klappentext

Noa Simon is a thirty-six-year-old filmmaker who knows what she wants when she sees it, and when she meets Teddy Rosenfeld, an antagonistic, older CEO, she goes for the jugular. An electrifying encounter in a bathroom stall after their first meeting only serves to whet Noa's appetite, and despite Teddy's subsequent rejections, she is exhilarated by the challenge--and by her own insatiability. In her first power play, she takes a job at his office, setting up a battle of the wills that Teddy proves unable to resist.

Leseprobe
Chapter 1: Get Out of My Sight 1 Get Out of My Sight
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He's sitting by one of the white tables on the lawn, talking to his business partner. They laugh at something, but stop when everyone's asked to quiet down. The lighting dims and he watches the movie projected on the screen by the stage. Up until that moment, he has no idea that there's such a thing as me. Up until that moment, I have no idea that there's such a thing as him. But we're soon to find out.

It's mid-September and I'm in the middle of a rough patch. I feel stuck and I don't know what to do to change that, so I'm pissed off at everyone and everything. There are still some joyful moments, such as this wedding of my two friends, Tom and Alison. They're now sitting in front of the screen, roaring with laughter as they watch my movie along with the other guests. Once it's over, everyone applauds and we go straight back to the dance floor, but then Tom tugs at me and says, "Come, they want to meet the director."

"Come where? Who's they?"

"My mom's friends."

"No, no, too drunk for introductions!"

He clears a path through the crowd and the scattered tables across the lawn and I trudge behind him.

"They're in biotech. Marine biotech."

"Biotech? What does that have to do with me?"

But Tom doesn't reply since we've already reached the table where the "distinguished owners of Delmar Bio Solutions" are seated-at least that's what he announces as he stands behind me, gently placing his hands on my shoulders and shoving me toward them. "This is our girl, Noa Simon."

"Pleased to meet you." A handsome bearded man with short gray hair and a confident handshake grins at me, examining me with glimmering eyes. "Richard Harrington."

The other one is clean-shaven, his full head of hair combed back, a big, fat man dressed in a white shirt-or, on second glance, pink-one button excessively undone, exposing a hint of his tanned chest. He looks at me and gives a polite smile, leans in heavily and shakes my hand-"Teddy Rosenfeld"-then leans back again.

Richard says that my movie was really something special, that he's seen numerous wedding videos, but this one "had a different kind of flare."

"So, you're a filmmaker?" Richard inquires while Teddy lights a cigarette.

I tell them that I'm in the industry, but I haven't made my own film yet. Richard pulls up a chair and invites me to sit. Teddy stays silent, surveying me with brown eyes and a serene smile that makes me want to pick up the folding chair and smash it over his head.

I take a seat, and Richard asks me what I'd like to drink, as though we're at a restaurant rather than a wedding. He asks if I've ever made corporate films, then briefly tells me about Delmar and the work they require. I'm working on a daytime television show and I don't have time for another job, but I hear him out and ask the right questions. I'm trying to understand what they're offering, even as I doubt it matches up with my own aspirations. Richard is hearty and charming. Teddy's no longer involved in the conversation, so much so that he faces the stage the way people do at the beach, pivoting to make sure their direction faces the coming sunset.

Richard, on the other hand, is still engaged. "To be honest, we're already in talks with an agency. But you've got something going on, I can tell you that!"

"Thank you so much."

"So not only can you make films-now we know you're also charming!" I like Richard's smile.

"As are you both! Well, mostly you. Teddy is obviously the less charming between the two of you."

Teddy turns his head toward us at the sound of his name, looks directly at me and says, "What's th