by: Darby Baham
Series: The Friendship Chronicles
Genre: Contemporary Black Romance
Release Date: November 26, 2024
Publisher: Harlequin Special Edition
He’s her biggest competition.
And the key to her success.
When Keisha Edwards collides with Rhodes scholar Julian Langley, she briefly considers switching from her MBA to chemistry—because theirs is off the charts! But when Tall, Dark and Arrogant asks for her number? The answer is no. Besides, if Keisha’s going to graduate top of her class, she doesn’t have time for romance.
Julian is no novice when it comes to beautiful women, yet when Keisha turns him down, it stings. But not as much as discovering she’s in his MBA program—and she’s the one to beat for top marks. Well, the competition is on—until they’re assigned to a group project. As their chemistry threatens to boil over, it’ll be a test to see if these frenemies can work together to success in business…and in love…
From Harlequin Special Believe in love. Overcome obstacles. Find happiness.
“I just wanted to make sure we’re cool.”
“Riiight,” I said, dragging the word out. “To make sure there are no hard feelings, as you said.”
“Yeah, exactly.”
“From which time?”
“I’m sorry. What do you mean?”
“Which time do you want to make sure we’re good from, exactly?” I asked, staring at him stone-faced. “Because by my count, there’s been at least three instances in less than three hours where I could absolutely have hard feelings for you.”
“Damn, three? Nahhh.”
“First, you knocked me over and almost destroyed my notebook—”
“To be fair, I did apologize about that.”
“Then, when you were ‘apologizing,’” I continued, making sure to punctuate the word with air quotes, “you spent most of the time actually just very blatantly sizing me up with your eyes.”
“Well, you are incredibly beautiful and sexy—”
“Then,” I said, interrupting him again and simultaneously rolling my eyes at his last response, “when given the opportunity to back me up in class, not only just because you knew it was me but also because it’s not like there are a ton of us in the classroom, you chose to take my words and use them to prop yourself up instead.”
“I mean, I said you weren’t wrong.”
Julian shrugged nonchalantly, igniting the strongest desire in me to shake him by his shoulders until he let go of whatever this “too cool for school” demeanor was that he had.
“What did you want me to do? Pretend as if I didn’t have a different answer?” he continued.
“No, of course not. But you didn’t have to diss me in the process.”
I softened my face just a little, not wanting to at all imply that I was mad because we differed in opinion. It wasn’t our differences that bothered me; it was the way he’d gone about it that upset me so much.
“I didn’t! Or I didn’t mean to,” he said, correcting himself as he spoke. “Look, don’t get me wrong. I hear what you’re saying. And that really wasn’t my intention, but I figured you might have taken it that way. So yeah, that’s what I wanted to make sure we were good about.”
“Well, we’re not, Julian. We’re not good. I’m all for doing what you need to do to stand out in a room, but—”
“See, this is why I had to counter you,” he jumped in, interrupting me this time. “Because there is no ‘but.’ I saw an in to make a good impression and took it. You, of all people, should understand that, because my guess is you’re just as used to being one of the only one of us, as you say, in the room as I am. That means you don’t take any prisoners. You show up and show out over and over again, no matter what. Are you telling me that if the roles were reversed you wouldn’t have done the same?”
“Yeah, that’s what I’m telling you.”
“I don’t believe you. Not one bit. Not with that fire I’ve seen burning in your eyes since the moment we met. You’re a firecracker, Keisha. Firecrackers don’t back down for anyone, especially not for some unwritten code among the Black people in the room.”
I glared at him as he continued talking, refusing to make direct eye contact, but making it clear that I was not pleased with where his side of the conversation was going.
“What I’m trying to tell you, and maybe not doing that great a job of it, is that I admire this about you,” he said. “Shows me I’ve got a good sparring partner in front of me.”
“Except I’m not here to be your sparring partner, Julian.”
I shifted in my gold slides and rested the back of my body on the desk I’d been sitting in during the class, my butt barely grazing the corner of the top of it. From that position, it forced Julian to lean down to look at me, naturally drawing his attention to me and only me, even as the last of our classmates exited the classroom.
“Of course not,” he said, laughing. “You’re here to win. I see that in you, too. But so am I. And like I said in class, it’s all about beating your competition.”
“So that’s what you see me as? Competition?”
I finally let my eyes catch his and stared back, waiting to see if he would disappoint me—show me that he was just like so many other men I’d encountered who were willing to win at all costs. Julian was right about one thing. I was used to being the best in whatever room I stepped in, but he was so very wrong about my willingness to put anyone else down to make that happen. That was where we seemed to frustratingly diverge from each other.
“Nah, darling. I don’t see you as competition.”
Julian smiled again, bringing his face closer to mine.
“I see you as iron—distractingly beautiful, straight from New Orleans iron. But iron, nonetheless. And I do think that we can sharpen each other, but you won’t be my competition because I win...always.”
“Riiight,” I said, dragging the word out. “To make sure there are no hard feelings, as you said.”
“Yeah, exactly.”
“From which time?”
“I’m sorry. What do you mean?”
“Which time do you want to make sure we’re good from, exactly?” I asked, staring at him stone-faced. “Because by my count, there’s been at least three instances in less than three hours where I could absolutely have hard feelings for you.”
“Damn, three? Nahhh.”
“First, you knocked me over and almost destroyed my notebook—”
“To be fair, I did apologize about that.”
“Then, when you were ‘apologizing,’” I continued, making sure to punctuate the word with air quotes, “you spent most of the time actually just very blatantly sizing me up with your eyes.”
“Well, you are incredibly beautiful and sexy—”
“Then,” I said, interrupting him again and simultaneously rolling my eyes at his last response, “when given the opportunity to back me up in class, not only just because you knew it was me but also because it’s not like there are a ton of us in the classroom, you chose to take my words and use them to prop yourself up instead.”
“I mean, I said you weren’t wrong.”
Julian shrugged nonchalantly, igniting the strongest desire in me to shake him by his shoulders until he let go of whatever this “too cool for school” demeanor was that he had.
“What did you want me to do? Pretend as if I didn’t have a different answer?” he continued.
“No, of course not. But you didn’t have to diss me in the process.”
I softened my face just a little, not wanting to at all imply that I was mad because we differed in opinion. It wasn’t our differences that bothered me; it was the way he’d gone about it that upset me so much.
“I didn’t! Or I didn’t mean to,” he said, correcting himself as he spoke. “Look, don’t get me wrong. I hear what you’re saying. And that really wasn’t my intention, but I figured you might have taken it that way. So yeah, that’s what I wanted to make sure we were good about.”
“Well, we’re not, Julian. We’re not good. I’m all for doing what you need to do to stand out in a room, but—”
“See, this is why I had to counter you,” he jumped in, interrupting me this time. “Because there is no ‘but.’ I saw an in to make a good impression and took it. You, of all people, should understand that, because my guess is you’re just as used to being one of the only one of us, as you say, in the room as I am. That means you don’t take any prisoners. You show up and show out over and over again, no matter what. Are you telling me that if the roles were reversed you wouldn’t have done the same?”
“Yeah, that’s what I’m telling you.”
“I don’t believe you. Not one bit. Not with that fire I’ve seen burning in your eyes since the moment we met. You’re a firecracker, Keisha. Firecrackers don’t back down for anyone, especially not for some unwritten code among the Black people in the room.”
I glared at him as he continued talking, refusing to make direct eye contact, but making it clear that I was not pleased with where his side of the conversation was going.
“What I’m trying to tell you, and maybe not doing that great a job of it, is that I admire this about you,” he said. “Shows me I’ve got a good sparring partner in front of me.”
“Except I’m not here to be your sparring partner, Julian.”
I shifted in my gold slides and rested the back of my body on the desk I’d been sitting in during the class, my butt barely grazing the corner of the top of it. From that position, it forced Julian to lean down to look at me, naturally drawing his attention to me and only me, even as the last of our classmates exited the classroom.
“Of course not,” he said, laughing. “You’re here to win. I see that in you, too. But so am I. And like I said in class, it’s all about beating your competition.”
“So that’s what you see me as? Competition?”
I finally let my eyes catch his and stared back, waiting to see if he would disappoint me—show me that he was just like so many other men I’d encountered who were willing to win at all costs. Julian was right about one thing. I was used to being the best in whatever room I stepped in, but he was so very wrong about my willingness to put anyone else down to make that happen. That was where we seemed to frustratingly diverge from each other.
“Nah, darling. I don’t see you as competition.”
Julian smiled again, bringing his face closer to mine.
“I see you as iron—distractingly beautiful, straight from New Orleans iron. But iron, nonetheless. And I do think that we can sharpen each other, but you won’t be my competition because I win...always.”
Purchase Falling for the Competition from:
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The Friendship Chronicles Series:
Bloom Where You’re Planted (Book 2) ~ Review
London Calling (Book 3) ~ Review
Her New York Minute (Book 4) ~ Review
A Risk Worth Taking (Book 6) releases July 29, 2025
In January 2022, Darby's debut novel, The Shoe Diaries hit stores and online retail outlets. The book was the first in her Friendship Chronicles series with Harlequin Books. Her latest and fifth installment in the series, Falling for the Competition, was released on November 26 and is available wherever books are sold.
Currently working as the deputy director of strategic communications at a New York City nonprofit, Darby spends her days laughing with friends and loved ones and longing for the shoe closet she once had in Maryland.
Places to find Darby Baham:
Can't wait to read this book!
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