Elizabeth lay face-down on the massage table, and allowed Marco to relieve the stress of the business day with firm and knowing fingers. Success, she decided, was often a matter of knowing when to relax.

Life was life. It happened. You never knew what was going to come at you. Or how you could defend yourself.

Even the most powerful woman needs a place to unwind.

The value of life lies not in the length of days, but in the use we make to them; a man may live long, yet get little from life. Whether you find satisfaction in life depends not on your tale of years, but on your will - Montaigne, Essays

When you are a strong woman, you will attract trouble. When a man feels threatened, there is always trouble.

A person with taste is merely one who can recognize the greatest beauty in the simplest things.

At the age of fifty-six Eleanor Stoddard was still a beautiful woman. She owned three hotels in France and another two in England. From nothing at all, she had built an empire. Eleanor had it all. Her one weakness was the young man sleeping beside her.