Book excerpt: Jan Demir is a young, highly ambitious partner at LCI, Inc., an investmentplanning fi rm he helped found, along with two other startups to his name. His stellar reputation extends beyond Portugal, where his family has lived for several generations. He is also a womanizer, and his immature, jet-set lifestyle matches his rapid rise. When his business partner and mentor, Pascoal, dispatches him to Tehran, Iran, he successfully closes the deal with a group of Iranian businesspeople, with whom LCI has been negotiating despite the threat of economic sanctions against the country. While in Tehran, the last thing on his mind is to meet the girl of his dreams. But the president of the company with which LCI has just partnered invites him to a private party at his residence. Jan makes a fool of himself on the dance fl oor and almost misses his chance to meet Golnaz before she utters a single word to him. They fall in love and proceed to turn their lives upside down, traveling back and forth between Lisbon and London, where Golnaz resides. Jan uses his old charms and tries hard to give her a good time. Only, she is not one of his old girlfriends. Old attitudes are hard to shed; his end up pushing her away. Though a skeptic by nature, he fi nds solace in the Great Persian poet, Hafez, whose poem appears to predict a bright future for them. She begs to differ. But Jan also has a secret weapon, and prepares a “special gift” for her. The opportunity to offer it fails to transpire. Yet, somehow he knows they will be together. No one can predict the future, not even Hafez!