The Boss and His Secretary

by Jessica Steele

When Taryn Webster takes a job as secretary togorgeous millionaire Jake Nash, she is already fightingher attraction to him. Taryn is determined not to mixbusiness and pleasure, so she tries to keep her distance.

But then Jake asks her for her help after hours! Atfirst Taryn refuses, but she can''t resist his persuasivearguments…nor his charming smile and temptinggray eyes.

Could this office romance lead to a journeydown the aisle?

Genres: Romance, Harlequin, Contemporary, Harlequin Romance, Romantic, Contemporary Romance, Hqn

192 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Jessica Steele was born on May 9, 1933 in the elegant Warwickshire town of Royal Leamington Spa. She has two super brothers, Colin and George, and a lovely sister, Elizabeth. She was a delicate child and missed a lot of school. In fact, she left school at aged 14, when she was diagnosed as having tuberculosis. At 16, she started work as a junior clerk. In 1967, Jessica married with her husband, Peter and within a very short space of time they had moved from her hometown to the lovely area where they now live. Their house is built into the side of a hill, and has beautiful views over more hills and valleys. Her brothers and her sister are very close and she has plenty of nephews and nieces to make up for the fact that she and her husband have no children of their own. Both she and her husband are more than a little dog-oriented, and their current dog is a Staffordshire bull terrier named Florence. Florence is gorgeous. She loves everybody but, since she is 40 pounds of dynamite and would hurl her boisterous self at everyone she meets - given half a chance - she has to be restrained (as much as possible). She is fun.

Her husband spurred Jessica on to her writing career, giving her every support while she did what she considers her five-year apprenticeship (the rejection years) while learning how to write. She published her first books in 1979. Jessica has tried using a typewriter, but it just doesn't work for her. She is much happier writing in longhand, and in actual fact has a dozen or so fountain pens filled and ready to go at the start of any one session. A friend has a secretarial agency and, after deciphering Jessica's writing, returns an immaculately typed manuscript. To gain authentic background for her books, she has travelled and researched in Greece, Russia, Egypt, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Hong Kong, China and Japan.

Reviews

[RomLibrary]

When Taryn Webster takes a job as secretary togorgeous millionaire Jake Nash, she is already fightingher attraction to him. Taryn is determined not to mixbusiness and pleasure, so she tries to keep her distance.

But then Jake asks her for her help after hours! Atfirst Taryn refuses, but she can''t resist his persuasivearguments...nor his charming smile and temptinggray eyes.

Could this office romance lead to a journeydown the aisle?

[AelixRage · Rating 2 out of 5]

The novella came off quite…amateur for my tastes. It was a good enough plot, nothing very original. At the beginning, it was all going smoothly but as the story progressed, it got harder and harder to get into what I was reading. The formulation of words, as spontaneous as it seemed, were a tad bit jumbled and the story became dragging. All the ‘uhms’ and ‘ems’ and stalling with words didn’t really give the impact I think the author was aiming for. At most, it only came out as annoying. The characters weren’t any help either.

Being a highly regarded PA, you’d think Taryn was all logical and efficient, focused and determined. She was otherwise. I was mightily disappointed, and at certain points, was cringing at the way she handled things. While I admire fiery and independent female characters, Taryn was just overdone. She was too ill-tempered, easily provoked, with an automatic mouth to boot. Even her dialogues were not convincing and being the voice of the whole novella, she only added to the awkwardness of the whole story.

Jake wasn’t an effective character either. He seems to fade into the background, along with his personality, coming up only when there is an interaction between him and the heroine. Quite bland.

Overall, it was a tedious read. While not all that boring, it wasn’t very entertaining either. I wouldn’t be picking this up again.

[Franny · Rating 1 out of 5]

I liked this romance all the way to the explicit foreplay scene, and then I was turned off. I would much rather that such things were left out of a romance. The development of the character's feelings for each other was entertainingly funny. The story involves the wealthy boss of an international company located in London and his personal assistant, Taryn Webster. Conflict occurs through the interference of various family members and embarrassing situations. After the love scene, which takes place in his home after he has asked her to come and help him babysit his niece, great misunderstanding occurs and she leaves his place of employment. Finally they sit down and have a good heart to heart talk, the air is cleared, and a marriage is planned. A heart warming story except for that one unfortunate scene.

[Desi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Leído el 10/02/2010

RESUMEN: ¿Podría aquel romance de oficina acabar en un paseo hacia el altar?
Cuando Taryn Webster aceptó aquel empleo de secretaria del guapísimo millonario Jake Nash, se dio cuenta de que tendría que luchar contra la atracción que sentía hacia él. Pero Taryn estaba empeñada en no mezclar los negocios con el placer, por lo que se esforzó en mantener las distancias.
El problema fue que Jake le pidió que lo ayudara después de las horas de trabajo. Al principio Taryn se negó a hacerlo, pero el jefe no tardó en convencerla con sus persuasivos argumentos… por no hablar de su encantadora sonrisa y sus tentadores ojos.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story line did not go as I predicted, which is a plus in my opinion! Once I started reading, I couldn't put it down.

[Zakręconapanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

2/5
Kolejna historia typu szef-sekretarka.

[Sylvia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Modern

[Kace | The Booknerd · Rating 2 out of 5]

A decent short read. Enjoyed it!