So much fun!
Sleeping with the Boss
(An Anderson Brothers story)
by Marissa Clarke
A satisfying category romance from Entangled’s brand new Lovestruck imprint…
Seducing the enemy has never been so tempting…
For the last five years, bookish Claire Williams has been living for the dying. Now that her stint as caretaker is over, she’s off to see the world. She needs quick cash first, so a temp job at Anderson Auctions seems perfect, especially with the unexpected benefits, including the hottest man she’s ever laid eyes—or hands—on.
Former Marine William Anderson has been burned one time too many. His military training makes him the perfect man to flush out the spy undercutting his family business, but no amount of training can prepare him for the kind of undercover work he’ll have to do when the sexy new temp is implicated. Desire lands them in bed…but duty may cost him his heart.
Review:
I can honestly say I enjoyed this one from the very first scene. Poor Claire and her many, many Claire-isms! Will and Claire’s elevator “meet cute” grabbed me and wouldn’t let go:
Floor twenty-two, and they were only halfway to the top. She glanced at her watch, and yeah, she was late. She
pinched her still-itching nose as the door stopped on floor thirty and everyone filed out except for a guy at the back of the elevator. Claire found herself gawking as the door slid shut.Hot? Holy smokes, he was hot—and huge, like a football player. Her body buzzed to life like she’d just chugged that double-shot cappuccino she’d passed up because she was late.
No need for caffeine now. Maybe her best friend Heather was right; maybe getting out of the house was a good thing.
Claire jerked her gaze away and faced front, pushing the button for the top floor as if hitting it again would matter.
He pulled a handkerchief out of this top jacket pocket and held it out to her.
She shook her head. “No, no thanks. I’m good.” Blasted sneezing. The woman had left an olfactory equivalent of the atom bomb.
Achoo!
He wiggled the handkerchief. “I insist.”
She shook her head and pushed her glasses into place.
“I…uh…” Feeling another sneeze coming on, she conceded defeat and accepted his offer. In her usual style, she dropped her purse. Items scattered in all directions over the rose marble elevator floor.
Heather called this kind of thing a Claire-ism because she was Murphy’s Law personified. If something silly, awkward, or bizarre could happen, it would happen to Claire.
Track repairs making her train late to work? Check.
Shoe strap breaking as she ran from subway station to building? Check.
Bizarre, intense perfume allergy kicking in while stuffed into a packed elevator with a painfully hot guy? Check.
Spilling her purse in front of said painfully hot guy? Check.
Four Claire-isms in a morning was impressive, but not unheard of. She shook her head and tried to smile. “Just one of those days,” she said, bending down to pick up her belongings. And, yep, that ripping sound would be her skirt, bringing the total to five—an all-time record. Somehow she didn’t feel like cheering for this impressive accomplishment.
The guy reached over her and inserted a tiny key into a slot above the top button, and the elevator came to a smooth stop. Oh, God. That meant he was someone important.
He squatted down next to her as she snatched up her lipstick, keys, and rail pass. “I think something ripped,” he whispered.
She dropped the items into her purse and met his bright blue eyes. “Yeah, that would be the sound of the last shreds of my dignity being torn in two.”
But, hey, at least she’s wearing a very attractive pink thong underneath. One that’s totally visible reflected in the shiny elevator panel right behind her.
Still, it could be worse, right? Right?? 😉
Sleeping with the Boss offers a different twist on the usual workplace romance. Will’s only Claire’s “boss” in the strictest sense of the word–she’s only a temp employee, and he’s not in any way her direct supervisor. Once they give in to their attraction, though, and decide that a temporary fling is the way to go (yeah, I know. That’s totally going to work) they really milk the whole “business” aspect of their relationship quite cleverly:
“Here’s my business proposal…well, it’s more of a pleasure proposal really.”
She giggled and he tried to channel his inner Michael and not laugh along with her.
Keeping his best boardroom exec face, he continued, “I would like a two-week exclusive arrangement with you, during which we explore the limits of how much fun two people can have in that amount of time. I think we both need and deserve it. I propose we call it the Claire Project. What do you think, Miss Maddox?” He stopped pacing and faced her with what he hoped was a businesslike expression.
Her grin broadened and she set her spoon aside. “I’ll have my people send the paperwork over.”
“I’m so glad we are in accord. No paperwork necessary, Miss Maddox. Let’s consider it a binding oral agreement.”
See what he did there? An oral agreement? 😉 That’s just the start–the analogy leads to some really fun–and funny–conversation both in and out of the bedroom.
Really, the clever and witty writing–and an adorable romance–made this book for me.
The “whodunit” part of the story–the entire reason Will’s even in the office to meet Claire in the first place–did have me stumped for a while. It’s clear to see how Claire would be suspect, even though both Will and the reader knew it couldn’t be her. I did figure out who it had to be before it was revealed, but just barely.
And finally–the coup de grace that made this book a winner, at least for this reader–the grand gesture takes place at the Temple of Hatshepsut.
Seriously. Why don’t more romance novels end up in the Valley of the Kings? A clear oversight.
Ms. Clarke has a new fan. I can’t wait to see what fun awaits the next Anderson brother!
Rating: 4 stars / A-
I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.