Boss's Pet

EVA LUXE

Synopsis from Goodreads: It was supposed to be an arrangement. Neither expected to fall in love.

RANDALL STERN always gets what he wants: A net worth of over a billion dollars and the status of founding partner of a large and successful law firm. He’s invincible in the courtroom and in the bedroom. When he’s not winning cases he’s enjoying exotic vacations with his choice of women. Women who know what to expect from him when they venture into his bed. Complete and utter domination. He’s set up iron-clad rules to make sure he maintains control, provides boundaries and keep women at a distance. His rules are perfect. Until he meets Brianna Hawkins. Now he’s dangerously close to being thrown off his game. But how can he break his rules without risking letting Brianna Hawkins break his heart?

BRIANNA HAWKINS only wants one thing: A stunning and unblemished career as a new lawyer at the illustrious Stern law firm. She not only made it to # 1 in her law school class but also through the rigorous hiring process to land a spot at the best firm in town. She puts in more hours than any other first year lawyer, and her career is her life, ever since leaving a bad relationship and giving up her personal life for work. The last thing she needs is distraction in the form of Randall Stern, the firm’s billionaire founding partner who wants to mentor her in more than just the legal profession. She’s spent years perfecting her teflar-like surface. She doesn’t let anyone see the fragile nature lurking just beneath it. But when she gives in to what she thinks is just a physical temptation, will she learn how to let down her carefully built up guard and let in the possibility of love? Or will her one tiny indulgence with Randall Stern lead to the destruction of the career she’s worked so hard to build, before it’s even had a chance to flourish?

Boss’s Pet is a stand-alone with a happy ending and no cliffhanger. It includes light BDSM and heavy steam!

Stats for my copy: Kindle edition, 2016.

How acquired: ARC received from eBook Itch ARC Group. 

My thoughts: This is the first ARC I've requested since joining the eBook Itch ARC Group mailing list, and I didn't realize the book would be such a short one. More of a novella than a novel. From the synopsis I think I anticipated a story with a little more depth to it.

Brianna, fresh out of law school, has been hired as an associate at a prestigious law firm. Her relationship with her live in boyfriend has gone stale, even after counseling. They have very differing ideas of what a perfect romantic moment should be, namely, the boyfriend doesn't have a clue. Dissatisfied, Brianna breaks up with him. Randall (will I ever be able to see that name and not think of an evil Jacobite Rebellion era British soldier?) is the founding partner of the firm. His ex-wife apparently did a real number on him, and he does not do girlfriends or commitment. Instead, he chooses one of the new associates each year to mentor, in the courtroom and in the bedroom. Well, in the office actually, since the only time we saw him outside the office was during a mountain climbing expedition, of which Brianna was not a part. All of the associates are assigned a mentor, but Randall's mentee is also his “Pet”. And when he chooses Brianna, some of the other women are absolutely green with jealousy.

The narrative is in first person POV, switching back and forth between Brianna and Randall. We get a lot of internal dialogue, but not necessarily a lot of characterization – the short length of the book doesn't really lend itself to much more.

The book is billed as having "heavy steam", and the few sexual scenes did get pretty steamy, but they didn't last long and there aren't very many of them. Being Randall's mentee entails calling him Boss, wearing specific lingerie that he picks out, and at one point Brianna walks from her cubicle through the building, up the elevator and to Randall's office with a pink feather in her mouth and her shirt open with her nipples hanging out. Fortunately for her it's fairly early in the morning and she and Randall appear to be the only two people in the building.

It's a little out there to believe that an attorney and one of his associates could have the type of relationship they do, which, while not spoken about or openly acknowledged by his partners (on page anyway) is apparently well known and coveted by all of the other female associates. But suspend belief,and it's a quick, easy read and a nice diversion from reality for an hour or so.