Books › Bargaining With the Boss
Bargaining With the Boss
First published 1998 · 288 pages
A nostalgic, yearning workplace romance where professional boundaries clash with a deeply guarded personal secret.
What it feels like
Reading this classic 90s romance feels like wrapping yourself in a cozy, nostalgic blanket of familiar tropes and earnest melodrama. The briskly paced narrative thrives on the delicious tension of the boss-secretary dynamic, layering simmering workplace attraction over a foundation of deep, unrequited yearning. Set against the charming backdrop of Gloucestershire, the atmosphere balances the comforting warmth of English village life with the sharp, internal anxiety of a heroine guarding a life-altering secret. The prose is straightforward and emotionally immediate, pulling you directly into the protagonist's breathless panic and romantic longing. It is a perfect comfort read for those who delight in vintage category romances, where stoic heroes and capable, self-sacrificing heroines inevitably navigate their way to a deeply satisfying, dramatic happily-ever-after.
- Mood
- yearning
- cozy
- tense
- nostalgic
- Tone
- earnest
- romantic
- dramatic
- sincere
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- workplace boundaries · hidden pasts · maternal devotion · unrequited longing · vulnerability
- The writing
- Straightforward and emotionally driven, characterized by the breathless internal monologues typical of classic 90s category romance.
- The arc
- Moves from guarded professionalism and simmering unrequited love to vulnerable confessions and ultimate romantic security.
- Who it's for
- Readers who love the nostalgic comfort of vintage Harlequin romances featuring stoic bosses, capable heroines, and dramatic secret-baby reveals.
Content notes
- past teen pregnancy
- secret child trope
About the book
Eleri worked hard at being levelheaded, to make up for one solitary mistake in her teens. But there were times when being sensible was difficult! Take the situation with James Kincaid....
Eleri had been in love with James, her former boss, for ages, and now not only was James begging her to return to the job from which she'd resigned, he made it clear he found her very attractive, too!
Eleri longed to give in to her feelings for James, but forced herself to keep her distance. She had to, because of her secret: what if James discovered that Nico, the boy he thought of as her younger brother, was actually her son?
PENNINGTON: A place where dreams come true
Description from Open Library.
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