Books › You Have Been Disconnected
You Have Been Disconnected
192 pages
A playful early-2000s workplace romance where digital assumptions collide with face-to-face chemistry.
What it feels like
Reading this early-2000s contemporary romance feels like stepping back into the era of instant messaging and dial-up connections, wrapped in a classic secret-identity trope. The narrative moves at a brisk, playful pace, driven by the comedic tension of mistaken assumptions and the sudden vulnerability of face-to-face interaction. The mood is cozy yet anticipatory, contrasting the safety of an ultra-secured home office with the unpredictable spark of real-world chemistry. The prose is conversational and lighthearted, perfectly capturing the banter of tech-world colleagues navigating the blurry lines between professional distance and personal intimacy. It is a delightful read for anyone who loves workplace romances where digital walls come tumbling down, forcing a reclusive heroine and an eager colleague to finally connect offline.
- Mood
- cozy
- anticipatory
- nostalgic
- Tone
- playful
- humorous
- lighthearted
- banter-filled
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- hidden identities · workplace romance · online vs offline personas · gender in tech · stepping out of comfort zones
- The writing
- Accessible and conversational, leaning into early 2000s tech-world banter and classic romantic comedy tropes.
- The arc
- Moves from comfortable digital detachment and mistaken assumptions to vulnerable, face-to-face romantic tension.
- Who it's for
- Readers who love early-internet workplace romances, secret identity tropes, and the collision of digital boundaries with real-world chemistry.
Content notes
- workplace gender assumptions
About the book
After five years, you would think you know a person... Matt Collins has worked with uber-programmer Phil Fink for the past five years and although they've never met in person, he's sure he has the guy pegged. Fink is an anti-social workaholic and a class-A nerd who avoids personal interaction like the plague. Matt and his colleagues love to make jokes about Fink both because of his name and the life they assume he leads. But in business, there's no other programmer that Matt would rather work with. In fact, Matt's sure his next idea is bound to be the big one and Fink is definitely the man to do the job. And of course it's just a bonus if Matt comes back the office hero with intimate knowledge of the infamous Phil Fink. Calling Phil Fink a programming guru is probably an understatement; calling Phil Fink a man is just downright wrong... Five years of being known as nerdy old Phil Fink hasn't bothered her one bit because business is business and who cares what her gender is. But when Phyllis Fink's biggest client requires her to work face-to-face with one of their internal programmers, she freaks out and threatens to leave the country. Communicating via emails and instant messages has always worked in the past, why change what's not broken? Will Matt's intrusion into her ultra-secured home office shake up her personal life as well as her business reputation? And will Matt keep her secret or return to the office with the scoop of the century and intimate knowledge of the infamous Phil Fink?
Description from Open Library.
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