The Corner Office
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15
Ratings1
Average rating3
Tara Johnson's sacrifices are about to pay off: a senior executive at thirty-five at a Fortune 500 company, she's one of the two finalists in line for a Managing Director position. Unfortunately, her rival of fifteen years, the charming, infuriating Richard Boyd, is just as qualified, and unlike her, he's willing to cross pretty much every line to get what he wants. Of all the things Tara stored in the attic to make it to the top, it's her personal life she misses the most. That is, until she starts a steamy affair with sex god Aidan, her direct report. Interoffice relationships with a subordinate can mean the end of a career, and when Richard finds out, it's the perfect opportunity to take his high-heeled nemesis out, especially since he's still nursing a grudge against Tara for rejecting him years ago. But Tara's increasingly domineering lover has his own dark secrets, endangering more than just her career. As her liaison spirals out of control, salvation will come from the man she always thought she hated, and perhaps the only one to truly understand her.
Reviews with the most likes.
This one is really difficult for me to rate.
The story doesn't fit my usual MO, I generally prefer lighter reading - though I can't and won't hold this against the author or her story. :)
I'm maybe not quite as far from American corporate culture as you can get, but I'm solidly in a very different place on the work spectrum. So some of the concepts in the book are rather alien to me. I've never been one to aspire to a traditional “career” (whatever that means), coveting the proverbial corner office, breaking through real or imagined glass ceilings, getting a certain job title... nope. That's just not me.
So some of the described situations, especially the inspirational(?) talks for the women's group, felt really weird to me.
Like other reviewers, I don't get the complete 180° from “Richard is the Anti-Christ” to “Richard is the hero” in a relatively short time-frame, considering he's acted like an immature douchebag for the past 15 years. While I liked the description of Tara and Richard turning from enemies to frenemies to friends, I don't understand the sudden change in behaviour.
Sorry, Richard.
I also don't know why Tara makes such a big fuss about a tattoo and a motorbike. Are these supposed to be warning signs that the guy turns out to be dangerous later on? While I personally don't see anything wrong with either ink or bikes (c'mon, guys, this is the 21st century where it's rather uncommon if you don't sport a tattoo or three...) - if it's such a big deal for Tara, I would have liked it better if the supposed hero came with lots of perceived red flags (instead of the douchebaggery), just to prove Tara's prejudices wrong. But that's just me, I guess.
Another thing: What's with all the gasping? And the designer shoes (his and hers)?
Aside from me just not “getting” the story (I apologize!), the book was well-written, and I actually did finish it, compared to many books I've given up on.
Will I read other books by this author? Yes, I'd give them a shot.
