Ava Archer had everything a woman could ever desire.â¨â¨ She was beautiful, rich, sociable, and free to do whatever she wanted between the sheets. Her job was easier than breathing when she worked as an assistant for her old man. Ava got everything she wanted and was used to getting her own wayâŚâ¨â¨ Until she met Nathaniel Brooks. â¨â¨Order and control were all that Nate knew when he was a managing partner of the prestigious law firm Archer and Brooks. When his business partner takes ill, he must leave his comfortable Manhattan branch and tend to the firm in London. He didnât foresee this change being problematic but then againâŚâ¨â¨ He hadnât yet met his fiery and tenacious assistant, Ava Archer.â¨â¨In a battle for dominance, Ms. Archer would need to fall in line if she were to work under Mr. Brooks but there was just one problem: not all women are submissive.â¨â¨ When the clock strikes five, both would soon realise the difficulty in keeping things business as usual behind office doorsâŚâ¨â¨ Will Nate be able to maintain control over his heart?â¨â¨ Will Ava lose everything when she learns that for a lawyer, deception is their art?
Ava Archer had everything a woman could ever desire.â¨â¨ She was beautiful, rich, sociable, and free to do whatever she wanted between the sheets. Her job was easier than breathing when she worked as an assistant for her old man. Ava got everything she wanted and was used to getting her own wayâŚâ¨â¨ Until she met Nathaniel Brooks. â¨â¨Order and control were all that Nate knew when he was a managing partner of the prestigious law firm Archer and Brooks. When his business partner takes ill, he must leave his comfortable Manhattan branch and tend to the firm in London. He didnât foresee this change being problematic but then againâŚâ¨â¨ He hadnât yet met his fiery and tenacious assistant, Ava Archer.â¨â¨In a battle for dominance, Ms. Archer would need to fall in line if she were to work under Mr. Brooks but there was just one problem: not all women are submissive.â¨â¨ When the clock strikes five, both would soon realise the difficulty in keeping things business as usual behind office doorsâŚâ¨â¨ Will Nate be able to maintain control over his heart?â¨â¨ Will Ava lose everything when she learns that for a lawyer, deception is their art?
IT ISÂ a truth universally acknowledged that a woman is better at timekeeping and multitasking than a man. Whoever spread such nonsense was a tit in Avaâs book.
This was the part of her working week that she had been dreading the most as she nally stopped her alarm on the twentieth snooze and reluctantly peeled the covers back from her face. Lemony light invaded the bedroom window as she glared at the sneering sun demanding she get up at the butt crack of dawn. Hung, she faced the other way and groaned as two peachy bum cheeks grinned at her from the other side of the bedâa random man sprawled on his front and grunting in his sleep.
In hindsight, perhaps going out-out on a Sunday night wasnât the cleverest of ideas, but then again, these ideas were never her own. Her best friend, Samantha, was the type of lass who could be completely inebriated and then stroll into work the next day like a bouncing kitten on crack cocaine. Ava, however, would walk into work with a pair of large sunglasses obscuring half of her face, icily forbidding anyone from speaking to her, let alone even looking in her direction until late afternoon.
Today, she didnât have sunnies big enough for the shitâ show that was work.
Now, donât get her wrong, she adored her job as a legal secretary and was often referred to as a freak of nature who bounced into the office with a genuinely sunny disposition. However, that was before her old man âand bossâsuffered from a near-fatal stroke and had to take sick leave.
Tom Archer, a man well into his sixties and still working tooth and nail to keep his empire standing out from the rest, was the founding and managing partner at the presâ tigious law rm Archer and Brooks, a practice renowned for representing high-prole white-collar criminals and politiâ cians. His corner oce sat atop a skyscraper overlooking the River Thames with views of the London Eye and parliaâ mentâthe location only adding to the esteemed reputation of his company.
The sudden decline in his health took everyone by surprise considering he lived an active lifestyle and enjoyed many country pursuits such as clay pigeon shooting, horse riding, and water polo. However, his favourite thing to do after a gruelling day at the oce was spending time with his three beloved daughters: Suzannah, Heather, and Ava, his eldest.
Thanks to her father, it was safe to say that at the age of twenty-seven, Ava was doing well for herself. She had everything a woman could possibly ever desire: a âquaintâ apartment down on Mayfair, a bustling social life, impecâ cable health nurtured through private care, and a job working for her old man that was easier than breathing. However, all of that was about to change now that Nathaniel Brooks was standing in for her father for the next month.
Avaâs morning started out like any other: sneaking out of her own bed with a note on her pillow for the lucky guy she hooked up with, a quick run to blow o the cobwebs, yoga to cleanse the soul, and her one-and-only hangover cureâa bowl of Coco Pops cereal. After that, she spent the best part of an hour getting ready since today was a big day, one where she had to stand out and make a lasting impression with her new so-called âbossâ. A man who had taken it upon himself to email her at one in the morning on a Saturday with a list of demands before he even had the decency to introduce himself!
âWell, personally I think you look bloody lush in red... even if that dress is a little revealing for work,â Samantha said over a video call, still lying in bed with a cup of tea. Her short caramel locks stuck up in every direction as she rubbed her eyes and yawned. âBut then again, you donât have spaniel ears for tits and can get away with that.â
âBut seriously, Sam, does it give the right rst impresâ sion?â Ava sighed and ran her immaculate manicure down over the body-contouring pencil dress.
âOh, you mean the âback the fuck o, this is my daddyâs oce and Iâm not taking orders from a loud-mouthed Amerâ icanâ impression?â Sam trilled in thick Scottish and was clearly amused with herself as she hid her smirk behind her favourite llama-shaped novelty mug.
âThat is the very look weâre going for, my lass!â
âAye, well, if yer whole ensemble doesnae say itââSam waved her hand in front of the cameraââyer big gob will!â
Ava lowered her brows at her friend before tucking a golden curl behind her ear and glancing down at her watch. âI best go, Iâll see you in a couple of hours?â
âYou sure will! Iâll bring coee...and sedatives,â Sam quipped, causing Ava to giggle while she applied a scanâ dalous shade of red to her lips. âOh, and Ava?â
âHm?â
âTry saving his little nut-roasting for when Iâm in the oce, will ya?â
AVA CHERISHEDÂ London city centre rst thing in the morning and upon sunset. She loved her morning walk to the oce where sheâd awe at the autumn sunâs smile tickling the wispy white clouds, its light glittering o of the monoâ liths of glass like candle ames licking up the sides of buildâ ings and turning the sky into a Prosecco and gin candy oss cocktail.
She wasnât originally from London, an Oxford girl at heart, but she knew these streets like the veins upon the back of her hand, and on days where it rained, she would often be the one telling her chaueur which shortcuts to take through her beloved city.
Avaâs stilettos clicked against the concrete as she ran into the middle of a bustling road jam-packed with black cabs and transit vans. Horns tooted around her as she dipped between the gridlock trac, peering up towards her glass palace. Seventy storeys high towered the Inchyra Busiâ ness Hub, a building that upon the sixty-sixth to the sevenâ tieth oors homed Archer and Brooks.
âGood morning, Ms. Archer!â The cheerful security ocer greeted Ava as she stepped through the metal detecâ tors and into the ostentatious atrium.
âGood morning, Mike,â Ava said, slightly bemused as she thanked him for darting to call the elevator for her.
âI do hope your father is keeping well?â
âHis recovery is coming on nicely,â Ava replied with a well-practiced smile, peering up at the elevator as it counted down from the twentieth oor.
âThatâs good to hear... So, Ava, I mean, Ms. Archer,â Mike corrected himself, straightening his posture and clearing his throat, âI was wondering if you would like to go ââ The chime from the elevator doors interrupted him as Ava stepped inside and looked back at Mike with her eyebrows raised expectantly. âTo go...get your badge updated! That picture is several years old now.â He pointed to the fob hanging from her coat, his cheeks matching the shade of her outt.
âPerhaps later.â
The elevator doors pinged closed, shutting down another of the security manâs attempt at asking her out on a date. As she ascended, the elevator stopped at the fortieth floor to collect several people. Sighing, she scooted to the far corner of the metal box as white collars piled in, most of which were carrying their bitter-smelling caffeine fix. She stood there feeling like a ruby in a rough of coal cinders, her red coat standing out against the black suits.
âAva!â A tall auburn-haired man with emeralds for eyes squeezed himself through the suited sardines and stood next to her. âGood weekend?â
âHello, Peter.â Avaâs eyes smiled at his handsome face despite her lips remaining in a at line. âAs good as it could be, I suppose.â
âAh, I see...nervous to meet the new boss as well, Ms. Archer?â he teased as his elbow playfully jabbed at her side. âI wouldnât say nervous,â she scoed and stood herself a half-inch taller by straightening her spine. âSlightly peeved at the whole inconvenience of it all but certainly not nervous.â
âYeah, a lot of the chaps in the oce arenât looking forward to it. They heard this guy is a bit of a ball-buster,â Peter explained as he ran a hand through his coppery mop.
âHah!â Ava blurted and couldnât help but roll her eyes at him. âIâm sure the boys will be just ne. Everyone knows that the Yankees are all talk and no action.â She smirked as the elevator nally stopped at their oor and the crowd vacated into the foyer of the busy department.
âI donât know about this one, Ava...chapâs got a killer rep over in the States,â he remarked with a sexy wink before leaning in to her, his breath tickling her ear as he whispered, âBest watch yourself, olâ girl.â
Ava chued through her nose as Peter walked o in front, her ocean eyes dropping to his bottom adorned in grey tweed work slacks. She did enjoy his arseâespecially when it was laid bare across her bedsheets every Friday night.
After greeting people good morning, she stood behind her tidy desk, shrugged out of her coat, and hung it up behind her before noticing the silhouette through the venetian blinds in the oce next to herâher fatherâs oce, which was currently being invaded by America.
She pursed her lips together, already feeling irked at this manâs presence as her long nails drummed on the table, deliberating on if she should introduce herselfâafter all, that would be the polite and adult thing to do. However, after this man decided to email her a list of demands for Monday morning and his âcode of conductâ that he expected from all his personnel, she wasnât feeling like showing him any of her British hospitality. So instead of a warm welcome, she sat down at her desk and started up her computer. While she waited, she idly inspected the ends of her long curls just as an abrupt bang on her desk sent a shock wave through her body and she jolted upright in her seat.
âFuck me!â Ava squealed, her skeleton trying to jump out of her skin as her eyes landed on two large veiny hands at the end of her desk, the knuckles of which were pressing down on the light wood to support their weight. With her heart in her throat, she dragged her eyes up the arm of a well-tailored, black pinstriped suit jacket and over the broadness of assertive shoulders before nally landing upon restless pools of chocolate and honey.
âMs. Archer, I presume?â
Illicit Affairs gives us a glimpse into the torrid romance between Ava Archer, a capable young woman who works for her father and Nate, Ava's father's business partner and Ava's interim boss.Â
What stood out for me in this book was the sheer beauty of the words. Holly Dixon talks in lyrics with her "hazel forests" to describe the eye colour of the protagonist, and "liquid life" instead of blood, to name a few. I was awestruck by how she was describing seemingly normal things in the most beautiful ways, and it elevated my reading experience. A particularly memorable quip was "A fierce man can handle a fierce woman. A fragile man will say she has an attitude", and I, for one, will be waiting to use this in a conversation sometime. My favourite character was the Scottish best friend, Sam, who brought in the humour factor in this book and had me in peals of laughter with her unabashedness. Her heavy Scottish accent and the things she'd say for shock value just added to my laughter, making her a memorable character.
The suspense part of the book, however, was on the other extreme. The characters felt under-developed, and the mystery plotline was extremely predictable. Additionally, I couldn't help but be irked by the whole nepotism angle. While I'm sure Ava was qualified, she had no work experience or relevant educational qualifications to warrant her position, apart from the fact that she was the boss's daughter. In general, despite my best efforts, I couldn't bring myself to like Ava as a person either because she came across as selfish and uncaring about others' plights.Â
That being said, I have an inkling that the author intended to bring about strong emotions in the reader (both good and bad), and in that aspect, this book more than delivers. It's a worthwhile read for its romance, beauty and occasional humour!