Double Standards is a very enjoyable contemporary novel. It has all the ingredients for a firey romance. A fabulous hero with rakish motives and a sharp heroine who refuses to be used come together in a fast moving, competitive corporate environment. After a powerful family member asks Lauren Danner to work undercover at Sinco, a rival company, Lauren applies for an executive secretarial position with Sinco. Once she arrives for her interview, Lauren has already concluded that she is incapable of spying on Sinco. Lauren then proceeds to fail all entry tests and deliberately makes a bad impression during her interview with the head of human resources. How is she to know, after leaving the disastrous interview, that she would meet Nick Sinclair, the owner of Global Industries (the company that owns Sinco), and fall flat on her face in front of him? Before she knows what is happening, Lauren has a job at Sinco the next day despite her deliberate attempt to botch her job interview.
Nick attempts to ignore Lauren and his attraction to her. But Lauren doesn't realize who Nick is and spontaneously invites him to lunch. From there, Nick begins his assault, attempting to seduce Lauren and she believes she is falling in love.
McNaught draws a vivid portrait of a bold, successful business man who owns a considerable number of large, thriving companies. He is the typical type A confident male who thinks he has all the answers. In his arrogance, he seeks our Lauren for an affair - nothing more. He is a real stinker at times. Lauren, in turn, is fascinated with Nick until she learns his true identification. Lauren is quick and on target as she continually refuses Nick's further advances. Others have referred to Nick's treatment of Lauren as sexual harassment. Although I concede that Nick's words to Lauren could be considered sexual harassment, Lauren doesn't allow such treatment. She is firm and consistent in her refusals to Nick. She will not allow him to treat her flippantly. You actually love hearing Lauren reject Nick - you feel he deserves it. I am not fond of smart mouthed heroines that treat the man they secretly love with hate and meanness. This is not how Lauren treats Nick. Her treatment of Nick lets him know she will not allow disrespect, mistreatment, or use as a short term sexual playmate. Her lines are delivered with dry wit and satisfaction. McNaught does not allow her characters to wallow in silly misunderstandings or lies. Eventually Lauren and Nick communicate honestly and lovingly. This story does not need many sensual scenes. It drips with sexual chemistry.
The lead characters spend a lot of quality time together and we can watch their relationship grow. This is a book that will delight you and you won't want to put it down. Believe me, I have read this book a dozen times and it made me spill tears everytime (Eventhough I knew damn well what is the next scene that made me cry)!Thanks Judith McNaught for another great story.
No comments:
Post a Comment