My name is Roman Cavenaugh and I’m kind of an asshole. 

Running a company isn't easy, especially when everyone expects you to fail, so being a jerk? It comes with the territory. 

I don't have time to mess around, and I sure as hell didn’t see her coming.

Cara Hamilton—she was supposed to be off limits…a temporary employee brought in during my assistant’s maternity leave. 

But, in the blink of an eye, she became so much more. 

An obsession I couldn’t shake. 

So yeah, I may be an asshole, but now, I finally had a purpose, and soon, she would be mine. 

All’s fair in love and war…

We begin to see the more human side of Roman who he usually only shares with his brother, Jude and sister-in-law, Lailah. But something about Cara gets to him and makes him want more and inspires him to do unexpected things. He is her boss + she has a boyfriend + he does not do relationships = off limits. But for some reason that does not seem to compute, and she begins to become more of an obsession and she in turn begins to infiltrate his walls.

He actually seems to understand Cara in more ways than her boyfriend does. But he is a businessman and is used to getting what he wants. What happens if he uses those skills to acquire the woman he wants? And what will he do with her if he ever does?

Roman is a man who has felt undeserving and rejected most of his life so he hides behind walls of isolation with single minded focus on the family business. He is always trying to prove that he is not just the "cute, but dumb" son. But Cara sees under his facade and begins to break down the walls. She brings him back to life with feelings, lust, need, and hope. But the way he goes about winning her is not something he is proud of and could end up as another form of self-sabotage that he is known for.

Cara's world has had many recent changes. He life with her boyfriend was safe and easy, but life together in a new city came with new challenges. Life with Roman makes her feel spontaneous, alive, and understood. But how will she handle knowing the full truth about Roman?

I really felt for Roman. He was the sad, lost boy who grew up to be a lonely, angry, misunderstood man. He was afraid to want anything and risk rejection or hurt someone else. It was easier to be a loner and not let anyone get close. I liked seeing his relationship with Jude and Lailah continue to improve. And I was happy to see his layers be pulled back and his more vulnerable sweet, and playful side show. But heroes with his issues usually make mistakes and have to deal with the consequences, so I was interested to see how their story would play out.

I really liked these characters, their dynamic, and getting both of their points of views. It was the"sweet secretary thaws the ice king boss" trope, but it was done well with complex characters and some unique back stories. We got to really figure out what made Roman tick and see changes in him. This is about the characters opening up, living for themselves instead of following other's expectations, and fighting for their own happiness in order to plug up the holes in their lives.

It can easily be read as a stand-alone, but fans of Jude and Lailah's books Within These Walls and Beyond These Walls will be glad to see the softer side of Roman we got glimpses of before.

I was gifted a copy in exchange for an hones review
Roman Cavenaugh is holding together his family's legacy, running the company he knows his father didn't want him to control. He knows he was not his father’s first choice even though he was the oldest. He had a reputation for being a jerk and a hard man to work for.

Cara Hamilton is finding her feet after following her long time boyfriend to New York. A temporary job as an administrative assistant isn't what she planned to do, but it is a start. She is a small town girl from Nebraska, a little naive and a lot out of her element in the big city.

As Cara struggles to do her job well, she inadvertently breaks down some of the walls Roman has built and has him relaxing his closed door policy. While these two have a boss/secretary relationship, they quickly form a sort of friendship as they settle into a new routine. But Roman’s need to control situations leads him to set actions in motion that will have serious consequences.

I loved watching these two open up to each other. Roman quickly came to understand Cara in a way her boyfriend never had, causing her to notice things in their lives she had overlooked. Cara pushed Roman to accept his past and use it to make his future something he could look forward to.
 

This can absolutely be read as a standalone. Roman and Cara's story is contained completely within these pages. But it was also great to see where Jude and Lailah are after their Duet and to see a softer side of the closed off version of Roman readers met in their duet. 

I was gifted a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Roman's brother Jude and Lailah's books...

I am not strong. I am just a survivor of circumstance. 

Isn’t that what we all do? Survive? 

Each of us has our own set of circumstances to muddle through. Mine are just more…complicated. 

Born with a severe heart defect, I’ve seen the inside of a hospital room more than my own bedroom. 

I was drowning, a prisoner to the illness that owned me, until he appeared. He thinks he’s blocked out the world with his tattoos and hard exterior, but I see the real Jude, the one he so desperately wants to forget. 

But is he the answer to my prayers or will he break my already damaged heart forever? 

My name is Lailah Buchanan, and this is our story of hope, redemption and sacrificing it all for the one you love.

J.L. Berg is the USA Today bestselling author of the Ready Series. She is a California native living in the beautiful state of historic Virginia. Married to her high school sweetheart, they have two beautiful girls that drive them batty on a daily basis. When she's not writing, you will find her with her nose stuck in a romance novel, in a yoga studio or devouring anything chocolate. J.L. Berg is represented by Jill Marsal of Marsal Lyon Literary Agency, LLC.