Reading Assignment Challenge: Lord and Master by Jules Jones

Reading Assignment Challenge: Lord and Master by Jules Jones

When Mark's PhD supervisor sent him for a job interview with an old university friend, he didn't mention that the friend was devastatingly handsome.  he also neglected to mention to either that the other is gay.

Steven was just looking for a young scientist to train as PA to help him run his technology company.  No extra services required.  But watching other people react to a young, pretty man playing secretary to an openly gay CEO amused them both.  Watching people wonder if they were having an affair was an entertaining game.

But when the game became real and caught them up, Mark was left wondering--how real?  Because he's the one PA in the building who can't marry the boss.

This was a very enjoyable book about a young man who openly acknowledges his preference for older men becoming a PA for a man who ticks all of his "yum-factor" boxes.  Mark is working on his PhD thesis but is intrigued by the idea of being a PA to gain management experience while also being able to use his science background doing research for his new boss.  The fact that his new boss is completely sexy is a great bonus, but in the beginning Mark really is just focused on doing a great job for a man he respects and keeps his fantasies just that--to himself.  

Steven, whose point of view we only really get through conversation, is aware of what the gossips will say when he hires a very pretty boy to be his PA.  He warns Mark that his brains will not be people's first guess when they ask themselves why Steven hired Mark.  When he and Mark begin indulging in office hanky-panky, Steven and Mark discuss often the possibility of their secret getting out and how it could impact them both, although Mark is by far the more vulnerable.  When they go to Paris for a weekend in preparation for a business meeting they decide to take their relationship into the real world, to take the next steps in becoming serious about each other.  It was at this point that I felt the book really hit its stride.

I never felt that I lost myself in these characters or in this book, but I did enjoy the time I spent reading it.  However, when it came time to put the story down for real life, it wasn't difficult to do so.  I didn't really think about the book again until I picked it back up.  That being said, it was very easy to sink right back into the story of Mark and Steven and I was satisfied when I finished it.  There is a sequel but I don't think I will be reading it.  I enjoyed this one but feel happy with where the characters are now.  I don't feel compelled to find out what happens next for them.