The Billionaire Boss and The Barista

Rogues and Rescuers #5

by Lucy Leroux

His high school nemesis pretends not to recognize him
Billionaire Garrett Chapman can’t believe it when he finds the bane of his high school existence working as a barista in his building.

Not only that, but the girl he used to snipe and argue with daily is pretending not to know him. Convinced that he is being set up by his competitors, he sets a trap to ferret out the corporate spy.

Emmaline Mendez is rebuilding her life after a catastrophic accident. She’s moved a thousand miles away from home to find a fresh start. She has no idea why the high-handed and arrogant CEO in the penthouse office insists she personally deliver his coffee, but one of these days she’s going to spill it in his lap.

A misunderstanding leads to a physical confrontation that turns Garrett’s world upside down. But he recovers quickly. He has to.

Because fate has given him a chance to rewrite history…and he’s going to take it.

Genres: Contemporary, Romance

446 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 25, 2024

About the author

A 7-time Readers' Favorite Medal Winner. USA Today Bestselling Author. Mom to a half-feral princess. WOC. Former scientist. Recovering geek.

Lucy Leroux is the steamy pen name for author L.B. Gilbert. Ten years ago Lucy moved to France for a one-year research contract. Six months later she was living with a handsome Frenchman and is now married with an adorable half-french 5yo who won't go to bed on time.

When her last contract ended Lucy turned to writing. Frustrated by a particularly bad romance novel she decided to write her own. Her family lives in Southern California.

Lucy loves all genres of romance and intends to write as many of them as possible. To date she has published twenty novels and novellas. These includes paranormal, urban fantasy, gothic regency, and contemporary romances with more on the way.

Follow her on twitter @lucythenovelist or http://www.facebook.com/lucythenovelist or visit www.authorlucyleroux.com/newsletter for special offers and free reads.

*For fans of paranormal romance and adventure check out the author's award-winning Elementals series under her maiden name L.B. Gilbert.

Reviews

[Grisette · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.7 stars

I have read books by LL and I liked them, and so I was ready to enjoy this one too. In final, there were imperfections, but I loved the core storyline of a fated second chance romance. I found the pairing cute and their rollercoaster of a story twisty enough to have kept me riveted.

On the downside, you have to have a healthy tolerance to suspend disbelief at some of the plot points, what with the billionaire supermen, the fairy-talish damsel in rescue situations and the almost-telenovela worth's twist upon twist. But since it had that fun, light atmosphere, I was happy to roll with it. However, I think the book could have benefitted from some trimming and some editing finetuning here and there (e.g. some polishing in convos on who was speaking what since the 3rd person narrative sometimes got confusing, minor details about changes in a dress colour etc).

That said, the feel-good reading experience was a plus for me, so I am rounding up.


P.S. The cover was meh for me, the story deserved better.

[Tina Thompson · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5* DNF. It’s boring, depressing and too many mistakes totally spoilt it.

Is this really Lucy Leroux who wrote this? She’s one of my favourite authors and I’ve been waiting for ages for her next book, and it’s terrible. I’m so sorry to say that. Before I get into it, one thing that annoyed me is that it was supposed to be the Doctors book next, not this one.

Emmy/Emma and Garrett went to school together and she was a super genius, who advanced two years. They HATED each other at school, and were always arguing. I’m pointing this out because later on in the book, it all changes, Garrett says that she inspired him to work harder and says all his success is down to her. Erm what now? When he first sees Emma he’s convinced that she must be there to harm his company, as she hated him so much. 🙈

When he sees Emma in his building where he owns his investment firm, for some bizarre reason he thinks she’s there to embezzle from him. As she’s working as a barista and doesn’t recognise Garrett at all. When he later sees her under his friends car (She’s rescuing a kitten.) he thinks she’s planting a b*mb. 😂😂😂 Oh for crying out loud! So he attacks her! When Garrett finds out that Emma had a serious brain injury that left her disabled, this is where the plot goes crazy!

On the night of Emma’s accident there are three different versions of why she was there.
First version: Emma was walking at night on a road near Garretts house and no one knows why she was there, or where she was going. Garrett seems confused as Emma never went out at night and she was a shy girl.
Second version: Garrett was having a party and Emma was going there.
Third version; Emma and Garrett were meeting up and when she didn’t show he thought she had got back with her ex and he was really hurt. Yet they hated each other!

Then there’s Emma’s brain injury. It’s horrendous and causes her to have memory issues.
She’s not allowed to drive as she’s not safe, and has excruciating headaches. Yet Emma lives with her cousin who has his own mental health issues and EMMA LOOKS AFTER HIM! 🤦‍♀️🤦 You can also guess right at the beginning what is going to happen to her brain injuries. Sigh. It’s pretty obvious what happened the night of her ‘accident’ and who ran her over, right at the beginning of the book.

Sadly it’s also really really depressing. Emma is bullied at work by her co-worker and the men in the building talk about the size of her br*asts in front of her! Yeah of course they do! 😂😂😂🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️ She has no friends, her family are miles away, yet she has serious brain damage from her accident! She lives with her cousin who has a lot of his own issues, she can’t drive so has to get a series of buses everyday and walk to work. NONE OF IT MAKES ANY SENSE! Garrett is supposed to be this forward thinking non sexist man, who pushes for women to have equal rights. Yet he bulldozes poor Emma into living with him and takes over her life.

I’m sorry but it’s terrible. I’m really gutted that it was so bad.

[Brenda Moser · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a well written book with strong characters in Garrett and Emmaline. The author does a great job developing the story and paints her scenes perfectly. She takes you into their lives with a second chance romance and kept me turning the pages with the mystery, suspense and emotions. She moves the story fluidly and delivers a terrific read.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book. All opinions in this review are my own and are freely given.

[Duetro · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was a bit of a letdown for me. I actually really like amnesia done well and I think it was done well here, the author even did a little fake-out 'ooh maybe she's getting her memories back' but then stuck to their guns, and Emma's permanent memory loss is actually permanent.

But my problem with the book was, once the amnesia gets stripped away, you find out that this was a very standard 'poor girl, rich boy, virgin heroine, manwhore hero, unplanned pregnancy, secret baby' tropefest. I should've been clued in by Garrett the hero being a millionaire, billionaire, real estate tycoon, business mogul, reformed party boy, on the cover of every magazine, divorcé to a Greek heiress, built like a brick shithouse, with military training, oh and also he's like 27 lmao. Bro got his MBA like three years ago. I was just waiting for it to get mentioned how he fought in underground fighting rings, but I guess the author thought that was a bridge too far.

But I could suspend my disbelief because I actually liked the leads in the first half. Garrett is a bumbling fool who always manages to make things worse while trying to make them better, and Emma is a strong woman recovering from the shit hand she was dealt, trying to carve out a little independence for herself and doing a good job of it. Until Garrett slowly strips her of every bit of independence she had. He messes up her work place for her, then her housing situation, then her insurance, and he twists each of his fuck-ups into a way to enmesh himself further into her life. The qualities that made me like Emma were slowly taken from her. I wanted to see this fabled strength and determination, but she just lets herself be railroaded by this stranger who claims to know her.

What I dislike about the 'poor girl, rich boy, virgin heroine, manwhore hero' dynamic is the power imbalance, I think the amnesia made the power imbalance worse in this case, which made me dislike the last half so much once their pre-accident relationship is revealed. Because now not only does Garrett have more life experience, more wealth, and more power than Emma, he knows more about her than she does. He gets to tell her how she lost her virginity to him, and pats himself on the back that he's the only man she's ever been with since she was busy convalescing while he was living it up, hiring strippers and sleeping with models and marrying European heiresses. He even finds out about her daughter before she does, and makes the psychotic choice to tell the child before he tells the mother, then uses the child to tell the mother. What in the fuck are you thinking, Garrett?

Once Garrett and Emma's relationship becomes fully established as intimate and their backstory comes out, Emma loses all agency and the only driving force to the story is Garrett. He decides to go visit Emma's mother and 'sister,' he decides he'll tell Stella about her true parentage, he decides he'll have five year-old Stella tell Emma that Stella is Emma's daughter (again, PSYCHOTIC), he decides he'll bring Stella and Mariana to San Diego, he decides to film him and Emma having sex without discussing it first (like he just whips out his already-recording phone mid-coitus lol), he decides he'll go after Fletcher because quote "I'm the one he fucked over," never minding the fact that Emma was the one Fletcher fucking hit with his car, nearly killing her but succeeding in giving her a traumatic brain injury. She's also the one Fletcher strangled in her own home, but go off I guess. True Garrett, I guess this really is more about you. The only choice Emma makes on her own after they get together is to go to his office to play out his "secret love slave fantasy," which was hot, but can't she do that and still want independence for herself? Getting into a relationship completely erases Emma's personality and it's too real lmao. Even her "coffee roasting career" was because "she'd gotten the idea from her husband."

All that being said, I really loved the first half. I was hoping it was just gonna be a 'who done it' shitty small town politics type mystery of finding out who hit Emma (clearly Fletcher) and was really sad it went into the standard fare instead. But I liked the writing and will be checking out some more stuff by this author.

[Pene|ope • Reading Slump, Send Help · Rating 4 out of 5]

Truthfully I hadn't planned to finish this one because I thought I'd hate it. I despise the amnesia trope, but the blurb talking about a discovery that rocked the MMC's world had me checking it out just to read that part in the middle out of curiosity (my attention span is minimal these days, sue me). I had planned to satisfy my curiosity for a chapter or two and then move onto the other book I had planned to read. But then the writing in this one had me hustling back to the beginning to read the entire book because this trope was done really well.

So this is the second (2nd) book in the history of forever where I've actually liked the amnesia trope.

Possibly spoiler-ish:
What I guessed might have happened did happen, but it was written so well that it felt exciting discovering it along with the characters. There are twists (multiple), and maybe they'll be jaw-dropping or not for you to read, but the way they were revealed was entertaining for me to read.

This book is on the slightly the longer side of romances, but I was invested in reading everything that happened right to the end.

I do feel like I could have done with a few more strings being tied up (the mother's love life PLEASEEEE), but mostly just out of curiosity. And yes, there were some things that bothered me throughout the story, but not enough to keep track of them like I normally do. Overall, it was refreshing to find the amnesia tope done in a way that it didn't feel aggravatingly annoying. And some common things authors like to do with this trope weren't used (thank goodness), while a few were, but in ways that felt right.

Idk how to explain it better than that without giving everything away, but this one was the perfect read to start my new year.

[Ellie (On a break, mostly rereading) · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Billionaire Boss and The Barista is a standalone contemporary romance by Lucy Leroux, and is the fifth book of the Rogues and Rescuers series.

I absolutely adored this book. Then again, I've been devouring Korean dramas around similar tropes (boss/employee, fake fiancé, an almost soap opera level of danger and some contrived circumstances) recently, so this book tracks with my current taste in binge worth television.

There is a lot going on in this book: the titular billionaire is Garrett. He's built himself up from nothing, with a couple of close friends but currently is not dating. The titular barista is Emma, starts off as a bit of an enigma. Garrett recognises her as his high school rival - the full nature of their childhood acquaintance and rivalry is revealed over the course of the book - and suspects her to be a corporate spy. However, in true soap opera style, Emma was the victim of a hit and run shortly after finishing college and has complete amnesia.

I will admit, that I had parts of the plot figured out before they were revealed, but it did not take away from my enjoyment of the drama that was going on. Emma and Garrett have great chemistry, but their road to love is not smooth, with ghosts of the past and present complications messing with them. I particularly loved Garrett, who really wanted to be knight in shining armour.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Nanasbookreviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Billionaire Boss and The Barista by Lucy Leroux is the fifth installment in the Rogues and Rescuers series.

After many years, Garrett Chapman unexpectedly reunites with his high school nemesis, Emma Mendez. At first, he suspects she’s come back to sabotage his career. However, he quickly discovers the truth is far from his assumption. Emma’s accident caused amnesia, leaving her unable to remember anything from her life before the incident—including Garrett or their tumultuous past. Determined to right old wrongs, Garrett steps up to help her, realizing she’s the one he’s always loved.

The story features some classic tropes: enemies to lovers, second chances, fake marriage, and forced proximity. It’s an engaging read with a slow, steady build-up that keeps you hooked. The book starts off on a lighter note with their unusual reunion but gradually delves into deeper emotional territory. The twist in their romance toward the end was completely unexpected—a delightful surprise!

I especially enjoyed the pacing of their romantic development and the chemistry in their intimate scenes. My favorite part? When Emma takes charge and "seduces" Garrett—it was such a fun and empowering moment.

If you're a fan of billionaire romance, this book is a must-read!

[Amber Keehn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emma and Garrett reconnect years after being rivals in high school. Emma doesn't remember anything about him or the first twenty years of her life. Due to a nearly hit and run car accident just months before she was to graduate college, Emma woke from a coma with no recollection of her past. Garret has no idea and thinks she's there as a corporate spy, but quickly realizes that she's working as a barista in his building due to happenstance. Garrett feels responsible for Emma, both because his accusation (and subsequent actions) frightened her and her sudden reappearance dredges up some buried feelings.

While this book is pretty long - over 440 pages- and there's a lot going on, it's a fun and adventurous story to lose oneself in as a reader. There are a lot of plot twists woven in to a pretty complete and dynamite package, which this author always delivers. I always enjoy a Lucy Leroux book and this was no exception!.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Siobhan D · Rating 5 out of 5]

When at high school Garrett and Emmaline used to fight and spar on a daily basis.
Years later now a Billionaire Garrett finds his high school enemy is now a barista in his building. When meeting Emmaline, she acts if she doesn't know him. Making him believe that she is a spy for He believes that Emmaline is his competitors.
Emmaline truly doesn't recognise or remember Garrett. She is rebuilding her life after a catastrophic accident. Having moved thousand of mile to start a again. One thing for sure she knows that she will one day spill hot coffee on the pain in the backside CEO that she deliveries coffee too.
When Garrett’s own world get turned around he realises that he can change history.
When these two get together there is chemistry and angst.
This book has steam, emotions and great characters.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Michele · Rating 5 out of 5]

An unexpected take on a second chance romance!
I fell in love with Garrett stepping in to protect a barista working in his building from harassment, but when he discovers the woman in question is actually his high school rival, Emma who he lost track of and thinks she may be a plant to gain information on his company. When he discovers Emma has long term amnesia from an accident on the night of his college party at his parents’ lake house, he feels guilty and is all about helping Emma almost to a fault. So when Emma’s disability insurance is being terminated, Garrett offers Emma an off the wall solution to her worries which she really has no alternative but to accept. Add in some intrigue over Garrett’s getting to the bottom of who hit Emma on that lone road, and you’ll be turning the pages to see whodunit and Garrett and Emma definitely have an over the top surprise near the end!

[Vanessa Sylvia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is book 5 of Rogues and Rescuers and a standalone story. It does end in a cliffhanger for another character. I enjoyed this book from cover to cover and I could not put it down. The characters took on a life of their own. Emma and Garrett went to the same high school and meet several years later, only problem Emma has no memory of Garrett or what they meant to each other. She was in an accident where she was hit and left to die causing a traumatic brain injury. The happy ever after is worth reading the entire story.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Carole · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Billionaire Boss and the Barista serves up a wonderful Contemporary Romance that provides more than a second chance for MMC Garrett Chapman when he discovers his former high school nemesis MFC Emmaline Mendez working in the coffee shop of the building he owns, and who he thinks is pretending not to recognize him.
This story was chock full of surprise twists, intrigue, drama, enemies-to-lovers, mystery, family, spice and suspense in a well written narrative that entertains as the reader is kept engaged with the unfolding events, and its captivating characters.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Kristen Lewendon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a second chance romance unlike any I remember seeing before. From pretty much the beginning I couldn’t help but cheer for Garrett and Emma to get it right this time. And as they opened up to one another, as they uncovered more about the past that had kept them apart, I became more and more invested in their story. I wasn’t entirely surprised by the identity of the villain, but the reasons behind what happened just blew me away. However, that ending has left me positively itching to get my hands on the next book. I need it NOW!
I received a complimentary copy of this book through Booksprout.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Codename Romeo

Juliet is running from a troubling past and it’s catching up with her. Desperate and exhausted, she is at the mercy of a complete stranger for help.

Ethan is an FBI agent and he’s looking forward to some relaxation time. When a sick woman and her innocent child fall into his lap, it wasn’t what he was hoping for but turns out to be what he needs.

This was a sweet romance with a little steam, danger, mystery and suspense. The characters were well developed and easily likable. Overall, well done.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Peggy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have liked and followed this author since her first book, but unfortunately, I was disappointed in this book. The story has potential for sure but there is too much repetition throughout the story that made the read frustrating. The story follows Ethan and Juliet. He’s an FBI agent and she’s on the run from her past. She turns to Ethan for help. As I said, I love protective stories and this has potential and I do hope the author edits, updates (i bought) and removes the repetition in statements, banter and , descriptions etc.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[VoraciousReader · Rating 2 out of 5]

1. To start off with, the reader had to ignore a premise that a bit ridiculous. The H saw his high school “nemesis” working in a coffee shop in his building and she “pretended” not to recognize him. So, this had to mean that she was a “corporate spy” who was there to “steal company secrets”. How he expected her to steal his company's secrets from a coffee shop was never made clear. 🙄🙄
2. If Emma was so sure that Garrett's aunt was going to be furious the first time she met her, why on earth would she have brought a five year old child with her?
3. If “Folsom” staged Fletcher’s suicide, how did he get a confession in Fletcher’s voice?

[Annette · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is really good. I love how it develops and flows. The characters are great and mature about their past and future. The engrossing mystery twist is intense, secrets are heart wrenching and life choices come full circle right into their second chance. They are an united front and perfect for one another. Very engaging and gripping romantic suspense with heart, depth, some steamy moments, full of heartfelt emotions and revelations. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Alison Ramsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Garrett and Emma appear to have a combative relationship in the past in high school but Emma remembers nothing of this due to a traumatic brain injury induced amnesia and start a slightly unusual relationship due to her employment status. There are a lot of intriguing aspects to this romantic suspense novel and the characters are engaging and likeable. The story flows really well and has some surprises along the way. Really enjoyable.

[Tiffany · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this book Garrett and Emma were once together in college but a fight left him walking away and a tragedy happens to Emma now years later he sees her working in his building but she doesn't remember him, Emma can't remember years of her life but when Garrett starts to fall for her but will she let herself? What will happen when she learns the truth about everything?.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Shayay · Rating 5 out of 5]

So, I love amnesia scenario storylines, so I was on board as soon as I read that scenario. Plus, there’s a bit of enemies to more and a second chance scenario, which are both an entertaining read for me. Got some good spice, good chemistry between Emma and Garrett, and a bit of danger. A fun read! Enjoying this series!

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Billionaire Boss and The Barista by Lucy Leroux has all the elements of an amazing story. It was well written and I quickly became invested in Emmaline and Garrett's story. Their story was not your typical romance and there were twists and turns in their journey I never saw coming. Definitely recommend.

[Jeanne Richardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read several books written by Lucy Leroux; she is becoming one of my favorite authors. I can’t wait to read more of her books.

This is the fifth book in the Rogues and Rescuers Series; it is a stand-alone book. The story is about Emmaline & Garrett.

[brenda hurley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was a good second chance read. I thought it was well written and I can't wait to read more from this author.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Deb · Rating 5 out of 5]

4 1/2 stars
A suspenseful story with an interesting storyline that had me glued to the pages of this book. Great characters, palpable attraction, good intensity and an intriguing plot. Great story.

I received a copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[June Griffith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow

What a story, lots of twists and surprises, lovely catching up with past characters, can’t wait for Elias story, still waiting for Deep Burn Donovan Carters story

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

funny and romantic

I hope it will come in Audible. The H was funny, protective and put his foot in his mouth a lot. And, what a twist and turn! I recommend.

[Michelle Heath · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one was a crazy twist & turn kind of book! It had me going at time but I had figured out the bad guy but still was crazy! Great book!

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow.Another brilliant read. So many twists that I didn’t see coming. Loved it. Would definitely recommend this book series .