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Forty, Flirty & Fired: A Billionaire Boss Romantic Comedy
Fired on my birthday, then I drenched my arch-nemesis in champagne...
I crashed my old company's gala for revenge, but things took a surprising turn when Alexander Drake, Seattle's hottest billionaire tech CEO, hired me instead of arresting me!
But there's one my tweet calling him out is going viral...
---
"You fired me. Today. On my birthday."
"Technically, the board fired you. I just had the pleasure of witnessing the aftermath." I reach for a napkin from a nearby waiter's tray, who looks like he can't decide whether to help or run away. "And I have to say, your exit strategies are... memorable."
Someone in the crowd actually laughs. Probably the same person who said "Oh snap!" earlier. I make a mental note to find them later and either fire them or give them a raise.
Mackenzie crosses her arms. "And what makes you think I'd want to work for the company that just gutted mine?"
"Because you care more about the developers than your pride." I meet her gaze, champagne be damned. "And because you know that changing things from the inside is more effective than throwing champagne from the outside. Though I have to admit, the champagne made quite a statement."
Her mouth twitches. Just slightly. But it's enough.
✔︎ Revenge on a Billionaire Boss 💅
✔︎ Enemies to Lovers
✔︎ Workplace Shenanigans
✔︎ Meddling Italian Family
✔︎ Child-free later-in-life romance
✔︎ Characters in their forties (40+)
A full-length stand-alone. For fans of slow burn, billionaire rom-coms with a serving of office chaos, big Italian families, revenge tales on gorgeous enemy bosses, and HEAs guaranteed.
I crashed my old company's gala for revenge, but things took a surprising turn when Alexander Drake, Seattle's hottest billionaire tech CEO, hired me instead of arresting me!
But there's one my tweet calling him out is going viral...
---
"You fired me. Today. On my birthday."
"Technically, the board fired you. I just had the pleasure of witnessing the aftermath." I reach for a napkin from a nearby waiter's tray, who looks like he can't decide whether to help or run away. "And I have to say, your exit strategies are... memorable."
Someone in the crowd actually laughs. Probably the same person who said "Oh snap!" earlier. I make a mental note to find them later and either fire them or give them a raise.
Mackenzie crosses her arms. "And what makes you think I'd want to work for the company that just gutted mine?"
"Because you care more about the developers than your pride." I meet her gaze, champagne be damned. "And because you know that changing things from the inside is more effective than throwing champagne from the outside. Though I have to admit, the champagne made quite a statement."
Her mouth twitches. Just slightly. But it's enough.
✔︎ Revenge on a Billionaire Boss 💅
✔︎ Enemies to Lovers
✔︎ Workplace Shenanigans
✔︎ Meddling Italian Family
✔︎ Child-free later-in-life romance
✔︎ Characters in their forties (40+)
A full-length stand-alone. For fans of slow burn, billionaire rom-coms with a serving of office chaos, big Italian families, revenge tales on gorgeous enemy bosses, and HEAs guaranteed.
265 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 30, 2024
261 people are currently reading
99 people want to read
About the author
Lacey Monroe
10 books11 followersSMART. SEXY. GROWN. Lacey Monroe writes steamy romantic comedies for women who know that life doesn't end at thirty-nine.
When she's not crafting stories about second chances and silver foxes, you can find her arguing with her family about the proper way to make mac & cheese (spoiler: there isn't one).
She believes the best romances come with laugh-out-loud moments, real-life struggles, and characters who prove that forty is just the beginning of the good stuff.
Grab your next billionaire rom-com read here at laceymonroebooks.com
When she's not crafting stories about second chances and silver foxes, you can find her arguing with her family about the proper way to make mac & cheese (spoiler: there isn't one).
She believes the best romances come with laugh-out-loud moments, real-life struggles, and characters who prove that forty is just the beginning of the good stuff.
Grab your next billionaire rom-com read here at laceymonroebooks.com
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
January 31, 2025
Things I liked: the FMC and MMC were over 40. The basis of the story. I enjoyed their relationship.
Things I disliked:
*Keith - he was beyond obnoxious and frankly should’ve been fired. Why was he every where. Seriously at a romantic getaway and he’s there. At a family celebration and he’s there. It’s not like he was bff with anyone. His whole thing was just annoying.
*we saw more of their work life than their personal life. They had a private dinner and alluded to things said but we didn’t get to actually see it.
*the only point that seemed to be focused on was his willingness to to change corporate culture (including letting love in) and her work ethic. There’s more to their relationship but we didn’t see it.
*spicy scenes. I was honestly confused did they have a first time and I missed it. I don’t need books to be 5 chili peppers but I’d at least like to know when the first time is.
*the first personal interaction was kinda out of nowhere. Again with the personal dinner. Had we seen what happened maybe this scene would’ve made more sense
*I’m confused in the bachelor pack. When was it done (college), what are the actual terms, can I get a quick reason why the other two were involved, were the other two wanting Alex to find love and be married bc they want their friend happy or bc they wanted a yacht - both were equally pushed.
*editing. Plain and simple this author is better than me bc I could’ve never written anything. However editing is highly important. There were missing words and the wrong spelling of words that caused me to have to reread a lot of sentences.
Overall I enjoyed the book despite my more issues than not. Oddly enough a complaint I have from other office romance is the lack of story with the actual work itself and too much personal. Here I complained about more work than personal. One day I’ll have a happy ending with an office romance.
Maybe this was a first book by this author and she hadn’t had a chance to get more experience and I’m hoping that’s what happens. Unfortunately I don’t think I’ll finish the story. Nothing made me say I wonder how the love life’s of Grayson and Conner will go.
Things I disliked:
*Keith - he was beyond obnoxious and frankly should’ve been fired. Why was he every where. Seriously at a romantic getaway and he’s there. At a family celebration and he’s there. It’s not like he was bff with anyone. His whole thing was just annoying.
*we saw more of their work life than their personal life. They had a private dinner and alluded to things said but we didn’t get to actually see it.
*the only point that seemed to be focused on was his willingness to to change corporate culture (including letting love in) and her work ethic. There’s more to their relationship but we didn’t see it.
*spicy scenes. I was honestly confused did they have a first time and I missed it. I don’t need books to be 5 chili peppers but I’d at least like to know when the first time is.
*the first personal interaction was kinda out of nowhere. Again with the personal dinner. Had we seen what happened maybe this scene would’ve made more sense
*I’m confused in the bachelor pack. When was it done (college), what are the actual terms, can I get a quick reason why the other two were involved, were the other two wanting Alex to find love and be married bc they want their friend happy or bc they wanted a yacht - both were equally pushed.
*editing. Plain and simple this author is better than me bc I could’ve never written anything. However editing is highly important. There were missing words and the wrong spelling of words that caused me to have to reread a lot of sentences.
Overall I enjoyed the book despite my more issues than not. Oddly enough a complaint I have from other office romance is the lack of story with the actual work itself and too much personal. Here I complained about more work than personal. One day I’ll have a happy ending with an office romance.
Maybe this was a first book by this author and she hadn’t had a chance to get more experience and I’m hoping that’s what happens. Unfortunately I don’t think I’ll finish the story. Nothing made me say I wonder how the love life’s of Grayson and Conner will go.
March 15, 2025
I dropped this at the 10% mark. It's not that it's not well-written... I'm not far enough into it to really tell that. I liked Mac, academically. And the food is amazing.
But here's the deal: Mac is essential the CEO of an acquired tech firm. Even though it's a hostile takeover, there's no way she wouldn't have considered that her career would take this sort of turn. Big fish gobble up little fish all the time in tech. I've seen it over and over, and I'm not at her level. Also, here's the other thing: they likely gave her a damn good package. So, you'd think she would be somewhat more philosophical.
Love her family. Really. I come from one just like it. But is it just me or does it come across like every bad mafia-Italian-restaurant family? Like, does her mother actually still have an Italian accent? My family still uses some Italian, and I'm third generation, but it's not quite the accented kitsch we have going on here. And I have an Aunt who owned an Italian restaurant!
Lastly, there's no way she would write an expose to take down awful tech leaders. Okay, maybe she would. Maybe she's the AOC of the tech bro community. But you can guarantee that she would have trouble finding a job or leading a teach after she became known as the woman who takes tech down. So she'd have to have a plan to start something up of her own, or disappear from tech and move to something else where she wouldn't be considered a liability for "exposing" culture. It just reads as biting the hand that feeds her.
Oh, and I'm also offended by the title a bit and the fact that this characterized as a "boss" romance. He hires her as a consultant. I consider that a partnership, not a boss/employee relationship. Is she flirty? Uh, she's not a ditz. And she wouldn't walk into that as a consultant without clear objectives and a clear scope of work, not to mention that the board would have to be somewhat involved in that if Alex is taking the company in a different direction culturally. That generally costs money. And the board just got through telling him they want cheaper, younger talent.
Maybe it's me. I'm way too close to tech and have been in it my whole life.
Future Stacey: maybe come back to this one later.
But here's the deal: Mac is essential the CEO of an acquired tech firm. Even though it's a hostile takeover, there's no way she wouldn't have considered that her career would take this sort of turn. Big fish gobble up little fish all the time in tech. I've seen it over and over, and I'm not at her level. Also, here's the other thing: they likely gave her a damn good package. So, you'd think she would be somewhat more philosophical.
Love her family. Really. I come from one just like it. But is it just me or does it come across like every bad mafia-Italian-restaurant family? Like, does her mother actually still have an Italian accent? My family still uses some Italian, and I'm third generation, but it's not quite the accented kitsch we have going on here. And I have an Aunt who owned an Italian restaurant!
Lastly, there's no way she would write an expose to take down awful tech leaders. Okay, maybe she would. Maybe she's the AOC of the tech bro community. But you can guarantee that she would have trouble finding a job or leading a teach after she became known as the woman who takes tech down. So she'd have to have a plan to start something up of her own, or disappear from tech and move to something else where she wouldn't be considered a liability for "exposing" culture. It just reads as biting the hand that feeds her.
Oh, and I'm also offended by the title a bit and the fact that this characterized as a "boss" romance. He hires her as a consultant. I consider that a partnership, not a boss/employee relationship. Is she flirty? Uh, she's not a ditz. And she wouldn't walk into that as a consultant without clear objectives and a clear scope of work, not to mention that the board would have to be somewhat involved in that if Alex is taking the company in a different direction culturally. That generally costs money. And the board just got through telling him they want cheaper, younger talent.
Maybe it's me. I'm way too close to tech and have been in it my whole life.
Future Stacey: maybe come back to this one later.
December 22, 2025
Still reading, star rating may change, but I'm about halfway through and considering dropping it. The only reasonable and somewhat realistic character in the book is the MMC. FMC works in tech, is a tech leader, but is incredibly stupid about her blog. Literally tweeting/blogging about things seconds after making comments about them to her "boss", even after she finds out he reads her blog, no adult with a modicum of intelligence would do that. And though this isn't her fault, it also irritates me that she keeps talking about being part of a big Italian family, her sisters have Italian names, but for some reason she doesn't and she's also the sister that doesn't look like the others. Just seems... unnecessary to single her out like that.
And then we get to the side characters. Keith would be fired in the real world, plain and simple. I get he's supposed to be comic relief, but no company in any circumstances, would put up with his behavior, and he certainly wouldn't be welcome to corporate events and retreats because he'd be a liability. Lucia, one of the sisters, grates on my nerves. The constant pushing of the romance between FMC and MMC is a bit much. I get it's meant to be funny and sisters teasing each other, but she's 35 and knows it's a workplace and she's technically working there too. But then, Mac has that blog so maybe the entire family isn't all that well versed on workplace boundaries and behavior. Nonna also demanding the MMC come to dinner to, I assume, push him further to the FMC adds another layer of unbelievability. She saw a picture of him and decided that was the guy for her granddaughter... unnecessary. I'm not Italian/Italian-American so I don't know what's normal within that culture, but I feel like a grandma who has never met, spoken to, or even seen in person wouldn't push that hard for something that, realistically, could harm her granddaughter if things don't go well. But again, the whole family seems delusional.
So, we'll see how the book goes or if I even finish it. It has a LOT of promise, but it reads like a teenager who has no concept of the real world or adult relationships wrote this.
And then we get to the side characters. Keith would be fired in the real world, plain and simple. I get he's supposed to be comic relief, but no company in any circumstances, would put up with his behavior, and he certainly wouldn't be welcome to corporate events and retreats because he'd be a liability. Lucia, one of the sisters, grates on my nerves. The constant pushing of the romance between FMC and MMC is a bit much. I get it's meant to be funny and sisters teasing each other, but she's 35 and knows it's a workplace and she's technically working there too. But then, Mac has that blog so maybe the entire family isn't all that well versed on workplace boundaries and behavior. Nonna also demanding the MMC come to dinner to, I assume, push him further to the FMC adds another layer of unbelievability. She saw a picture of him and decided that was the guy for her granddaughter... unnecessary. I'm not Italian/Italian-American so I don't know what's normal within that culture, but I feel like a grandma who has never met, spoken to, or even seen in person wouldn't push that hard for something that, realistically, could harm her granddaughter if things don't go well. But again, the whole family seems delusional.
So, we'll see how the book goes or if I even finish it. It has a LOT of promise, but it reads like a teenager who has no concept of the real world or adult relationships wrote this.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 15, 2025
Good and bad all in one
I took a long time thinking about this review. I enjoy the premise, the characters and had a number of laugh out loud moments. Even the “all is lost moment” and the solving of the problems were good ideas. What I struggled with was feeling like I missed pages or even whole chapters as things skipped forward with little or now explanation or description. All the characters seemed to know everyones secrets without explanation of how. People were at places they probably shouldn’t have been, and I couldn’t figure out how they got there or knew about the place. Things happened to move the plot along, but no explanation of what happened or how it happened. I almost dnf. It was fun and hard to read all at the same time. I doubt I will continue you this series. All that said, I am definitely not against trying again with this author. The humor was great and genuinely made me laugh. That can be hard to find.
I took a long time thinking about this review. I enjoy the premise, the characters and had a number of laugh out loud moments. Even the “all is lost moment” and the solving of the problems were good ideas. What I struggled with was feeling like I missed pages or even whole chapters as things skipped forward with little or now explanation or description. All the characters seemed to know everyones secrets without explanation of how. People were at places they probably shouldn’t have been, and I couldn’t figure out how they got there or knew about the place. Things happened to move the plot along, but no explanation of what happened or how it happened. I almost dnf. It was fun and hard to read all at the same time. I doubt I will continue you this series. All that said, I am definitely not against trying again with this author. The humor was great and genuinely made me laugh. That can be hard to find.
January 6, 2025
This was surprisingly interesting and funny. Written in dual POV, HEA ensured.
I enjoyed the main characters being in their mid forties, no kids with focus on career and no regrets in that regard. Though the moment they've fallen for each other, it was too insta-love for me (I mean claiming to love someone when I missed any real-outside of work-interactions for the two, besides the two dinners).
The whole Keith/Brad idea was getting over the top, but at the same time it was funny. Though I wonder what Keith's job/function was exactly, to know why he was in almost every situation and doing whatever he wanted without any consequences. And I can't stop thinking about the expose: who leaked it if not Mac? What did it actually contain and was there any impact on the company as she was claiming it would ruin it all?
I enjoyed the main characters being in their mid forties, no kids with focus on career and no regrets in that regard. Though the moment they've fallen for each other, it was too insta-love for me (I mean claiming to love someone when I missed any real-outside of work-interactions for the two, besides the two dinners).
The whole Keith/Brad idea was getting over the top, but at the same time it was funny. Though I wonder what Keith's job/function was exactly, to know why he was in almost every situation and doing whatever he wanted without any consequences. And I can't stop thinking about the expose: who leaked it if not Mac? What did it actually contain and was there any impact on the company as she was claiming it would ruin it all?
January 2, 2025
I really like that this author has written a couple books where the main characters are in their 40’s and not single parents. I thought this book was better written than the “The Write Midlife” book. I would have given the book 4 stars if the Keith revolution thing wasn’t so ridiculous. It was over the top and not funny. In any real company, his behavior would not have been tolerated.
January 12, 2025
Wow. Just. Wow. The writing is so bad it’s like they asked AI to write this story. Very repetitive. If I had a dollar for every time revolution or revolutionary was said I’d be a millionaire. Save yourself the wasted time and skip this one. I listen to this on audible and the virtual voice narration was terrible.
January 19, 2025
It was cute…but the side characters rule!
While I loved the banter between the MCs, the side charts told the show on all fronts. I can see clearly that there will be additional stories spun out from this book. Just know it’s essentially contemporary, office, enemies to lovers romance. Multiple POVs. One extremely large welcoming Italian family to boot!
While I loved the banter between the MCs, the side charts told the show on all fronts. I can see clearly that there will be additional stories spun out from this book. Just know it’s essentially contemporary, office, enemies to lovers romance. Multiple POVs. One extremely large welcoming Italian family to boot!
April 16, 2025
It's like a liberal on Threads used AI to write the most politically correct mumbo jumbo. The FMC was the most annoying, difficult, heinous female know to a book. There is no romance, this is not romantic. This is propaganda. How many times is "corporate" written? 194 times. How many times was a big word thrown in to make the book sound overly smart and obnoxious? Every other sentence.
November 30, 2025
Leave
Leave something to the imagination of the reader or even better just leave graphic sex out.
The revenge our heroine is planning is her attempt to reclaim power that first husband circumvented. When she accomplishes more by making positive changes, rather than petty ones, she gains more power.
Leave something to the imagination of the reader or even better just leave graphic sex out.
The revenge our heroine is planning is her attempt to reclaim power that first husband circumvented. When she accomplishes more by making positive changes, rather than petty ones, she gains more power.
March 15, 2025
Sorry, I just didn't think this was funny. It was like I was reading jokes my 14 year old brother would think is funny. And the jokes were the same, over and over again. I think it could have been a good romance book if they had just toned down the over the top office / family antics a bit.
April 19, 2025
Not well written
I tried really hard to like this book, but it was a DNF. The workplace revolution guy Keith is over the top, over done, and way too present in the book. A lot of phrases and conversations are repeated multiple times and the story itself just isn't compelling.
I tried really hard to like this book, but it was a DNF. The workplace revolution guy Keith is over the top, over done, and way too present in the book. A lot of phrases and conversations are repeated multiple times and the story itself just isn't compelling.
April 3, 2025
Fast past and hilarious. This was a great read!
April 28, 2025
Oh man…this one started out with so much potential and then I just don’t know what happened.
December 18, 2025
Cute, fun, and quick read for an escape.
December 24, 2025
Maybe this might have been good without the constant nonsense of the protesting extra characters. A little was funny, but this is way overdone. Quit half way in.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews