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After Hours
They were two of a kind
Executive assistant Angie St. Clair knew the office gossips said she and her boss, Rhys Wakefield, were made for each other; they were both cold, intimidating workaholics. But Angie's impersonal facade was her only protection against curious co-workers who might discover the scandalous truth of her past.
Rhys suspected his beautiful assistant wasn't all frosty efficiency. He'd caught glimpses of a sizzling sensuality that threatened to melt his cool composure. But the office wasn't the place to prove his hunch. He'd have to convince Angie they had some unfinished business to attend to ... after hours.
Executive assistant Angie St. Clair knew the office gossips said she and her boss, Rhys Wakefield, were made for each other; they were both cold, intimidating workaholics. But Angie's impersonal facade was her only protection against curious co-workers who might discover the scandalous truth of her past.
Rhys suspected his beautiful assistant wasn't all frosty efficiency. He'd caught glimpses of a sizzling sensuality that threatened to melt his cool composure. But the office wasn't the place to prove his hunch. He'd have to convince Angie they had some unfinished business to attend to ... after hours.
224 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published August 1, 1990
5 people are currently reading
110 people want to read
About the author
Gina Wilkins
380 books84 followersGina is known as: Gina Ferris, Gina Ferris Wilkins and Gina Wilkins. If looking for a specific book please check all names.
Gina Wilkins sold her first book to Harlequin in 1987, and has been writing full-time ever since, publishing more than 90 books for Harlequin/Silhouette. Her books are translated into 20 languages. A lifelong resident of central Arkansas, she attended Arkansas State University, obtaining a degree in journalism. She pursued careers in advertising and human resource development before achieving her lifelong goal of becoming a published writer. The bestselling author is a four-time winner of the prestigious Maggie Award for Excellence sponsored by the Georgia Romance Writers, and has won several awards from the reviewers of Romantic Times magazine. She was a recent nominee for a Career Achievement Award from Romantic Times.
A member of Romance Writers of America, Diamond State Romance Authors and Novelists, Inc., she is a past president of Fiction Writers of Central Arkansas. She is a frequent speaker at writers’ conferences, civic organizations and in middle and senior high schools, where she focuses on literacy and goal setting.
Gina and John, her husband of more than 30 years, have raised three “extraordinary” children, two daughters and a son, all pursuing careers in science and medicine.
Gina Wilkins sold her first book to Harlequin in 1987, and has been writing full-time ever since, publishing more than 90 books for Harlequin/Silhouette. Her books are translated into 20 languages. A lifelong resident of central Arkansas, she attended Arkansas State University, obtaining a degree in journalism. She pursued careers in advertising and human resource development before achieving her lifelong goal of becoming a published writer. The bestselling author is a four-time winner of the prestigious Maggie Award for Excellence sponsored by the Georgia Romance Writers, and has won several awards from the reviewers of Romantic Times magazine. She was a recent nominee for a Career Achievement Award from Romantic Times.
A member of Romance Writers of America, Diamond State Romance Authors and Novelists, Inc., she is a past president of Fiction Writers of Central Arkansas. She is a frequent speaker at writers’ conferences, civic organizations and in middle and senior high schools, where she focuses on literacy and goal setting.
Gina and John, her husband of more than 30 years, have raised three “extraordinary” children, two daughters and a son, all pursuing careers in science and medicine.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
May 9, 2018
Yes!
This is what I’m talking about!
A respectful AND a respectable hero through and through!
He doesn’t only respect heroine as a woman and colleague he respects every one of his female colleagues.
Yes, he’s intimidating, but NOT disrespectful.
He wasn’t a chauvinist neither did he have any double standards whatsoever.
He did have reasons to be frustrated about.
He did have reasons to be insecure about.
However despite everything and heroine’s frosty behaviour he only had very minimal outbursts and he not only promptly apologised he also admitted to himself that any frustration on his part was HIS limitation and his limitation only and he had no right to take it out on her.
If he had feelings for her, that’s on him, she isn’t obligated/obliged to reciprocate. Even if she reciprocated, she’s not obligated to act upon it.
He was patient and was amazing the way he treated her.
She on the other hand HAS learned from her past mistakes.
She DID learn how to evolve from a shallow social butterfly and realised that evolving from that doesn’t mean becoming ice queen but rather becoming a genuine person. Who can have real friends and real love only if she tries a little. So she did. She realised that both her choices will need efforts, whether she decides to shut everyone off or let these friendly people in. So she decided to make the effort to let people in instead of shutting them out.
I loved the romantic aspect too. The hero was more than a decade older than the heroine. He personally thought she deserved better and didn’t know what he had to offer her other than security, but after her father’s betrayal honesty, hard work and security was exactly what she needed.
She also didn’t know what she could offer him apart from her looks and affection. Her father’s ill reputation could ruin his good reputation. However she was a very smart and competent woman and her devotion, loyalty and unconditional love is exactly what the hero needed. Heroine didn’t have security and honesty in her life, Hero didn’t have unconditional love.
And that’s why he kept on demanding to hear those words over and over without making an conscious effort to repeat them and heroine repeated them over and over without brooding over hero’s silence or feeling insecure about his love.
For boogie and my fellow cat lovers, heroine receives a cat from her kid neighbor who then proceeds to become friends. It’s a black and white cat that looks like the “skunk” in Bambi therefore was forever burdened with the name “flower”.
Flower isn’t a plot muppet, hero very “heroically” saves flower from a burning building and both MCs equally love her.
One star down for 1) hero running a private investigation against the heroine because he couldn’t get her to open up. I felt that was violation of privacy. He may have done it for the right reasons, but it was the wrong thing.
2) hero persuading heroine to make up with her father. It didn’t appear she was either happy or comfortable about the whole thing. He also wanted to give him a job and he also admitted he wouldn’t have done it if it wasn’t due to nepotism.
Apart from these minor glitches, I thoroughly enjoyed the book!
Safety: both celibate since meeting each other.
Heroine not a virgin, and probably quite experienced, however her experience isn’t very fulfilling if not entirely unpleasant (it sounded like it was rather unpleasant where she had rather selfish partners) however she hadn’t sworn off sex.
Hero celibate for a while, and it was indicated he didn’t really enjoy ONS or short flings anyway, so the fact heroine had unpleasant sexual past very much balanced out. This was one of the most fairly balanced books I have read.
Rhys:
Angelique:
Flower:
This is what I’m talking about!
A respectful AND a respectable hero through and through!
He doesn’t only respect heroine as a woman and colleague he respects every one of his female colleagues.
Yes, he’s intimidating, but NOT disrespectful.
He wasn’t a chauvinist neither did he have any double standards whatsoever.
He did have reasons to be frustrated about.
He did have reasons to be insecure about.
However despite everything and heroine’s frosty behaviour he only had very minimal outbursts and he not only promptly apologised he also admitted to himself that any frustration on his part was HIS limitation and his limitation only and he had no right to take it out on her.
If he had feelings for her, that’s on him, she isn’t obligated/obliged to reciprocate. Even if she reciprocated, she’s not obligated to act upon it.
He was patient and was amazing the way he treated her.
She on the other hand HAS learned from her past mistakes.
She DID learn how to evolve from a shallow social butterfly and realised that evolving from that doesn’t mean becoming ice queen but rather becoming a genuine person. Who can have real friends and real love only if she tries a little. So she did. She realised that both her choices will need efforts, whether she decides to shut everyone off or let these friendly people in. So she decided to make the effort to let people in instead of shutting them out.
I loved the romantic aspect too. The hero was more than a decade older than the heroine. He personally thought she deserved better and didn’t know what he had to offer her other than security, but after her father’s betrayal honesty, hard work and security was exactly what she needed.
She also didn’t know what she could offer him apart from her looks and affection. Her father’s ill reputation could ruin his good reputation. However she was a very smart and competent woman and her devotion, loyalty and unconditional love is exactly what the hero needed. Heroine didn’t have security and honesty in her life, Hero didn’t have unconditional love.
And that’s why he kept on demanding to hear those words over and over without making an conscious effort to repeat them and heroine repeated them over and over without brooding over hero’s silence or feeling insecure about his love.
For boogie and my fellow cat lovers, heroine receives a cat from her kid neighbor who then proceeds to become friends. It’s a black and white cat that looks like the “skunk” in Bambi therefore was forever burdened with the name “flower”.
Flower isn’t a plot muppet, hero very “heroically” saves flower from a burning building and both MCs equally love her.
One star down for 1) hero running a private investigation against the heroine because he couldn’t get her to open up. I felt that was violation of privacy. He may have done it for the right reasons, but it was the wrong thing.
2) hero persuading heroine to make up with her father. It didn’t appear she was either happy or comfortable about the whole thing. He also wanted to give him a job and he also admitted he wouldn’t have done it if it wasn’t due to nepotism.
Apart from these minor glitches, I thoroughly enjoyed the book!
Safety: both celibate since meeting each other.
Heroine not a virgin, and probably quite experienced, however her experience isn’t very fulfilling if not entirely unpleasant (it sounded like it was rather unpleasant where she had rather selfish partners) however she hadn’t sworn off sex.
Hero celibate for a while, and it was indicated he didn’t really enjoy ONS or short flings anyway, so the fact heroine had unpleasant sexual past very much balanced out. This was one of the most fairly balanced books I have read.
Rhys:
Angelique:
Flower:
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 17, 2019
It was ok. Most importantly, it was safe. The hero and heroine both were celibate for some time. The hero maintains a workaholic and respectable image through his employees and the heroine was his perfect assistant. They were attracted to each other and later fall in love. The book ended with a happy epilogue. No OW and No OM drama. The progress of this book was slow, so I have to say I got bored sometimes. I loved flower (Angie's cat name) and other characters were likable too. Overall, not great, but an ok read.
Kiki wrote a great review about it. Check his out. Kiki's review
Kiki wrote a great review about it. Check his out. Kiki's review
August 9, 2020
This was quite enjoyable and satisfying.
I like the sweet and soothing flavor of the 90s HP, as they moved from the overdramatic h/H clashes of the 80s - perhaps a homage to feminism and Mars/Venus theories.
But yes, the office romance still flourished.
The h is cool, sophisticated and beautiful, not the most qualified for the job as the H's PA but he hires her immediately as the brash newly-minted-graduate interviewees put him off. The H also has a reputation as a cold and boorish boss.
She has secrets and so keeps a distance from everyone while he's never known closeness in his life.
The rest of the employee give them a clear berth.
The obvious attraction that they both try to ignore conflagrates and I totally loved/enjoyed their intimacy. These two lost souls so deserved happiness and love especially as they had plenty of it to give. The silver haired brooding H is damn hot and when he falls, he falls like a ton of bricks. I love the way he calls her 'Boston'.
I like this author's voice and will read her again.
I like the sweet and soothing flavor of the 90s HP, as they moved from the overdramatic h/H clashes of the 80s - perhaps a homage to feminism and Mars/Venus theories.
But yes, the office romance still flourished.
The h is cool, sophisticated and beautiful, not the most qualified for the job as the H's PA but he hires her immediately as the brash newly-minted-graduate interviewees put him off. The H also has a reputation as a cold and boorish boss.
She has secrets and so keeps a distance from everyone while he's never known closeness in his life.
The rest of the employee give them a clear berth.
The obvious attraction that they both try to ignore conflagrates and I totally loved/enjoyed their intimacy. These two lost souls so deserved happiness and love especially as they had plenty of it to give. The silver haired brooding H is damn hot and when he falls, he falls like a ton of bricks. I love the way he calls her 'Boston'.
I like this author's voice and will read her again.
April 29, 2018
This one was a nice oldie. The heroine is 26 and a little closed off because her life has completely changed in the past year and she is trying to rebuild herself. She used to be a rich girl until it all came crashing down when her dad was arrested. The hero is 40 and dedicated to his work. He hires the heroine despite her sparse resume and they share a cordial work relationship. But six months in things change when the hero falls sick. I enjoyed the romance in this one. The hero wanted more while the heroine was still licking her wounds from the past year. He was crazy about her and the first to say I love you and even asked her to move in and marry him. All in all a nice read.
July 15, 2019
Amazing.
One star extra because there is no ow and the hero is celibate even before meeting the heroine.
Perfect.
One star extra because there is no ow and the hero is celibate even before meeting the heroine.
Perfect.
November 9, 2016
Rhys
Angelique
This book is dated, some part of the story is so cheesy my teeth hurts, but this is the book when you really wants a cheesy predictable yet no angst and stress free book.
Since older man and younger woman trope is one of my favorite type of book and seeing that it only has a little review i'll just sum up the story.
Rhys is a classic type of workaholic, he breaths work he eats work, his life's revolves around his work.
Hes looking for a dedicated and hardworking assistant, but most of the applicants are a fresh graduates that thinks they could help makes the company grows. In come angelique, with her, you know, angelique like face (insert cliche here), she may be too good looking but she fits his criteria of what hes looking for in an assistant.
And then the story continues with a push and pull romance, a dead beat father and a lonely hero and heroine. Which we all know what the end will be.
Angelique
This book is dated, some part of the story is so cheesy my teeth hurts, but this is the book when you really wants a cheesy predictable yet no angst and stress free book.
Since older man and younger woman trope is one of my favorite type of book and seeing that it only has a little review i'll just sum up the story.
Rhys is a classic type of workaholic, he breaths work he eats work, his life's revolves around his work.
Hes looking for a dedicated and hardworking assistant, but most of the applicants are a fresh graduates that thinks they could help makes the company grows. In come angelique, with her, you know, angelique like face (insert cliche here), she may be too good looking but she fits his criteria of what hes looking for in an assistant.
And then the story continues with a push and pull romance, a dead beat father and a lonely hero and heroine. Which we all know what the end will be.
July 6, 2021
The most average of average fare books. I’d jumped in cuz it was a boss/secretary story and I was looking for some zing. The book is rather old fashioned and predictable and has a sweet OTT protective H and a nice girl for an h. Didn’t like that she didn’t have the v-card on her. No angst.
The h has just started working for the H. She’s a knockout blonde and is the most beautiful thing the H has ever seen. They work pretty professionally without anyone slipping off their mask for a while. One office party eve the h gets drunk and they start on their affair.
I thought the h was rather easy. There isn’t much banter and they get along pretty well. There’s a bit of a reveal of the h’s background but the H is one step ahead and ready to face it with his charms.
They have their rushed HEA after a slight mishap. Nothing too remember.
The h has just started working for the H. She’s a knockout blonde and is the most beautiful thing the H has ever seen. They work pretty professionally without anyone slipping off their mask for a while. One office party eve the h gets drunk and they start on their affair.
I thought the h was rather easy. There isn’t much banter and they get along pretty well. There’s a bit of a reveal of the h’s background but the H is one step ahead and ready to face it with his charms.
They have their rushed HEA after a slight mishap. Nothing too remember.
August 9, 2015
It's official. I've become a fan of Gina Wilkins. This is the second book of hers that I've read, the first being A Stroke of Genius, and although I don't think I'll ever find a book as good as the first, this one comes pretty close.
This book was pretty good. Both characters were very likable. I love how the romance developed slowly, but strongly. Gina Wilkins seems to put more depth into her characters than I've seen in any other romance books. It makes for a really great story.
This. These are the kinds of books I'm looking for. Books about ROMANCE, not SEX. Although, that isn't to say there isn't some nice romantic sex scenes in there.
This book was pretty good. Both characters were very likable. I love how the romance developed slowly, but strongly. Gina Wilkins seems to put more depth into her characters than I've seen in any other romance books. It makes for a really great story.
This. These are the kinds of books I'm looking for. Books about ROMANCE, not SEX. Although, that isn't to say there isn't some nice romantic sex scenes in there.
June 15, 2012
3.5 stars
November 13, 2017
2.5 stars.
August 31, 2024
Decent read
Nothing great about it.
Nothing great about it.
May 31, 2016
Kindle Amazon
File Size: 448 KB
Print Length: 220 pages
Publisher: DMLA Publishing (March 22, 2012)
Publication Date: March 22, 2012
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
Language: English
ASIN: B007NYCIZ6
Text-to-Speech: Enabled
X-Ray:
Not Enabled
Word Wise: Not Enabled
Lending: Enabled
Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled
File Size: 448 KB
Print Length: 220 pages
Publisher: DMLA Publishing (March 22, 2012)
Publication Date: March 22, 2012
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
Language: English
ASIN: B007NYCIZ6
Text-to-Speech: Enabled
X-Ray:
Not Enabled
Word Wise: Not Enabled
Lending: Enabled
Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled
January 20, 2014
Made me cry. Dramatic. Not too sexy.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews