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Intimate
Could his lies destroy her marriage?
When Anna refused Porter Deman's despicable demands, she'd no idea he'd plot limitless revenge. Then she was fired. Her reputation was smeared, and her career was ruined.
The only good thing to have come out of her predicament was her relationship with Marsh Hamilton. At first Anna had been too embarrassed to confide the circumstances of her dismissal to Marsh. But she'd meant to--right after their marriage.
Except Marsh found out for himself, and he'd had to conclude that the evidence did not point to Anna's innocence.
When Anna refused Porter Deman's despicable demands, she'd no idea he'd plot limitless revenge. Then she was fired. Her reputation was smeared, and her career was ruined.
The only good thing to have come out of her predicament was her relationship with Marsh Hamilton. At first Anna had been too embarrassed to confide the circumstances of her dismissal to Marsh. But she'd meant to--right after their marriage.
Except Marsh found out for himself, and he'd had to conclude that the evidence did not point to Anna's innocence.
188 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1984
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
November 3, 2015
Every so often in this time period in HPlandia we get a story about a specific social cause. PJ did it with
The Inward Storm and nuclear proliferation, Madeleine Ker has The Wilder Shores of Love about heroin addiction, Claire Harrison's An Independent Woman had environmental restoration as a subplot and Donna Huxley's Intimate talks about a subject most ironic in HPlandia given the amount of blackmail and boss/secretary tropes - sexual harassment in the workplace.
This topic was never openly spoken of in the early 80's when the book came out, Anita Hill wouldn't be for another 6 years and I know from personal and anecdotal experience that sexual harassment was fairly common back then - maybe not to the extent of MadMen - but it did exist, and DH's account of her h's harassment was incredibly true to life in terms of the feelings and trauma endured by the h in this one. Thirty years on and now in an HR role myself, I can only be thankful that workplace socialization has come a very, very long way, but this book is a good example of how it was and how it was handled.
The h works as a corp. information officer, she handles sensitive information and does research for executives (she is a corp librarian basically). She meets the H, who is a lawyer in the DA's office, at work when she runs into him accidentally. He is very interested and asks her out, she agrees and they start a relationship.
While she is meeting and falling in love with the H, she has a problem with another executive who is a nematode parasite, he threatens her with termination if she won't sleep with him. She reports this to her boss, but nothing is done and eventually the slime sets her up with a supposedly stolen sensitive file and she is fired. She again makes a statement that is ignored. Not only that, but she is blackballed from getting another job in her field. This part was very accurate in how the corporate world operated then and how harassment charges were ignored. The h's frustration that no one would listen or care was also well and vividly described.
She goes through a lot of pain and anguish - she has tremendous feelings of shame and degradation- the H proposes and she marries him but doesn't really elaborate on what happened with her job. It is just too painful and she has a lot of guilt and rage associations - she needs time to process her trauma (the exec was brutally nasty and I would akin the scene with him as traumatic as an actual assault).
The H however knows something is wrong, so he gets her employee file from her old work and accuses the h of lying about the harassment and marrying him to pay her little sister's college tuition. True, she did let him pay the tuition, but she was so disgusted and hurt, she just couldn't talk about the situation when he badgers her about it.
They have a really strange relationship, he is totally into her in bed and ignores her the rest of the time, he takes her to a party that he specifically asked her to go meet his colleagues at and then not only doesn't introduce her , he ignores her for OW all night -(I would have left after the first 30 minutes, but she stays to the bitter end) .
In the meantime, she goes about establishing herself in a new career as a maitre d' in a very pricey restaurant. She also sees the H out at a bar (when he was supposed to be working), with one of the OW from the party. Finally the H essentially rapes her and she just can't take anymore. She makes the decision to leave him (which she had been working toward for weeks, she just needed an income) and goes over to a friend's house.
The H magically shows up and rather smugly says he got the executive that got her fired for harassment and that the OW was one who helped him do it. He sorta apologizes and the h announces she is pregnant and HEA.
The body of the story is really, really good and it is very well written, but the end and the H redemption is stunted. I think DH ran out of pages so she had to wrap it up more quickly than what the story line deserved. This H needed to GROVEL-- a lot-- and the reader gets blown off with his statement "I will make it up to you later" - the weakest part of this story is the reconciliation- it was just not developed enough to match the intensity and quality of the rest of the story.
I did believe the H loved her, I did believe he was sorry and he knew the h had left him, but he really should have had to work harder-the h was ready to file for divorce and that is not resolved in two paragraphs - but there just wasn't enough pages to get a good resolution in. He was sorry, but not sorry enough for essentially harassing his wife at home as badly as she was harassed at work.
Still disappointing ending aside, this is one HP that everyone should read, mainly just to get a glimpse of what it was like back in the days before the EOC took up the cause of harassment in the workplace and actually enforced it.
The Inward Storm and nuclear proliferation, Madeleine Ker has The Wilder Shores of Love about heroin addiction, Claire Harrison's An Independent Woman had environmental restoration as a subplot and Donna Huxley's Intimate talks about a subject most ironic in HPlandia given the amount of blackmail and boss/secretary tropes - sexual harassment in the workplace.
This topic was never openly spoken of in the early 80's when the book came out, Anita Hill wouldn't be for another 6 years and I know from personal and anecdotal experience that sexual harassment was fairly common back then - maybe not to the extent of MadMen - but it did exist, and DH's account of her h's harassment was incredibly true to life in terms of the feelings and trauma endured by the h in this one. Thirty years on and now in an HR role myself, I can only be thankful that workplace socialization has come a very, very long way, but this book is a good example of how it was and how it was handled.
The h works as a corp. information officer, she handles sensitive information and does research for executives (she is a corp librarian basically). She meets the H, who is a lawyer in the DA's office, at work when she runs into him accidentally. He is very interested and asks her out, she agrees and they start a relationship.
While she is meeting and falling in love with the H, she has a problem with another executive who is a nematode parasite, he threatens her with termination if she won't sleep with him. She reports this to her boss, but nothing is done and eventually the slime sets her up with a supposedly stolen sensitive file and she is fired. She again makes a statement that is ignored. Not only that, but she is blackballed from getting another job in her field. This part was very accurate in how the corporate world operated then and how harassment charges were ignored. The h's frustration that no one would listen or care was also well and vividly described.
She goes through a lot of pain and anguish - she has tremendous feelings of shame and degradation- the H proposes and she marries him but doesn't really elaborate on what happened with her job. It is just too painful and she has a lot of guilt and rage associations - she needs time to process her trauma (the exec was brutally nasty and I would akin the scene with him as traumatic as an actual assault).
The H however knows something is wrong, so he gets her employee file from her old work and accuses the h of lying about the harassment and marrying him to pay her little sister's college tuition. True, she did let him pay the tuition, but she was so disgusted and hurt, she just couldn't talk about the situation when he badgers her about it.
They have a really strange relationship, he is totally into her in bed and ignores her the rest of the time, he takes her to a party that he specifically asked her to go meet his colleagues at and then not only doesn't introduce her , he ignores her for OW all night -(I would have left after the first 30 minutes, but she stays to the bitter end) .
In the meantime, she goes about establishing herself in a new career as a maitre d' in a very pricey restaurant. She also sees the H out at a bar (when he was supposed to be working), with one of the OW from the party. Finally the H essentially rapes her and she just can't take anymore. She makes the decision to leave him (which she had been working toward for weeks, she just needed an income) and goes over to a friend's house.
The H magically shows up and rather smugly says he got the executive that got her fired for harassment and that the OW was one who helped him do it. He sorta apologizes and the h announces she is pregnant and HEA.
The body of the story is really, really good and it is very well written, but the end and the H redemption is stunted. I think DH ran out of pages so she had to wrap it up more quickly than what the story line deserved. This H needed to GROVEL-- a lot-- and the reader gets blown off with his statement "I will make it up to you later" - the weakest part of this story is the reconciliation- it was just not developed enough to match the intensity and quality of the rest of the story.
I did believe the H loved her, I did believe he was sorry and he knew the h had left him, but he really should have had to work harder-the h was ready to file for divorce and that is not resolved in two paragraphs - but there just wasn't enough pages to get a good resolution in. He was sorry, but not sorry enough for essentially harassing his wife at home as badly as she was harassed at work.
Still disappointing ending aside, this is one HP that everyone should read, mainly just to get a glimpse of what it was like back in the days before the EOC took up the cause of harassment in the workplace and actually enforced it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 15, 2021
OMG, wuht?
The heroine is sexually harassed by her boss, who sets her up to look like a corporate spy and be fired, then secretly inserts a damning letter in her personnel file with false details of the crime and an accusation of her offering sexual favors in exchange for not being prosecuted.
The heroine ends up marrying a lawyer she met recently via her dreadful former job. Her husband, confused about why his lovely, intelligent, competent wife had been fired and is now unable to find a job in her field, sneakily requests her personnel file from the company, pretending she has applied for a job in his office. He reads the indictments in the file and immediately transforms from loving husband to harsh accuser, assuming his wife is guilty and that she married him simply for his financial support.
Their dreadful marriage limps along, with the husband remaining distant and accusatory except for nights of passionate sex, while the heroine acquires a job in a restaurant and plans to leave him as soon as she saves enough money to strike out on her own.
Unfortunately she's not able to get out of there before her husband drags her to a party held by work colleagues, where he proceeds to abandon her for hours while he hangs out with his lawyer friends, including "a stunningly beautiful blonde woman" who cuddles up next to him on the couch where he's laughing with his friends while ignoring his wife's "gentle suggestion" that they leave because she's tired.
What a prize this hero is.
The next day, the heroine sees her husband and the blonde out at a bar. Though she slinks out a back exit, she also decides this is the last straw and that night she asks him for a divorce. He mocks her for her jealousy and rapes her.
The next next day, the heroine receives confirmation from her doctor that she's pregnant (no, not from the rape, this author isn't THAT crazy). She calls a friend from her old hellish workplace to ask for shelter and is welcomed to her apartment. Where, soon after, the hero shows up a completely -- and creepily -- transformed man. Instead of anger and distance and accusations, he has "a curiously friendly and even mischievous look in his eye" as he approaches the heroine and pours out the story of the sting operation he and the OW have run on her harasser that resulted in him being fired. (Seriously, on and on about how awesome the OW was in her undercover role.) He now believes the heroine, and with trust in their relationship restored, they can resume their marriage.
But wait, the heroine interjects on behalf of this very confused reader, who is wondering how he could have treated his wife so cruelly for months while at the same time arranging the sting operation to prove her innocence, "Why didn't you tell me? Why did we have to go on the way we did?"
Let me type out the entirety of the author's gaslighting reply. No, not a hero gaslighting a heroine, but an author attempting to gaslight her readers into accepting utter nonsense in place of coherent narrative logic:
May=the OW.
Deman=the sexually harassing former boss.
Anna=the wife.
Ariel=the French restaurant where the wife was starting her new career.
WHAT THE EFF is this nonsense? His answers for why he treated her like an absolute a** even while he was secretly trying to clear her name were:
1) to protect the other woman
2) because he was still angry that she hadn't cut open a vein and bled for him, and
3) because he was worried she was going to leave him.
I am so completely convinced by this reasoning. Therapist's hero's actions make complete sense to me now.
Gosh, I hope they're invited to another party soon.
Do check boogenhagen's review for an assessment of this story as social history, but I'm reading for romance, and as a romance, this is definitely one-star territory.
The heroine is sexually harassed by her boss, who sets her up to look like a corporate spy and be fired, then secretly inserts a damning letter in her personnel file with false details of the crime and an accusation of her offering sexual favors in exchange for not being prosecuted.
The heroine ends up marrying a lawyer she met recently via her dreadful former job. Her husband, confused about why his lovely, intelligent, competent wife had been fired and is now unable to find a job in her field, sneakily requests her personnel file from the company, pretending she has applied for a job in his office. He reads the indictments in the file and immediately transforms from loving husband to harsh accuser, assuming his wife is guilty and that she married him simply for his financial support.
Their dreadful marriage limps along, with the husband remaining distant and accusatory except for nights of passionate sex, while the heroine acquires a job in a restaurant and plans to leave him as soon as she saves enough money to strike out on her own.
Unfortunately she's not able to get out of there before her husband drags her to a party held by work colleagues, where he proceeds to abandon her for hours while he hangs out with his lawyer friends, including "a stunningly beautiful blonde woman" who cuddles up next to him on the couch where he's laughing with his friends while ignoring his wife's "gentle suggestion" that they leave because she's tired.
What a prize this hero is.
The next day, the heroine sees her husband and the blonde out at a bar. Though she slinks out a back exit, she also decides this is the last straw and that night she asks him for a divorce. He mocks her for her jealousy and rapes her.
The next next day, the heroine receives confirmation from her doctor that she's pregnant (no, not from the rape, this author isn't THAT crazy). She calls a friend from her old hellish workplace to ask for shelter and is welcomed to her apartment. Where, soon after, the hero shows up a completely -- and creepily -- transformed man. Instead of anger and distance and accusations, he has "a curiously friendly and even mischievous look in his eye" as he approaches the heroine and pours out the story of the sting operation he and the OW have run on her harasser that resulted in him being fired. (Seriously, on and on about how awesome the OW was in her undercover role.) He now believes the heroine, and with trust in their relationship restored, they can resume their marriage.
But wait, the heroine interjects on behalf of this very confused reader, who is wondering how he could have treated his wife so cruelly for months while at the same time arranging the sting operation to prove her innocence, "Why didn't you tell me? Why did we have to go on the way we did?"
Let me type out the entirety of the author's gaslighting reply. No, not a hero gaslighting a heroine, but an author attempting to gaslight her readers into accepting utter nonsense in place of coherent narrative logic:
"Several reasons," he sighed. "There was May's cover to consider, and we still didn't have definitive proof of your innocence. After all, there were no traces of Deman's own hand on the computer, either with the classified file or with your doctored personnel file. But most of all, Anna, I'm afraid it was because our quarrel had escalated itself out of all proportion to the situation. I was still mad about the way you'd hidden things from me, and I was in no mood to let you off the hook until I had the goods on Deman. When you sent the file back to Robbins without telling me, it seemed that you were determined to go on keeping your secrets. And last but not least," he frowned, "was your new job at Ariel. I couldn't help thinking you were planning to walk out on me as soon as you'd made enough money. Was I wrong, Anna?"
May=the OW.
Deman=the sexually harassing former boss.
Anna=the wife.
Ariel=the French restaurant where the wife was starting her new career.
WHAT THE EFF is this nonsense? His answers for why he treated her like an absolute a** even while he was secretly trying to clear her name were:
1) to protect the other woman
2) because he was still angry that she hadn't cut open a vein and bled for him, and
3) because he was worried she was going to leave him.
I am so completely convinced by this reasoning. The
Gosh, I hope they're invited to another party soon.
Do check boogenhagen's review for an assessment of this story as social history, but I'm reading for romance, and as a romance, this is definitely one-star territory.
December 18, 2017
Boogenhagen's review has all the plot points you need to know, so I'll just direct you there.
Trope - a marriage in trouble caused by the heroine's embarrassment of being fired after she was sexually harassed at work. That her lawyer husband (who was quick to fall in love and quick to be suspicious of her) couldn't see past his own skepticism about what women put up with in the workplace is a good indicator of just how difficult it was to fight this sort of behavior 30 years ago. And today. *sigh*
I thought the sexual predator in the three-piece suit was the most memorable and well-developed character. The H/h's romance was secondary to the injustice theme, but it was an enjoyable story for the angst the heroine endured. (Some of it was of her own making, btw).
Thankfully, justice was done, the hero learned a hard lesson and the H/h patched up their differences.
To sum up, as they say on Twitter, #metoo.
Trope - a marriage in trouble caused by the heroine's embarrassment of being fired after she was sexually harassed at work. That her lawyer husband (who was quick to fall in love and quick to be suspicious of her) couldn't see past his own skepticism about what women put up with in the workplace is a good indicator of just how difficult it was to fight this sort of behavior 30 years ago. And today. *sigh*
I thought the sexual predator in the three-piece suit was the most memorable and well-developed character. The H/h's romance was secondary to the injustice theme, but it was an enjoyable story for the angst the heroine endured. (Some of it was of her own making, btw).
Thankfully, justice was done, the hero learned a hard lesson and the H/h patched up their differences.
To sum up, as they say on Twitter, #metoo.
July 24, 2021
The poor h being harassed like she was. The guy would not have gotten away with it in this day and age I felt very sorry for her. The H was actually a total jerk he kind of stalked her to find out her "secret" then punished her for not liking the answer he got. Then to add insult to injury he doesn't buy the h's story where's your loyalty pigdog?
This is the book that mentions Solti the composer it stuck out to me as Solti's daughter is the head teacher at my sons school how about that?
This is the book that mentions Solti the composer it stuck out to me as Solti's daughter is the head teacher at my sons school how about that?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 8, 2013
Rating: 4.5.
When I started reading it, I realized I've read it before too... a long long time ago. And yes it's a strong book. Very well written and based on the trust that should exist between spouses. The rating's 4.5 just because I think I would have reacted less rationally than the h did and because I'd have liked the H to repent a little bit more...
When I started reading it, I realized I've read it before too... a long long time ago. And yes it's a strong book. Very well written and based on the trust that should exist between spouses. The rating's 4.5 just because I think I would have reacted less rationally than the h did and because I'd have liked the H to repent a little bit more...
Read
January 5, 2023The plot seemed interesting enough. A vintage Me-Too at the office.
But it was dreary and dull. And boring. So I stopped reading and tried skimming. But even with skimming, I could not persevere.
But it was dreary and dull. And boring. So I stopped reading and tried skimming. But even with skimming, I could not persevere.
July 11, 2021
This book is interesting in that it is about sexual harassment and gender politics faced by women in the workplace in the 80s. It's terrifying to read about how terrible it was for women in the workplace in that era. I think much progress has been made since then but there is a long way to go. I'm really in awe of the strength of the women who fought against this.
The beginning of the book is about how a powerful man tries to blackmail the heroine, an employee in the same company but in a less powerful position, into bed. It is a more realistic take on the hero-blackmailing-the-heroine trope and makes one very uncomfortable. She repudiates his advances and he really comes after her destroying her career with blatant ease.
The beginning of the book is about how a powerful man tries to blackmail the heroine, an employee in the same company but in a less powerful position, into bed. It is a more realistic take on the hero-blackmailing-the-heroine trope and makes one very uncomfortable. She repudiates his advances and he really comes after her destroying her career with blatant ease.
not-for-me
June 8, 2020Could his lies destroy her marriage?
When Anna refused Porter Deman's despicable demands, she'd no idea he'd plot limitless revenge. Then she was fired. Her reputation was smeared, and her career was ruined.
The only good thing to have come out of her predicament was her relationship with Marsh Hamilton. At first Anna had been too embarrassed to confide the circumstances of her dismissal to Marsh. But she'd meant to--right after their marriage.
Except Marsh found out for himself, and he'd had to conclude that the evidence did not point to Anna's innocence.
When Anna refused Porter Deman's despicable demands, she'd no idea he'd plot limitless revenge. Then she was fired. Her reputation was smeared, and her career was ruined.
The only good thing to have come out of her predicament was her relationship with Marsh Hamilton. At first Anna had been too embarrassed to confide the circumstances of her dismissal to Marsh. But she'd meant to--right after their marriage.
Except Marsh found out for himself, and he'd had to conclude that the evidence did not point to Anna's innocence.
June 19, 2023
This was a book worth reading, because it gives insight on just how awful it is to be a victim of sexual harassment, and how cornered and trapped you can feel, no matter how strong and independent a person you believe yourself to be. The h, Anna refuses to submit to Porter, one of the worst horrible creeps in the HP world, and he really makes her suffer for it.
What's worse, is that this book varies from the more common theme of having the h jump to false conclusions by giving the H, Marsh that role instead. Anna wanted to forget what happened, put it behind her as best she could, but unfortunately, Marsh jumps to his own conclusions and thinks the worst of her. He becomes angry, accusative, and emotionally distant, as well as devoting more time to his job and less to her. (There's also an OW involved, but things aren't what they seem, and just because someone redeems himself doesn't prevent you from wanting to punch him in the meantime!)
To Anna's credit, she doesn't do the runaway bit; instead, she stays and fights, hoping to work things out, yet preparing for the time that they may not, and she'll be on her own again. She starts to build a new life, while still hoping salvage the old one. She's very admirable, as well as likeable.
I won't reveal anything else, just tell you to read it!
What's worse, is that this book varies from the more common theme of having the h jump to false conclusions by giving the H, Marsh that role instead. Anna wanted to forget what happened, put it behind her as best she could, but unfortunately, Marsh jumps to his own conclusions and thinks the worst of her. He becomes angry, accusative, and emotionally distant, as well as devoting more time to his job and less to her. (There's also an OW involved, but things aren't what they seem, and just because someone redeems himself doesn't prevent you from wanting to punch him in the meantime!)
To Anna's credit, she doesn't do the runaway bit; instead, she stays and fights, hoping to work things out, yet preparing for the time that they may not, and she'll be on her own again. She starts to build a new life, while still hoping salvage the old one. She's very admirable, as well as likeable.
I won't reveal anything else, just tell you to read it!
February 11, 2023
Going along the premise that this is a typical misogynistic story line typical of the era this was written, any affinity I felt to the female lead was extinguished when she allowed herself to become a doormat to the male lead especially since he was treating her the same as the protagonist in the book. I almost stopped reading a couple of times but thought the HEA would be worth it. What a disappointment. To me she just remained a doormat at the end accepting the male leads weak appolgies for his behavior.
December 7, 2023
here is how I rated this story: 2 stars out of 5 for the romance; 4 stars out of 5 for the portrayal of the Patriarchy and how it aids an abets gendered violence.
The ending is lacklustre and doesn't begin to explain or excuse the hero's behavior. I think it was purposefully done too by ms Huxley. I think the heroine stayed with the hero a bit because he said sorry and mostly because she needed him (her words) financially with all her dependants.
The ending is lacklustre and doesn't begin to explain or excuse the hero's behavior. I think it was purposefully done too by ms Huxley. I think the heroine stayed with the hero a bit because he said sorry and mostly because she needed him (her words) financially with all her dependants.
December 27, 2017
23-كيف سأقنعه
عبير الجديدة
عبير الجديدة
April 24, 2023
Lack of faith, lack of trust, lack of common sense drive this story.
August 8, 2023
The one where the heroine is framed by her sleazy boss and the lawyer hero finds out but doesn’t believe her.
November 22, 2013
Rating 2.5 stars
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews