Rude Boss

by Tina Martin

I need a job, but...

I should’ve listened to everyone who warned me about Essex DePaul, the millionaire CEO of his own tax firm. He’s one of the most handsome men I’ve ever seen. He has eyes that make you forget to swallow, a dazzling smile guaranteed to make your heart race, and a face you’d surely never forget. Everything about him is perfect—everything except his attitude.

He’s one of the rudest, most callous men I’ve ever met. He takes rude to an unprecedented level. At work, they call him ‘The Dictator’. Look at him the wrong way and you’re fired. Say something out-of-line and you’re out on your tail.

So, why do I work here? The money. I’m broke with no hope, living with my best friend in a cramped two-bedroom apartment. I need my own place and for some unfathomable reason, Mr. DePaul has agreed to pay me double the salary for an accounting position. With that much money, I should be able to put up with his attitude, shouldn’t I?

Rude Boss is book 1 of a 2 book series!

Genres: Enemies To Lovers, Contemporary, African American Romance

266 pages, Paperback

Published June 22, 2022

About the author

TINA MARTIN is a talented, romantic suspense fiction writer and the author of over 95 titles. She enjoys Hallmark movies, running and traveling. (PLEASE NOTE: There are multiple authors with this name on Goodreads. If you're following me, look for my logo!)

Amazon: amazon.com/author/tinamartin
Instagram: instagram.com/tinamartinauthor
Facebook: facebook.com/tinamartinauthor

Her books are listed below:

An Unlikely Love Series
When I Needed You
When You Needed Me
Flicker: An Ahmalee + Cain Update
-
Back to Love Series
Marriage Quarrel in Quarantine
Countdown to You
Offsides: A Superbowl Party Romance
Crushed
-
A St. Claire Novel Series:
Royal
Ramsey
Romulus
Regal
Magnus
Honeymoon With A St. Claire
Major
Zander
Zavier
-
St. Claire Life Series
Honeymoon With A St. Claire
Just Being Us (Prequel to Zander)
Keep That Same Energy (Zander & Alyssa Update
-
St. Claire Women Series
Gemma
-
Season of Love Novelettes:
Hot Chocolate
Spring Break
-
The Marriage Chronicles:
Life's A Beach
Falling Out
War Then Love
-
The Boardwalk Bakery Romance:
Baked With Love
Baked With Love 2
Baked With Love 3
-
A Lennox in Love Series:
Claiming You
Making You My Business
Wishing That I Was Yours
Caught in the Storm with a Lennox
Before You Say I Do
Winter Wonder
Winter Wedding
The Weekend
-
The Love of Elias Series:
Been In Love With You
When Hearts Cry
You Belong To Me
When I Call You Mine
Who Do You Love
Forever Mine
-
The Blackstone Family Series:
Evenings With Bryson
Leaving Barringer
Forever Us
The Things Everson Lost
Candy's Corporate Crush
-
The Champion Brothers Series:
His Paradise Wife
When A Champion Wants You
The Best Thing He Never Knew He Needed
Wives And Champions
The Way Champions Love
His By Spring (A Champion Sister Novel)
A Champion's Proposal
The Convenient Husband
At The Right Time
-
The Alexander Series:
The Millionaire's Arranged Marriage
Watch Me Take Your Girl
Her Premarital Ex
The Object of His Obsession
Dilvan's Redemption
His Charity Challenge
Different Tastes
As Long As We Got Love
-
The Accidental Series:
Accidental Deception
Accidental Heartbreak
Accidental Lovers
Accidental Vows
-
The Dying to Love Her Series:
Dying To Love Her
Dying To Love Her 2
Dying To Love Her 3
-
The Dare and Deja Chronicles
Reception Romance
Long Distance Troubles
Back to the Valley
Into Forever
-
Standalone Titles:
Secrets On Lake Drive
Can't Just Be His Friend
The Baby Daddy Interviews
Just Like New to the Next Man
Falling Again
The Crush
Vacation Interrupted
Wasn't Supposed to Love Her
What Wifey Wants
Man of Her Dreams
Bae Watch
How To Love Me
Weekend Fiance: A Jared and KeShana InstaLove Story
For Ruby: A Micah & Georgiana Short Story
Snowed in at Shenandoah Valley

Reviews

[Dahyana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essex x Quintessa

This story was different and complex. Essex Depaul was an extremely wealthy executive who owned and runs one of the biggest tax companies in the panhandle. Although he's an åsṣhole to the umpteenth degree, he has some loyal employees. He hired Quintessa after a not so impressive “interview”. Essex exuded all the sexiness and BDE. But my goodness, he was rude, he was crass, he was intrusive and he had no regard for others feelings. If arrogant was a person, it would be Essex Dupaul. If I were Quintessa, I would’ve walked out after the first “Be quiet”...Oh yea, Essex told her to “Be quiet” during the interview. Not once, but twice.
But Essex was a very layered man. He had everything, all the things money could buy. The cars…luxury cars, the mansion, the condos, the brands, but yet, he had nothing. He lived such a sad and lonely life. I wanted to hug that man cause he was so lost in his identity. It makes you think, and honestly, it’s quite sad.
Quintessa was so lovable. She was in a rough season in her life after being laid off, but after landing that job at Mr. Depaul’s company, she slowly started to get back on her feet. I truly loved Quin. She didn’t let Essex intimidate her at all with his insufferable attitude. But when it came to Quin, he came off weird, a little creepy and cute, sweet and sexy at the same time. I know! I have toxic tendencies cause I loved his nutty and crass behavior. The ending was quite abrupt, but I enjoyed part I. It was very entertaining, and although new to me, the narrator did pretty well. Off to book II to see how this twist plays out and how Quin is going to receive the reveal.
4.8⭐️

[Antoinette (_literaryaura_) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

['The Book Queen' · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rude Boss is a real slow-burn love story. Although he is the most attractive man, his heart is so blemished that he is almost unattractive. And poor Quintessa needed a giant hug for most of the first story.

[Dana · Rating 2 out of 5]

He comes across as abusive

I wanted to like him especially with his childhood trauma however he's basically stalking her, abusing her because he's constant grabbing her arm and stalking her. I get demanding CEO but nothing about this is romantic. As an advocate for domestic violence victims the author should add a trigger warning at the beginning. I've read plenty of books where the boss is rude and mean but he is creepy.

[Meka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chaotic and intriguing
The MMC was not relatable nor likable. He was definitely the true definition of Rude. He was not attracting good energy with his weird behavior. He seemed manic and irrational, childish and deceitful. FMC seemed to think the same thing, but she was beginning to have feelings for him. I like that she stands her ground, but she doesn’t or can’t seem to stop his strange behavior. Tina Martin did a good job writing this book- it flowed well and was consistent, but the book is different than anything I’ve read. I was stuck between a 3 and 4 star for this review.

[Debra Thomas · Rating 1 out of 5]

Rude Boss Book 1

This take of Beauty and the Beast falls short for me. The entire book with the characters being at at odds is a turn off for me. The male main character appears to be just too weird. I feel so sad 😭 for the female character being harassed by the psycho boss. This is the first book by this author I had not enjoyed or finished reading. 😥😥 🤔 Not a good read for me. I will still other books by Ms. Martin but not book 2 of this series.

[ReadnliftwithShar · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a different plot, not the grumpy boss aspect, but the fact that Essex is essentially a new man. I liked Quintessa’s character. She held her own and didn’t let Essex have the upper hand. I am curious to see how their story progresses because at some point she will figure out who Essex is and I need to know how he twists his story. Lol. This was a good read and the ending, all the built up frustrations between the two.. whew! Cannot wait for book two.

[Beverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

IF OUT OF CONTROL WAS A PERSON👀

Okay this was definitely no where near what I was expecting 😂😂and yes I read the synopsis 😂.

If out of control was a person it would be Essex DePaul🤦🏽‍♀️. I empathized with him somewhat after reading his back story,yet I was disappointed in how his whole persona changed
When it came to his interactions with the two people who loved him the most, his parents. Even though he seemed to realize his mom was in poor health he couldn’t bring himself to be the person she knew him to be deep down. And I. The end I knew he would come to regret it 😔

Essex was so convinced that the women he was secretly in love with,Quintessa Bailey, was going to recognize him even though he looked totally different from their high school days , that he was totally out of control by the way he manipulated her life in order to make sure he could be near him. At the beginning of this book he had me laughing and thinking he has got to know he will never win her heart like this. Not to mention the fact that I felt like he needed to be diagnosed and put on medication 🤦🏽‍♀️🤨.

I have to admit with all the craziness that took place I enjoyed the book and I appreciated the fact that it was overflowing with profanity. The book left me with oh no not a cliff hanger kinda face. Thank goodness book two is ready to be read.
I hope Essex can get it together or he may very well never experience his HEA🤷🏽‍♀️

[BossyLadi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the story but cannot stand the MMC, Essex. He is the boss and he got issues! This dude has anger management problems and residual issues from his trauma being a fat ugly kid. Now that he's had a glow up, he doesn't know how to act. Not to mention the FMC is the only girl that was nice to him during his ugly duckling phase. They lost touch and now Essex looks completely different and changed his name. He's a completely different person. Partly bc he's had plastic surgery and looks completely different. Quinn, the FMC, applies for a job at Essex's company. Essex is an asshole to her and it doesn't go well but she gets the job anyway. Essex is the CEO and he's basically stalking this girl. He buys her random shit, shows up to her house, meets her parents, and invites himself places she's attending. All along his personality is flipping between evil ogre and creepy nice-ish stalker. Quinn wasn't much better bc she wasn't doing a good job of putting him in his place. I get he's her boss but dude was crossing major lines. He completely creeped me out and his attitude was borderline abusive. I really did not like this dude. Onto book 2. I gotta know how he plans to let her know he is the same fat dude from high school.

[Marlanna - facts_from_fiction · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the Grumpy Boss trope, so of course, Rude Boss was on my list of books to read. I loved the storyline and honestly, I couldn’t put the book down once I started reading. Which, let me point out that I typically grow tired of the back & forth between main characters, but that didn’t happen with this one.

Now, learn from my mistake. Somehow, I missed the memo about this being a 2-part series, and I was PISSED when the book ended. I literally yelled “I know Tina didn’t!!!” because girl, she left my ass hanging.

A little about the book:

Quintessa is down bad and can’t seem to catch a break when it comes to finding new employment. Essex is the CEO of an accounting firm, and “coincidentally” has a position open at his firm. Perfect right?!?! Yeah…NO. Because Essex is rude AF, and Quintessa is not afraid to match his energy.

And to make things worse, Essex is not who he appears to be. Tuh! The audacity. When I say this man got some splainin’ to do. I don’t know how he’s going to get himself out of the web of lies he’s tangled all up and through, but part 2 is gonna be gooooood. I can feel it.

[NubianJoí · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ms Martin, “Rude Boss” book 1 is my introduction to your literary catalog. Be aware my review is not an reflection, indictment nor an insult to your writing prowess. Rather an expression of the character you’ve presented. WTAH…this dude 😤🤬‼️Where the heck is the HR Director? ..this work environment is toxic and hostile! I can’t imagine the number of complaints The DePaul Company on dehalf of its’ CEO (must) receives regularly. Essex DePaul is an insufferable ignorant tyrant! Diplomatically, he’s a magnanimous arrogant vial recital secretion. Clearly amassing millions of dollars in material wealth hasn’t afforded him (Essex/Stuart whatever🙄) an innate filter, decency, kindness, humanity and or gratitude toward his most invaluable asset - his employees. Thereafter, Quintessa is a tax accountant, why is she justifying this moron’s hostile, intimidating & condescending behaviors? …and now she is Essex’s personal psychoanalyst superwoman extraordinaire. 🤦🏾‍♀️ FYI, advanced notice I’m reading book 2 under distress & protest …& I’m nosy 🤷🏾‍♀️😊‼️

[Dr. Nic Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rude Boss…Lawd I really do not know what to say. Essex DePaul, the millionaire CEO AKA the Rude Boss, is a complete mess. The first few chapters he was really giving stalker vibes, but I digress.

Rude is not even the word to really describe this man. I don’t know how poor Quintessa can stand to work there. I mean, they call him ‘The Dictator’ at work. Everyone there is on pins and needles and scared to even look at the man. Like the synopsis says, "if you look at him the wrong way, you’re fired." Who can work under that kind of pressure? OMG?!?!

This was my first book by this author. She really was able to bring that RUDE persona to life in this character. So much so that I could never imagine myself working there, LOL. I definitely have to read Book 2, though, to find out what happens.

Overall, the author did a great job creating a tense and high-pressure work environment that kept me on edge. Despite my reservations about the male lead, I am curious to see how the story unfolds in the next book.

[Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why’d I have to be left on a cliff hanger like that! This book actually flew by. I love workplace romance (not in real life- too messy) but this took me through all the emotions.

Love, love, love Quintessa. The name, the attitude, the demeanor, I loved her. She was truly herself with no regard. and her best friend was a real one. She was actually there for her. Loved their relationship and the realness in it.

I don’t know what to say about Essex, if he wants Tessa to know who he is- he should tell her. Give her a hint, the candy didn’t do it, a lot of people like circus peanuts- I’m one. You have to do better sir and that kiss- ah he should have tried to talk to her more before. Idk let’s see what happens in book 2.

[Vaneka Rich · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG, Rude Boss is the perfect title for this story and I loved it! Essex is definitely the boss from hell that nobody likes, yet he's so handsomely sexy. I loved the back and fourth between him & Quintessa... it was entertaining and frustrating all at the same time. You can't help but to have a love/hate thing for Essex. Quintessa's my girl thou! I feel like she's gonna get Essex right. Oh and that cliffhanger left my mouth hanging wide open and I can't wait for book 2 to drop! Great job Tina!

[Paula Roachford · Rating 4 out of 5]

lives up to the title

OMG this guy smh
Rude is his first and middle name
Essex is the CEO of a financial company. He rules with an iron fist. But he has a secret. The object of his desire is Tessa and they share a connection she isn’t aware of. In the meantime his rudeness gets in the way of forming even a friendship. He’s a mess but you know there is a lot of hurt behind his actions. This is a two part story so will he get the girl?

[Rochelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

You wont be disappointed

OK. Not what I was expecting when I opened the book, but it was good. Now I'm all for a new look new you, but essex attitude went straight to his head. He really need to speak to a therapist. Apparently he is still harboring feeling from when he was younger. He has a lot of misplaced anger. And if Quinn was his high school crush, why not tell her or give her hints about who he was. Ugh, can't wait to start on book two

[Nevada · Rating 3 out of 5]

Starts off kinda corny fat boy gets ripped and plastic surgery and gets a powerful job.
Persistent little booger - the CEO
To this is definitely a story, ain't nobody letting a stranger do all that.
The smart mouth was unbearable.
Rude Boss should've been insecure butthole boss.
The book was good, but unbelievable.
I would classify as a beach read. Light hearted reunited love story or is it....

[Terra Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed the audiobook

The plot twist in this story that only the reader was in on made this a nonstop listen for me. Now on to book 2 to find out how it all shakes out. Essex was a character like no other! But Quintessa most definitely held her own when it came to standing up for herself against him. I was thoroughly entertained by their interactions and so far Tina Martin hasn't let me down with her storytelling!

[Ann-Marie Herod · Rating 4 out of 5]

such a good start

Man, I am really glad that I picked up the story. The premise of it is actually pretty good and it’s a different take for sure on a work place romance. I’m excited to read book 2. This one definitely laid the groundwork and to say the least the title is definitely literal. Essex is a rude boss and as a reader, I went back-and-forth with liking him and disliking him.

[ceciliamcneill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

From beginning to the end this book was good. I hated to get to the end .I can't wait for the next chapters of Essex and Quintessa. This story keep you wondering if she was going to find out who he really was ,and if she was going too be happy,sad or just more confuse of why he behave the way he did .

[Shone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do As I Say

I was not ready for that cliffhanger of an ending. Ms.Martin is the queen of cliffhangers but this one was shocking. The title is fitting from start to finish. I have pre-order book 2 , can not wait to see what Essex does next.

#Cillasbookmaniacs #MamaToni'sbooknook #Bully #family #Rude

[Tameka · Rating 5 out of 5]

so good

This book was amazing, I can’t wait for book two. I just couldn’t put it away after opening it this morning. I’ve been anticipating this release for weeks an I’ve finally got the chance to read it. Was such an amazing book ,storyline was awesome. Keep up the great work Tina.

[Darlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥 🔥

Essex DePaul is one sexy rude boss. I was hooked from beginning to end. Loved the hostile but underline chemistry that slowly burned beneath the surface until it ignited into a full blown flame. There has to be more because Ms. Martin left us on the edge of a cliff eagerly awaiting for the conclusion! Hurry please!

[CaseyTheCrazyCatLady · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cliffhanger!!!

This was a pretty good book. It started off kinda slow, but eventually got good. It's just that as soon as it got GOOD-GOOD, it ended on a cliffhanger. The second book comes out next week, so at least I don't have to wait an eternity to read it! It was also kind of predictable, but I don't mind predictability as long as the storyline itself is good, and it was.

[Ms Jazzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I Would Like To Snuff His Pompus Arrogant A$$ Out Myself

Did Essex DePaul seriously think a physical makeover would change who he was inside?
Money WONT change you..it can bring you creature comforts but it never brings you love which he is finally figuring out.
Highly recommended. Cant wait to complete Rude Boss 3

[Samantha Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eloquently written. I loved how the book portrayed the character’s and their vulnerability. Stewart aka DePaul has changed. But his heart loves the same woman from high school, Quintessa Bailey. The challenges he went through to find his love. It’s been over 15 years since they’ve seen one another. Reading their love story was breathtaking. I’d love to see this as a movie.

[Sheryll Gordon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ready for book 2!

I’ve always enjoy reading Tina Martin’s books. They start off with a slow burn, I like the internal dialogue the characters have with themselves. I just hate that I have to wait for book two.😕

[Doretha Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Too Short

Listen, I truly enjoyed this book but if I had known that I’ll finish the main synopsis of the book and still have to get another to hopefully finish it( that is if the second one finishes it) because I tell you truly I’ll be truly upset,

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

Great characters
Great connections
Great drama
Great friendly banter and descriptions
Looking forward to reading next book
Hopefully !or connection and chemistry to come

[Olubunmi Akinadewo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting Story

Wow this was a funny but endearing story. I am looking forward to part two when Essex finally reveals who he is to Quintessa. This story is a bit different from what I read but it was very refreshing and romantic