Was I the only one hoping the CEO was a lady? Surely this business dynamic could set a gentleman to work AT THE CEO'S PLEASURE. The author Yahrah St. John decided to reflect the reality where most big businesses are still run by men. Ayden Stewart owns an investment firm in Austin, Texas. He had a good education but after that, he built his firm from the ground up. When his assistant Carolyn Foster announces that she won't be returning after her maternity leave, he starts to realise how much work is done by others. Like Carolyn and her predecessor Maya Richardson, who left after they briefly crossed the line between employer and employee.

We meet Maya when she's just reconciling with family over past wounds. However, she also learns that her mother has a serious illness. Her emotions are in turmoil when Ayden walks back into her life, and she's not sure she wants to return to the man she still admires. Ayden makes it clear he just wants his workaholic assistant back, no more. Does he really believe that himself? He's willing to pay very good terms. Only the thought of how her mother might be helped persuades the lady to accept the offer.

Over the past five years, of course, changes occurred. The office, once beige, is now stark with primary colours, like Google's, and Maya now dresses in rich reds, unlike the dark business suits she used to favour. I was amused that Ayden still wants his own office to be like a man's study rather than a modern computer-centred business station. In just this way, he starts acting as though the personal lines are blurred like in the past, instead of with professionalism. Maya has to wonder what his feelings and intentions are, but she doesn't want to risk saying the wrong thing and wrecking her job. A client of the firm asks Maya out, presenting possible conflicts of interest. But she's single, and there's no law against going to dinner.

I enjoyed seeing the tangles unravel as the characters got on with their busy, talented lives. Maya is by far the more complex character since Ayden is rather single-minded. He has family issues too, we discover. I particularly enjoyed the polo match and the aftermath which makes Ayden dependent on his assistant. AT THE CEO'S PLEASURE by Yahrah St. John is in a series called The Stewart Heirs which focuses on an African-American family prospering and falling in love. This is an adult romance.

Book Summary

“What do you want from me?”

“I want you back.”

He’d broken his “no office affair” policy once and lost his best assistant. Now rich businessman Ayden Stewart needs Maya Richardson back…at any price. Taking the job, Maya tells herself the years apart have cooled their chemistry. So why are they breaking rule number one again…and again? Ayden makes her want what she can never have—real love. Will it be different this time?