Just His Secretary by Donna Jeffries

Synopsis:

She's just his secretary…until he needs someone on his arm to convince his mother that he can take over the family business. Then Callie becomes Dawson's girlfriend—but just in his text messages…but maybe she'll start to worm her way into his shriveled heart too.

Callie:
Dawson Houser makes sure everyone who comes into the office knows I'm "just his secretary."

Heck, I've even said it to suppliers and CEOs when they smile knowingly at the two of us during business meetings. He scowls and grumps around the office afterward, as if the two of us dating is the most ridiculous thing on the planet.

Dawson can handle them. I can handle them—and him too, once they leave. And he's no picnic, let me tell you.

Who can't we handle?

His mother.

When Lila Houser comes to town with her faux furs and fashion sunglasses, she only has one question for her spoiled rotten son: When are you going to get married, Dawson, darling?

I expect him to laugh and tell her he's never getting married. I mean, I've heard those exact words come out of his mouth.

Instead, he pulls me to his side and says, "Maybe sooner than you think, Mother."

Oh, that Lila Houser can make a woman feel two inches tall with a simple up-down look. I think I'm a pretty good catch...no matter what my last three boyfriends say.

When Lila says, "I thought Callie was just your secretary," I suddenly want to prove her dead wrong...

My Review: 4 Stars

Y'all know how much I love finding new authors to try. What you probably don't know is, while searching for said authors, I ALWAYS check Goodreads to see if any of my friends have read their books. And when they haven't I get really excited. It's like finding gold at the end of the rainbow.

From the moment I read the synopsis, I was intrigued and could not wait for this book to be released. How long have I had my eye on it? For about a month. I may or may not have let out a little squeal as I was one-clicking this baby.

Callie is a very strong, independent woman who knows what she wants in life and is not afraid to go out and get it. Her self-confidence is rather inspiring. She's definitely someone I can see myself being friends with. You can't help but want to do better and be better when she's around. Dawson is a prime example for that.

Speaking of Dawson, the man can definitely be a beast to others around him. He's jaded and stuck in his ways. That is until Callie starts working her magic without him even realizing it. Watching him transform into a better person and seeing their relationship develop was a fun journey.

While I really enjoyed the book and had a hard time putting it down, there were a couple of things that stopped me from giving it the full 5 stars I wanted to give it. The main reason is there are parts of the book that just didn't make sense to me. People were hot and cold for reasons that readers are not shown. There's miscommunication that didn't fit who the characters are. The other part is there are some grammatical and editing errors throughout the book that beta readers and/or the editor should have caught.

But, like I said, it didn't stop me from enjoying the book. I was only about 23% in before I reached out to one amazing friend and about 34% in before I reached out to another amazing friend telling them both that they have to give this book a try! I may or may not have told one... she had me at "power panties"! 🤣

I am definitely looking forward to the rest of the books in this series. I've already read the sneak peek of Tara and Alec's book and I cannot wait to discovery their story!

This is Ms. Jeffries debut novel and I can already tell she's going places. I can't wait to see where her writing journey takes her.

As for my casting... *dreamy sigh* Y'all! I'm in love! What do you think?!