Just Business by Anna Zabo

**** 1/2

From the thrilling new author of Takeover, a steamy new novel about having all the control—and losing it…

Note from the author: This is the followup to Takeover and features Justin and Eli. Sam and Michael are fairly important characters in this book as well.

Justin White may not look like an up and coming corporate superstar, but his new boss knows he has the smarts, grit, and determination to succeed. Now he just has to convince his company’s CFO, Eli Ovadia. Unfortunately, Justin can’t seem to keep his cool around the domineering Eli—and soon he finds himself taking their heat from the boardroom into the bedroom….

Still haunted by a tragic accident that left him with a wounded leg and broken heart, Eli has a need to be in control. But his desire for Justin makes him want to lose that control—and push them both far beyond their limits. But will his need to dominate Justin drive him away—or will Eli find a way to be the man he needs for both of them? 

Review:

Last year I had the pleasure of reading Takeover by Anna Zabo.  I fell hard for the MC’s, Sam and Michael and I couldn’t wait for Anna Zabo’s next book in the series.  Just Business is the story of Eli and Justin.  Eli is the CFO for Sam’s (of Takeover fame) new company.   Justin is the barista in the coffee shop below their office.  

Justin’s barista gig is just a side job until he finishes his MBA at Carnegie Mellon.  But when he overhears coffee shop regulars, Sam and Eli, discussing hiring an assistant, Justin is determined to get the job.   Taking a chance, he gives Sam his resume while serving his coffee.  Sam is impressed by his resume and his education enough to give him an interview. Eli, however, is not as impressed.  Justin’s painted nails and emo-style of dress does not fit into Eli’s box of what is considered acceptable in the business world.  But Justin is determined to land this job and shows up for his interview in his one suit. But he leaves the nail polish on just to piss Eli off.  Of course, he lands the job.

Eli doesn’t know why the new assistant bugs him so much.  Maybe it’s his lack of professional attire. Or to be more honest with himself, it might be that Eli finds Justin to be extremely attractive.  Especially when he follows through with requests with such a submissive air.  But it doesn’t matter.  One, Eli doesn’t do relationships.  Two, if he did, he certainly wouldn’t date a co-worker.  Particularly a co-worker that technically works for him.

As you can guess, there is no fighting their attraction to one another.   When the two of them meet, by chance, at a party hosted by others in the “scene”, they immediately begin an affair that quickly segues into a serious relationship that neither of them are quite ready for.  Eli hasn’t been in a relationship in a decade and Justin’s last relationship ended due to emotional and physical abuse.  Add those issues onto the fact that they work together and you have a perfect recipe for both angst and humor.

I loved so much about this book.  Both Eli and Justin were fun and complex characters.  They both had a sense of humor that could turn sexy at the drop of a hat.  Let’s just say that I will never look at office filing the same way again.  And it was fun to get a glimpse of Sam and Michael.  Sam being Eli’s boss and Michael being an old friend of Eli, it was natural for them to play a significant role in Eli and Justin’s relationship.

But my favorite part of Just Business was their relationship in the bedroom.  Eli is a Dom and Justin is a sub.  I haven’t read a lot of stories where the MC’s live the BDSM lifestyle. The few that I have read have been hit or miss.  I have to say that this is the best and hottest one I have read yet.  One of my pet peeves is how some books (certainly not all) portray BDSM relationships as the result of one or both parties compensating for some past tragedy.  As if only the most broken could possibly want to be in such a relationship.  But that is definitely not the case here.  Both Eli and Justin have their past issues, but the roles they wanted to play and did play were set long before those tragedies took place.   

If you are looking for a super-hot, sexy and empowering BDSM romance featuring two heroes, I can’t recommend this one enough.  Just Business is definitely in the running for my Top Ten of 2015.

Nat

Takeover by Anna Zabo

* * * 1/2

Michael Sebastian thought Curacao would be the perfect place to have a little fun in the sun—and between the sheets. So far, no one has struck his interest, until Sam Anderson walks into the bar. With one look at his tense body and expensive suit, Michael knows that this is a man in need of release. And Michael is more than willing to lend a hand.

Shattered by the most intense sex he’s ever had, Sam has to face the facts—one night with a handsome, dominating stranger is all he gets before returning to the closet he’s been suffocating in for years. But when Sam starts his new job as the CEO of a failing technology company, he discovers that Michael is one of his new employees.

While Michael is desperate for another night with Sam, he knows he shouldn’t get involved with his boss, let alone another man who can’t accept who he is. But as they’re forced to work together to save the company, the desire sparking between them becomes impossible to ignore…



Review:

In a recent review I stated how I’m not a big fan of “love at first sight” stories.  But I do love stories about instant attraction that grow into something more.  So I guess I believe in magic just not that magic equates to love?  I don’t know.  There’s really no explaining how my bizarre brain works.  In any case…When Michael first sees Sam in that bar in Curacao there is definitely attraction.  And after a hot night and an exchange of power neither have experienced in years, they realize that it was a night neither will forget.  They might not know each other well enough to be in love with each other but they know enough to realize that they each have something the other needs.  If circumstances were different they might see where this relationship will go.  But Michael leaves for home the next day and Sam’s vacation is just starting.

Sam and Michael never expected to see each other again.  They didn’t even know each other’s last names.  But it’s a small world sometimes.  And that couldn’t have been more obvious when Sam shows up as the new CEO of the failing software company Michael works for in Pittsburgh.  A relationship in their current situation is impossible.  One, Michael is Sam’s employee.  Two, Sam is not out.  Sam made the decision to go back into the closet and lock the door when he decided on his career path.  Corporate America wasn’t ready for a gay CEO and Sam wasn’t willing to give up his dream of a successful career in the corporate world.  

But as I said, they each have something the other needs.   After managing and controlling every part of a company during the day, Sam wants nothing more than to surrender in the bedroom.  And Michael?  Well, he wants nothing more than to dominate in the bedroom.   Match made in heaven, right?  Almost.  There is that pesky business about Sam being Michael’s boss.  And then there is the ultimate deal breaker for Michael – Sam staying in the closet. 

I loved Michael and Sam’s dynamic relationship.  There was so much energy and intensity.   All of that emotion and sexual tension about jumped off the page.  The bedroom scenes in this book contain quite a bit of BDSM play.  That is the place Sam can let go and Michael is more than willing to oblige.  I don’t consider any of these scenes “hard core” but they ARE  hotter than hell.  Phew!

It wasn’t perfect.  I had a small yet noticeable issue with this book.  And that was the repetition of the word, “spine.”  Phrases like “Sam’s spine tingled” and “pinpricks ran up his spine,” were a bit overdone. 29 times overdone.  I got it the first time.  And just in case I’m really slow, I can forgive the second .  But 29 times?  Not cool.   There may have been repetition in other areas but that was the one that hit me over the head for some reason.   That’s really the only complaint I had.  And in the end it’s a small one.  A small one I can live with because Michael and Sam’s story is hot and sexy and romantic.  And when it comes down to it, hot/sexy/romantic is EXACTLY what I’m looking for in a romance.

Nat