Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Boyfriend with Benefits
AUTHOR: Allison Temple
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 150 pages
RELEASE DATE: July 27, 2020
BLURB:
When Bailey’s new boss turns out to be his childhood bully, a.k.a. Jake the Jerk, it’s time to call in backup for the upcoming corporate retreat in Vegas. Too bad Bailey works too much to date. His best option is to ask his very straight roommate Gordo to play the part of temporary boyfriend, even if Gordo is better with pythons than he is with people.
Except Bailey and Gordo haven’t even checked into the hotel and Jake the Jerk is already everywhere. The pressure is on for Bailey to prove he deserves to climb the corporate ladder, but it’s hard to talk shop as Gordo goes from backup to an increasingly attractive distraction.
Bailey’s trying to keep his cool, schmooze the executives and stick to the plan, even though Gordo’s not playing by any of the rules. They’ve always been just friends, but maybe it’s time to be boyfriends…with full benefits.
Boyfriend with Benefits is a 37k contemporary MM romance novella. It features fake boyfriends who might not be so fake, a hotel room with only one bed, and a James Bond moment in a tiny blue bathing suit. HEA guaranteed.
REVIEW:
Bailey is a driven sales professional. One day he’s at work and a merger is announce. The new boss of his boss turns out to be his childhood bully. One would hope that this bully would have grown up and moved on. But nope. Not the case. Jake the Jerk is as much of a jerk as he ever was. He tells Bailey that there is a corporate retreat in Las Vegas and it’s a plus one event. He’s not dated anyone for a couple of years, but he’s got a great roommate, Gordo – a presumably straight roommate that he tells Jake is his boyfriend. LOL! So now he has to convince Gordo to come with him for the weekend.
Gordo seems to have an interesting life. He’s a great baker and he rescues animals. Other than that, Bailey’s not quite sure what he does. He’s pretty casual and his schedule seems somewhat erratic, but he’s a great roommate, even if he is a Scarlett Johansen fan 🙂 He seems to take care of Bailey when he needs it when he gets home late from work – making him ramen, ordering takeout or providing home baked goods like brownies and cupcakes 😀 After explaining what’s happened at work, he begs Gordo to come with him. Which he does.
So true confession – Las Vegas is absolutely one of my least favorite places on earth 😛 – although I DO love the Belagio fountains almost as much as Gordo does. Gordo has a list of things he wants to do – see the fountains, see the wild mustangs of Nevada, etc. But he shows up with basically a backpack as his luggage with no clothes for any of the events. But Gordo vows to take care of it – and boy does he! He does have swim trunks since he’s excited about the pool. And wow! they are a huge surprise to Bailey. Normally Gordo is in shorts and old tshirts, so he’s not been aware of exactly what Gordo has been hiding under his super casual exterior 😀 Turns out Gordo cleans up pretty good and does Bailey proud during the corporate dinners and outings.
All this proximity and revelation leads to Bailey realizing he’s crazy attracted to his roommate, but he’s worried that isn’t proper. But as things go on during the weekend, Gordo pushes him a little bit and they finally have some long overdue conversations. Turns out Gordo’s not as straight as Bailey thought. And there are lots of other questions about Gordo that get answered that Bailey had never thought to ask before and he’s very surprised by what he learns. Surprise!!!
Eventually things come to a head with the business and the job. Jake’s a nasty bit of work. His boyfriend Elias seems nice but Bailey has his moments of suspicion, doubt and jealousy (which should have been a clue 😉 ) Gordo make his feeling clear on the subject, but Bailey is torn. He has to make up his mind about what he’s willing to live with and what he really want.
OMG! I loved this story 🙂 Bailey is a hoot! I can so relate to him 🙁 Working so hard and having no time for a life outside of work is more common than people think! Mergers & Acquisitions are the worst and so unsettling – particularly in the US/Canada, where Reductions in Force are less costly and more common. His inner voice had me laughing out loud on more than one occasion. Well done! His room mate of two years, Gordo is a bit of an enigma at first, but it’s obvious that he really cares about Bailey. He’s such a surprise hiding in plain sight. I loved how Bailey slowly figures out what’s going on with him and Gordo. He’s been so obtuse up to this trip. LOL! I also was happy that he figured out what was going on with Jake the Snake 😛 And ultimately Bailey deciding to get out of his own way and figure out what will make him happy is the best ending possible. Anyone in a corporate setting has probably had to deal with a Jake before. UGH!!! We need a lot less Jakes in the world. And Corporate retreats? Also UGH!!! Forced fun and “make new friends” scenarios are the worst. I’m sure there is somebody out there who love them, but not me. I felt every one Bailey’s sighs while having to go through that and I was so happy when it was over 😛 This low angst, funny and sweet story really left me with a smile and a chuckle. I read it in one sitting and enjoyed every second. Highly recommended.
RATING: 
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