Hard — Emma Gold

Now she returns with the adventures of a new woman-about-London. From office politics (fending off the boss's advances; dating the co-worker's son) to bedroom diplomacy (no sleepovers past 3 a.m.; hetero lovemaking must be muffled so as not to offend gay roommate), the only sure bet is that when all the right balls are in the air (so to speak), all the wrong things will become...

Hard
The Job

I really quite like my job--as jobs go. We get lots of people dropping in, and no one stays long enough to really irritate me. The bitching potential of different people coming into the office every day is phenomenal...


The Boss
In my opinion, Wayne has a tiny (ahem). All the signs are there: the flashy sports car with vanity plates, the failed marriage, the thin, short fingers, the small, shell-like ears, and the constant flirting. Does Wayne sound awful? Because the thing is, apart from the above, he really is a wonderful boss...


The Man
He walks me back to my flat. I have already decided it would be extremely unwise to invite him in, especially as I know my flatmate, Simon, is around and he is so unbearably horny at the moment that I am worried the mad glint in his eyes will send Luca running. But I'm horny as well, so I invite him in...

And so begin the hilarious over-the-top (and under-the-covers) exploits of a woman on the verge of a breakdown, a break-up, and, quite possibly, a breakthrough. She's about to prove that in the world of London's singles, only the sassy survive--but just because life is hard, it doesn't mean your heart has to be.