Marriage In Mind

Marriage in Mind is a 2000 Harlequin Romance by Jessica Steele, published as a 192-page paperback in the Marriage Pledge series and also issued in large print.

Astra arrives at Sayre Baxendale's executive office assuming she is about to be dismissed or that she will have to leave, and she pre-empts the conversation by resigning. His reaction is not what she prepared for: he is pleased, and he has no plan to let her go. The weekend at his country house is presented to her as an alternative to a clean break, which leaves her unable to read his intentions. She offers her resignation before he can speak, and his answer is to refuse the clean break and keep her where he can see her.

The book is a workplace romance in which the professional relationship is the obstacle rather than the setting, since her employment gives him authority over her and every invitation has two possible meanings. Steele wrote the Harlequin Romance line for many years at this length, and the story keeps to the form: a small number of characters, one unclear proposal and a decision that has to be made before the weekend ends.