Tina Fontana is a 30-year-old executive assistant to a media mogul. She is college educated, independent, and feisty. And she lives in a small apartment with a ceiling bubble that looks like it's about to explode on her head and rats in the walls. And after working steadily for eight years since graduation, she still has almost $20,000 in student loan debt.
So when a chance occurrence puts a $20,000 check in her hands, a check to reimburse her for a credit card charge she made for her boss that was later reversed, could you really blame her for what happened next? And then, when the assistant from accounting who caught on to Tina's theft started blackmailing her so that she could get money to pay off her student loan too, how could Tina say no?
As the scheme spins out of control, Tina is stuck between her conscience and her new best friends, between her loyalty to her boss and the cute guy from legal who understands her love of movie popcorn and greasy cheeseburgers. Caught between what's right and wrong, Tina needs all of her years of education and experience to get out without ending up in jail.
Written like a charming romantic comedy, with the easy readability of a fun beach read and as many snarky pop culture references as you can handle, Camille Perri's The Assistants is as charming a novel as I'd hoped it would be. It's definitely escapist, which we all need from time to time, and absolutely adorable. I highly recommend this one.