Lease on Love

One


I plug the final numbers into my Get That Promotion, Bitch spreadsheet. Even though I've done enough mental calculations to know the end result will be positive, I still hold my breath, crossing my fingers as I hit enter.

"This could be it. The chance to finally pay off those damn student loans and live comfortably." There's no one else actually in my office, but as usual, I hold a one-sided conversation with the air plant sitting on my desk, housed in a concrete planter dipped in bright pink paint. Neither the plant nor its neon home is finance-firm approved, but it's the only spark of joy in my tiny office.

When I finally force myself to look at the computer screen, my suspicions are confirmed. There it is, beaming through thousands of harmful blue-light rays: A complete budget. A budget based on the salary increase I'm about to earn. A budget allowing me to pay rent on my Kips Bay apartment while also paying off my student loans. In other words, shining down on me in my cramped office in this towering skyscraper is the Holy Grail of millennial life: a chance to be debt-free. I just barely manage to hold back a shriek of joy.

Now all that's left is to actually secure said promotion.

I will get this promotion. And I will walk into that meeting with confidence.

Once I get a little reinforcement. Pushing my chair back and standing, I grab my phone, tapping on the screen and pulling up FaceTime. Our group chat is preset, so I hit call, checking my makeup as I wait for my best friends, Gemma and Harley, to pick up.

Other than a tiny zit brewing under the would-be-pasty-were-it-not-for-bronzer skin of my forehead, my face looks flawless. I touch up my matte pale pink lip anyway and fluff out my light-brown-but highlighted-within-an-inch-of-its-life hair.

Gemma answers first. "Okay, I've got ten minutes until my room is flooded with twelve-year-olds and their post-lunch sweaty hormones. Hit me."

"First, did not need that visual.

Falon Ballard

One of:
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"If you haven't read this author or this book yet, you need to."  Culturess

"[A] fun and light read Ballard intersperses the book with text conversations (emojis and all) between Sadie and Jack, as well as her group conversation with her friends, that make readers feel like they re really part of the story. When Sadie and Jack s feelings for one another are finally realized, you can t help but celebrate alongside the characters. USA Today

Laugh-out-loud banter, smart characters, and heartfelt charm this rom-com has it all! Women s World
 
[A] cozy romance. PopSugar
 
[A] quirky, heartwarming contemporary romance Ballard s snappy prose and unconventional couple charm, and she gets some good chuckles out of skewering the New York City real estate market. Meanwhile, stellar supporting characters (especially Sadie s besties Gemma, Nick, and Harley) provide a solid underpinning to this enjoyable tale. This is a treat. Publishers Weekly

Ballard s debut novel, a fantastic read for fans of The Flatshare (2019), is a sharply funny roommates-to-lovers, opposites-attract rom-com....With profound sensitivity, Ballard shows how therapy and each other s company help Jack deal with his grief and Sadie with her low self-esteem and negative self-image. Booklist

The romantic beats and the slow-burning attraction between [Sadie and Jack] are things to savor .Ballard sweetly explores the ways they complement one another and also how they hope to reinvent themselves following catastrophic personal changes. Kirkus Reviews
 
This charming story of new beginnings and emotional growth has a sassy and likable