boss/secretary tropes?

lianna williamson

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I'm starting a new Romance with a boss/secretary relationship. I want to play with this idea, twisiting the tropes to see if I can fashion a #metoo era version of this story. However, I haven't read enough boss/secretary Romances to have ammassed a long list of tropes I want to subvert. If you have, what are some of the tropes you've noticed (bonus if they're annoying tropes you're so over)?
 

Woollybear

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Working Girl was a hit back in the day. It's a movie. Might give you some food for thought.
 

guppie1813

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I think the boss/secretary trope is just a version of a power dynamic, and in fact that is really the basis of the issue of #metoo. Think about the dynamic between your characters in terms of what power the boss holds over the secretary (she needs the job and he could fire her, he determines her work hours, he determines what her responsibilities are - which could be anything from something demeaning like getting him coffee to something that shows that he respects her abilities like making her responsible for leading some important project). Sex is just another form of power, or it can be. Look for some power differential that inspires you. A very common one is he is the boss but OH MY GOD HE WANTS HER SO BAD HE WILL DO ANYTHING FOR HER but he still acts like an Alpha-hole. Common, but popular!