Full disclosure time: Mistress Under Contract is the first Harlequin Presents I have ever read and, if not reading it for review, I would never have picked up the book. The title makes me cringe, which is a real shame since I enjoyed this story of opposites falling in love, with its two likeable characters and interesting setting.

First, let’s get one thing out of the way – the title. Except for a single mention of the word “mistress” – and that occurred only briefly in the heroine’s mind – there is nothing about this story that even remotely resembles a tale of a mistress under contract.

Daniel Graydon is a rising star in the Wellington, New Zealand legal community and on the fast track to a partnership in a prestigious law firm. At the same time, he’s being courted by a local university for a faculty position while his father, a prominent attorney, is also trying to groom Daniel for an eventual appointment as a judge. Daniel works incredibly long hours, leaving little time for a personal life. But, he’s agreed to help a friend who has left the country unexpectedly; all he has to do is hire a temporary manager for his friend’s trendy club.

Lucy Delaney isn’t on the fast track to anything. She’s a free spirit who doesn’t like to be tied down by anything or anyone and, since graduating from college, she’s bounced from one job to the next. Recently arrived in Wellington, Lucy is making the rounds of temporary employment agencies. She’s struggling with a personality test required by one of the agencies (and the author makes clever use of the items in the test as chapter headings), when her exact opposite – a serious, gorgeous man in a suit – walks in.

Daniel is desperate to get a manager for his friend’s club and, against his better judgment, offers Lucy the job. The two are attracted to each other immediately, but both try to resist since neither is the other’s usual type. However, they don’t resist for long and they soon get involved in a hot and heavy sexual relationship, with no commitments made.

Within the confines of a very short book, the author nicely fleshed out both Lucy and Daniel. I thought she did a good job showing the reader that there’s more to each of them than their surface appearances would indicate and that each have their reasons for being unwilling to commit. We get to know Lucy a bit more than Daniel, but I found them both to be likeable characters. They showed considerable growth over the course of the book, both personally and professionally.

I’ve never been to New Zealand, but felt that the author gave a good feel for the setting, leaving me hoping she has other books set in Wellington. If you’re looking for a light, fast read, I can recommend Mistress Under Contract. For me, I won’t be so hesitant to pick up a Harlequin Presents in the future.