Truth and Measure

Jules works as assistant to Vivian Carlisle, a fashion editor whose exacting standards leave little room for mistakes or personal complications. Keeping Vivian's professional life running requires attentiveness, discretion and an ability to anticipate demands. A succession of unexpected events changes what those qualities mean between them, bringing private needs into a relationship organised around work. As employer and assistant become increasingly important to one another outside their established roles, the boundaries that once seemed clear begin to shift. The opening Carlisle novel follows that change through a workplace romance shaped by unequal authority and contrasting temperaments. Jules and Vivian must navigate what it means to recognise a personal connection inside an arrangement built to remain professional.