Love on the Dotted Line: A Novel

The author of the Essence bestselling novel Baggage Claim delivers a provocative and richly entertaining new novel about what happens when love and litigation collide.

Morgan Chase, a thirty-four-year-old contracts lawyer, is pushed to her romantic wit's end when she discovers that her boyfriend of nine months, investment banker Marcus Alexander, has been diversifying his "portfolio" with another woman. After a few hours of venting with her girlfriends, and more than a few drinks, Morgan decides that the only way you can guarantee that a man will act right after you've been intimate is if you make him sign a contract before you've been intimate.

That very same night, Morgan heads back to the office to create the first-ever relationship contract -- a legal document full of conditions, consideration, and most important, consequences.

Sparks fly, tempers flare, and emotions hit the fan when the man Morgan finally convinces to sign her contract is caught red-handed with another woman. What follows is an ingeniously plotted and thoroughly entertaining fusion of comedy, romance, and courtroom mayhem.

What happens when love itself is put on trial? One thing's for sure...hell hath no fury like an attorney scorned!

Morgan, a contract lawyer, and Marcus, an investment banker, may not be married, but they're still the perfect couple: they're good-looking and well-to-do, and in addition to their romantic all-night conversations they enjoy "an unconscionable supply of trashy, tribal sex." Or they were perfect, until Mo spies the diamond tennis bracelet she thought was her birthday present on the slim brown wrist of another lady. Spirited Mo dusts herself off pretty quickly, thanks to the encouragement of her "ace boon" best friend, Altima, and the attentions of Charles, the gorgeous former NBA player who sells her a pretty, "pre-owned" (not "used," he insists) Lexus and then flies her to Paris on their first date. Before Charles and Mo get it on, though, Mo has him sign this handy little contract—a "pre-prenuptial"—whereby he guarantees his fidelity. Which means that when he inevitably screws around on her, she takes him to court, and hilarity, of a modest sort, ensues. Side action rounds out the thin but amusing plot: there's the mayor's sex scandal, the "prison cut" neighbor's search for love and Mo's sweet flirtation with a fellow lawyer in this frothy tale of love and legal wranglings by the author of Baggage Claim.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Thirtysomething Morgan Chase is fed up with failed relationships. During an evening spent drinking and commiserating with two friends, she decides to draw up a contract spelling out the terms and conditions of any future romances. Her girlfriends--an unappreciated attorney going nowhere with the firm, and Altima, a clerk--have had equally poor luck at finding Mr. Right. When Charles Anthony Sealant, a former athlete and wealthy businessman, comes into her life, Morgan takes no chances. In the heat of passion, she gets him to sign on the dotted line. When the inevitable happens, her girlfriends and her mother are right behind her when she takes Sealant to court in a legal battle of the sexes. But along the way, the three women learn valuable lessons about themselves, their abilities, and their wayward efforts to find love. Readers who enjoyed Talbert's Baggage Claim (2003) will love this breezy look at modern romance. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved