Workplace Fiction
Who says work has to be boring? Here is a list of fictional stories that take place in office spaces.
The Adventurist by J. Bradford Hipps
Mired in his corporate responsibilities, Henry Hurt's deathless office existence is torpedoed by losing his mother. Henry seeks escape in a quest for love and purpose occasioned by a crisis in his company's fortunes. Dodging his rival, he finds love with a colleague in his department, endangers his bond with his family, and finally confronts the single urgent question of his life.
The Assistants by Camille Perri
When a technical error with her CEO boss’s expenses report presents administrative assistant Tina with the opportunity to pay off the entire balance of her student loan debt, she struggles with the decision. She has always played by the rules. What would be a relatively small amount of money for the Titan Corporation would be a life-changer for Tina.
Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
Beth and Jennifer know their company monitors their office e-mail, but they still spend all day sending each other messages. When Lincoln applied to be an Internet security officer, he hardly imagined he'd be sifting through other people's inboxes like some sort of electronic Peeping Tom. Lincoln is supposed to turn people in for misusing company e-mail, but he can't bring himself to crack down on Beth and Jennifer. He can't help but be entertained and captivated by their stories. By the time Lincoln realizes he's falling for Beth, he realizes it might be too late for him to introduce himself.
Break in Case of an Emergency by Jessica Winter
Taking a poorly defined job at a nonprofit when the 2008 economic crisis forces her to abandon her oncepromising art career, Jen finds herself in a toxic workplace of backstabbing co-workers under an egocentric philanthropist boss while struggling with insecurity in the face of her successful friends.
The Circle by David Eggers
Hired to work for the Circle, the world's most powerful Internet company, Mae Holland begins to questions her luck as life beyond her job grows distant, a strange encounter with a colleague leaves her shaken, and her role at the Circle becomes increasingly public.
The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman
Preoccupied by personal challenges while running a struggling newspaper in Rome, an obituary writer confronts mortality, an eccentric publisher obsesses over his dog, and other staff members uncover the paper's founding by an impulsive millionaire.
Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan
A recession has shuffled Clay Jannon out of his life as a San Francisco web designer and landed him a new gig working the night shift at Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore. After just a few days on the job, Clay begins to realize that this store is even more curious than the name suggests. There are only a few customers, but they come in repeatedly and never seem to actually buy anything. Soon he embarks on a complex analysis of the customers' behaviour and ropes his friends into helping him figure out just what is going on.
The Room by Jonas Karlsson
Surrounded by intolerable coworkers in his open-plan office, Bjèorn is thrilled to discover a small, secret room where he can work with efficiency. However, his bizarre behavior outside the room may drive his colleagues to a point of no return.
A Thousand Pardons by Jonathon Dee
Forced back into the working world after her corporate lawyer husband's spectacular downfall, Helen discovers a talent for public relations and is tempted away from her dysfunctional family by her childhood crush, now a movie star who needs her professional assistance.
A Window Opens by Elisabeth Egan
Alice Pearce has a pretty great life. She has a loving family and works part-time as an editor for a magazine. When her family's financial situation takes a drastic turn, Alice finds that she needs to step up to the plate and contribute more, and she finds this comes at a cost.
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