History Literature / TheHatingGame

Lucy Hutton and Joshua Templeman hate each other. Not dislike. Not begrudgingly tolerate. Hate. And they have no problem displaying their feelings through a series of ritualistic passive aggressive maneuvers as they sit across from each other, executive assistants to co-[-CEO-]s of a publishing company. Lucy can’t understand Joshua’s [[{{Jerkass}} joyless,]] [[ControlFreak uptight,]] [[TheSnarkKnight meticulous approach to his job.]] Joshua is clearly baffled by Lucy’s [[HotLibrarian overly bright clothes,]] [[PluckyGirl quirkiness,]] [[StepfordSmiler and Pollyanna attitude.]]

Now up for the same promotion, their battle of wills has come to a head and Lucy refuses to back down when their latest game could cost her her dream job… But the [[BelligerentSexualTension tension between Lucy and Joshua]] has also reached its boiling point, and Lucy is discovering that maybe she doesn’t hate Joshua. And maybe, he doesn’t hate her either. Or maybe this is just another game.

* ApologyGift: After he makes Lucy cry, [[spoiler: Josh sends her roses and an anonymous note stating 'You're always beautiful.' She assumes they were from her date.]]
* BelligerentSexualTension: Pretty much Josh and Lucy's whole dynamic.

* CuteBookworm: Lucy.

* HopelessSuitor: Danny.

* WriteWhatYouKnow: Lucy and Josh work in publishing, something an author like SallyThorne is likely familiar with.

* EmbarrassingNickname: Joshua teasingly calls Lucy 'Shortcake.' Josh's boss calls him 'Doctor Josh' [[spoiler: in an effort to shame him for dropping out of med school.]]

* BewareTheNiceOnes: Lucy is, if not polite, at least understanding to everyone [[note]]except Joshua[[/note]] over the course of the story. [[spoiler: When she goes off at Josh's father towards the end of the novel for negatively judging Josh without even trying to get to know him, she goes [[RageBreakingPoint '''off.''']] ]]

* BewareTheNiceOnes: Lucy is, if not polite, at least understanding to everyone [[note]]except Joshua[[/note]] over the course of the story. [[spoiler: When she goes off at Josh's father towards the end of the novel for negatively judging Josh without even trying to get to know him, she goes '''off.''']]

* {{Tsundere}}: Joshua. [[spoiler: He typically runs tsuntsun towards everyone; once Lucy gets sick, he starts becoming deredere towards her in private.]]

* WriteWhatYouKnow: Lucy and Josh work in publishing, something an author like creator/SallyThorne is likely familiar with.

* WriteWhatYouKnow: Lucy and Josh work for a publishing company.

Now up for the same promotion, their battle of wills has come to a head and Lucy refuses to back down when their latest game could cost her her dream job…But the tension between Lucy and Joshua has also reached its boiling point, and Lucy is discovering that maybe she doesn’t hate Joshua. And maybe, he doesn’t hate her either. Or maybe this is just another game.

* FullNameBasis: Josh and Lucy insistently call each other "Lucinda" and "Joshua." Beginning to use each other's nicknames shows how they are softening to each other.

* 1) An opponent or rival whom a person cannot best or overcome;
* 2) A person’s undoing;
* 3) Joshua Templeman.

[[caption-width-right:315:-This is just another one of the games we play-]]

Lucy Hutton and Joshua Templeman hate each other. Not dislike. Not begrudgingly tolerate. Hate. And they have no problem displaying their feelings through a series of ritualistic passive aggressive maneuvers as they sit across from each other, executive assistants to co-{{CEO}}s of a publishing company. Lucy can’t understand Joshua’s [[Jerkass joyless,]] [[ControlFreak uptight,]] [[TheSnarkKnight meticulous approach to his job.]] Joshua is clearly baffled by Lucy’s [[HotLibrarian overly bright clothes,]] [[PluckyGirl quirkiness,]] [[StepfordSmiler and Pollyanna attitude.]]

Lucy Hutton and Joshua Templeman hate each other. Not dislike. Not begrudgingly tolerate. Hate. And they have no problem displaying their feelings through a series of ritualistic passive aggressive maneuvers as they sit across from each other, executive assistants to co-{{CEO}}s of a publishing company. Lucy can’t understand Joshua’s [[TheSnarkKnight joyless, uptight, meticulous approach to his job.]] Joshua is clearly baffled by Lucy’s [[StepfordSmiler overly bright clothes, quirkiness, and Pollyanna attitude.]]

* Tsundere: Joshua.

* BelligerantSexualTension: Pretty much Josh and Lucy's whole dynamic.

* EmbarrassingNickname: Joshua teasingly calls Lucy 'Shortcake.'

Lucy Hutton and Joshua Templeman hate each other. Not dislike. Not begrudgingly tolerate. Hate. And they have no problem displaying their feelings through a series of ritualistic passive aggressive maneuvers as they sit across from each other, executive assistants to co-{{CEO}}s of a publishing company. Lucy can’t understand Joshua’s joyless, uptight, meticulous approach to his job. Joshua is clearly baffled by Lucy’s overly bright clothes, quirkiness, and Pollyanna attitude.

* ThePollyanna: Lucy. She's lonely and adrift, but puts on a happy face and tries to get along with everyone.

* ControlFreak: Joshua, to the point that he wears the same shirts in the same order every two weeks. [[Spoiler: It turns out he was just doing this to get a rise out of Lucy.]]

* GrandRomanticGesture: [[Spoiler: After she confesses her feelings, Josh references his painting his bedroom to match Lucy's eyes as this.]]
* StalkerWithACrush: Joshua is a mild example. [[Spoiler: Though he never violates her privacy, he does track what Lucy wears every day and he painted his bedroom to match the color of her eyes.]]

1) An opponent or rival whom a person cannot best or overcome;
2) A person’s undoing;
3) Joshua Templeman.

Lucy Hutton and Joshua Templeman hate each other. Not dislike. Not begrudgingly tolerate. Hate. And they have no problem displaying their feelings through a series of ritualistic passive aggressive maneuvers as they sit across from each other, executive assistants to co-CEOs of a publishing company. Lucy can’t understand Joshua’s joyless, uptight, meticulous approach to his job. Joshua is clearly baffled by Lucy’s overly bright clothes, quirkiness, and Pollyanna attitude.

* StalkerWithACrush: Joshua is a mild example. [[Spoiler: Though he never violates her privacy, he does track what Lucy wears every day and he painted his bedroom to match the color of her eyes.]]