Rosa Guerrero, Chief of Human Resources at the Ellery Consumer Research Group, is an attractive executive in her sixties and a formidable presence, even if her most vital days are behind her. Rosa, who beat the odds to rise to lofty heights in the corporate world, wields power with grace and discretion, and her staff is incredibly devoted to her, especially Leo Smalls, a doting benefits VP whose whole world is Ellery. Meanwhile, Associate director Rob Hirsch, a middle-aged and happily married father of two, finds himself closely drawn to his "work wife" Lucy Bender, an ambitious single woman angling for something-a romance, a promotion-to fill the vacuum in her personal life. And Kenny Verville, a senior manager with an MBA, is going places far beyond Ellery, especially if his high-powered wife has any say in the matter.


As these five unforgettable characters scheme, fall in and out of love, and dream big and small, Rosa remains the sun around whom the others circle. When her world begins to crumble, the implications for everyone are profound, and the characters find themselves changed in ways beyond their reckoning.


Jillian Medoff explores the inner workings of an American company in all its brilliant, insane glory. Authentic, razor-sharp, and painfully funny, THIS COULD HURT is a novel about work, loneliness, love and loyalty; about sudden reversals and unexpected windfalls--a novel, basically, about Life.