Bloke on line my boss stroked soothingly (7)

'stroked soothingly' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)

'bloke on line my boss' is the wordplay.
'bloke' becomes 'gent' (both can mean a man).
'on' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other) (in a down clue, letters appear on others).
'line' becomes 'l' (used when specifying particular lines from a poem).
'my boss' becomes 'ed' (abbreviation for editor, the setter's boss).
'gent'+'l'+'ed'='GENTLED'