The Boss Too: Billionaire Romance (4 page)

“You don’t have to apologize, Jamie," Alex’s voice was thick with need. He cleared his throat. “How’s your arm?”

Jamie looked at her forearm and realized she’d cut it and it was bleeding. It stung as she realized she’d done it, but she would die before she admitted it to Alex. “It’s fine,” she said. “Barely hurts.”

“It looks pretty bad.” He stood and reached for her. “Sit down on the couch. We’d better clean it before putting a bandage on it.”

“I don’t have a first aid box,” Jamie mumbled. “I’m fine, really. Just toss me a tea-towel.”

“That’s the perk of being neighbors.” Alex smiled wryly. “I do.” He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and tapped a few things quickly before pocketing it again. “Murray’s on his way over with it now.”

“It’s fine, really.” Jamie wondered if her words were slurring. “You shouldn’t have disturbed Murray.”

“Well, I’ve already texted him.” Alex poured more whisky into her half empty glass. “You don’t want me to text him and tell him he went through the trouble of finding the kit for nothing, do you?”

Jamie bit her lip, it did hurt like a son-of-a-gun. She hated putting Murray through trouble at all. “I told you it was fine,” she repeated.

“Jamie, you’re in pain. It’s obvious. And I don’t want that.” His professional facade slipped to show the hunger underneath. However, in the blink of an eye, it was back in place. “I need you at the top of your game during work.”

“Of course.” Jamie wished she could control her own facial expressions as well as Alex controlled his. She was sure her attraction to him was plain as day right now.
Idiot, he was out with another woman. He’s already over you, if he even had any feelings for you in the first place. He didn’t even need to get over you, there was nothing to get over. When are you ever going to learn?
Jamie clenched her jaw. She should know better than to fall for the boss when things were officially over between the two of them.

Alex handed her a glass and a tea-towel before he sat down across from her. “I don’t wish to intrude on anything, but can I ask you something personal?”

She nodded and took a quick sip of her drink to try to calm the sudden butterflies bashing away in her belly.

“Is it possible you’re a bit clumsier because you’ve lost weight and now wearing a couple sizes too big?”

Jamie flushed. That was his personal question? Was it that obvious? She should take offense to him asking her a thing like that, but he didn’t look mocking or teasing in any way. He just looked concerned. Which made her feel bad about herself without the ability to be mad at him. “I just haven’t had time to go shopping. Been a bit of a busy week.” She winced, hating that she was trying to make it sound like it was his fault she hadn’t gone.

“How about tomorrow I take you shopping?” Alex grinned, as if he was all pleased with himself. “During lunch. You can buy anything you want and I’ll pay for it all.”

“That’s a very generous offer, but hardly appropriate for a boss and personal assistant,” Jamie said. “Besides, wouldn’t your new girlfriend be ticked with you taking another woman shopping?”
Even though all he has to do is show her a picture of me and assure her size-four skinny butt that he doesn’t do pity dating. Shit! I am drunk.
She put her hand over her mouth, refusing to let any more stupid stuff come out of it.

“I was in the Hamptons with a close friend of mine,” Alex said. “You actually met her briefly when I ran into you on your birthday. Do you remember Annette?”

Oh boy, do I remember.
“That lipstick on your collar says more than friends.” Jamie smacked her hand over her mouth.

Alex chuckled. “Touché.”

“Take it from me: she would mind if you take me shopping. Besides, we don’t need any more rumors being spread around the office about how close we are.”

A dangerous glint sparked in Alex’s eyes. “Believe me, there won’t be any more rumors spread about our relationship. As for Annette, I know she won’t mind. She’s already back in New Jersey and on a date with another friend with benefits right now.” He raised an eyebrow at her and then leaned back in his seat and smirked at her triumphantly. “It’s totally appropriate to take your personal assistant shopping when it’s work related.” His grin widened. “After all, you’re going to need appropriate clothes to go with the new responsibilities you have in the company.”

“New responsibilities?”

“Yes,” he nodded. “I believe I’ve underestimated you, and I plan to fix that as soon as possible. Don’t worry, Ms. Connors, you’ll also get a pay raise as well. A very fair one. After the business brunch I’m hosting in a couple days, we’ll start planning. I think your schedule showed you have plans with your sister.” He checked his iPhone. “Yup. You’re busy, but there’s still a pay raise in your future.”

Jamie smiled and leaned back on the couch. She winced as her cut pressed against the towel. As much as she liked the sound of a pay raise, it was the compliment she really liked. She spoke as a knock at the door let them know Murray had brought the first aid box. “Sounds good, Mr. Reid. I believe you can take me shopping, then.”

He motioned for her to stay seated as he stood to answer the door. “Let’s not have you fall again.”

She nodded and enjoyed the view as he walked away.

He talked quietly at the door with Murray and then thanked him before closing the door. He came back a moment later and knelt down in front of Jamie.

She smiled and realized she was drunk. There were two gorgeously sexy bosses in front of her. Wouldn’t it be fun to take the two of them to bed? One for her mouth, one for her—she giggled at the image in her head.

“Something funny?” Alex asked as he reached for the tea-towel.

She moved her arm just to the right and, giggling again, she lifted it away from him making silly circles around his hand. “Catch me if you can,” she sang.

He easily caught her wrist and leaned forward, bringing his mouth to the sensitive part of her skin where her heart beat. His warm breath teased up her forearm as his lips parted and his tongue flicked against her vein.

Her breath caught. It was the single most sensual action she had ever experienced. If he looked at her once with those bedroom eyes, she was toast. She was willing to deal with the repercussions in the morning.

Alex flipped her wrist over and Jamie imagined him doing that to her on the couch. Her pulse quickened and a soft, airy moan escaped. She watched his Adam’s apple as he swallowed hard and then bent his head to tend to her cut.

“It’s not that deep. Just long,” he whispered and opened the first aid box with his left hand. He set her hand on his knee so he could get the items out of the kit.

Jamie watched him, unable to speak. All she could do was nod, her mouth slightly hanging open.

Alex opened a packet of gauze and dabbed on top of the cut and then wiped the blood away. He took another piece and added Neosporin to it. “So it won’t get infected,” he murmured. Going through the Band-Aids, he found two longer ones and carefully put them on her skin. Not once did he look at her face.

She didn’t mind; it gave her the courage to blatantly stare at him. “Thanks.” She went to move her hand but he grabbed it.

“One more thing,” he said as he reached in his glass and pulled an ice cube out. He ran it along her skin before using the tea-towel to wipe the melted water away.

Jamie trembled and shivered from the pleasure. She swore if he ran the cube against her flesh one more time she would have an orgasm without him even reaching into her panties, which were probably wetter than the ice cube water on her skin.

Alex gently wiped one more time and tossed the towel toward the bathroom, it landed perfectly just inside the door.

Jamie watched and slowly brought her gaze back to him.

It felt like time stopped, just for a moment. She was just a girl and he was, well, definitely not just a boy, but a man. There were no job titles, no insecurities, no restrictions, no pressure, nothing, just them.

Alex’s blue eyes moved back and forth as he gazed at hers. There were tiny little flecks of brown inside the blue, hard to see unless you were that close. He didn’t move.

Jamie’s thighs trembled.
Touch me, please!
She was going to explode if he didn’t, or she would if he did. Seconds ticked by. She refused to drop her gaze and neither did he, even when she ran her tongue along her lower lip and then her teeth bit into it. She swallowed and automatically pressed her lips together.

Alex’s head bent forward and his lashes slowly lowered. Still he watched her through the thickness and his lips touched hers.

Barely.

It could have been the wind.

She swore she felt the slight roughness of the shadow of growth above his lip but she might have imagined it. She could smell his cologne mixed with ladies’ perfume deep in her nostrils, she could almost taste it. She closed her eyes and waited for his lips to demand and consume hers.

Except they didn’t.

The click of the first aid kit closing made her blink as she opened her eyes.

“I should get back to my place,” Alex said as he cleared his throat. “I’m in desperate need of a shower.”

I’ll join you.
The moment had passed. Never to be felt again.

Jamie jumped up and away from him. “Yeah, that’s probably a good idea.” She raised her arm. “Thanks for the fix, boss.”

He nodded and stood. “No problem. Thanks for, uh, covering me this week. It won’t happen again.”

Which part? The leaving, or the leaving her hot and panting? “Sounds like a plan.”

Alex walked to the door and hesitated just before he opened it. “We good?” he asked her, the uncertainty in his voice clear.

He needed her as his personal assistant, not a one-night stand or a girlfriend. She understood that clearly now. “We’re good.” She forced a smile. “I’ll see you in the morning at the office.”

“Definitely.” He stepped outside, only to pop his head in a split second later. “Don’t forget we’re going shopping.” He glanced down. “Sorry, pj’s won’t be included.” He laughed and quickly shut the door before the pillow she threw hit him.

The idea of shopping for nightwear with Alex was a dream that left her restless and panting long after she went to bed.

Jamie sighed contemplatively as she looked at the new clothes Alex had bought her. She had no idea how much he had spent. He wouldn’t let her look at the price tags as they shopped. In return, she refused to let him buy her clothes that were non-work related, even though he tried once during the shopping spree. She ended up with new suits, silk blouses, and some office-friendly dresses that all made her look like she was a CEO herself and not just a personal assistant. He told her he wanted her to look like she had power, and look good at the same time. He was going to have her attend more business meetings and maybe even entertain some of the clients’ wives, if she was interested, while their husbands were in meetings for negotiations. “My only condition is that I ask to approve the clothes you wear,” he said. “The last thing I need is for you to be looking so sexy that the men will be more focussed on you than the negotiations, or that the wives get jealous.”

As if there were any clothes that could make her look sexy. She appreciated the compliment, nonetheless. He’d been completely businesslike the next morning after the imaginary kiss and she appreciated it. He’d asked her about the cut and that was it. How she managed to wake up without a hangover… She figured it was the hormones coursing through her body that probably absorbed the alcohol since they didn’t get what they wanted.

She looked at the time and swore. She was supposed to meet Christine to go over the seating arrangements and she was running behind. She grabbed an old pair of jeans and a t-shirt and put them on, cinching her belt to the last hole to make her pants stay up. She put on some flip flops and threw her hair into a ponytail before making a protein shake for breakfast. It was a good thing she had thought to pick some up the day before because there was no way she had time that morning to grab a real breakfast. Alex had insisted she take the day off and Christine had then insisted they meet at the crack of dawn for a whole day of wedding organizing.
She honestly wasn't sure what there was left to do. It seemed like wedding planning just went on forever. Thank goodness for coffee.

Jamie put her breakfast shake into a clear plastic to-go cup and grabbed some money for a quick coffee run on the way to her sister's house. She steeled herself for a long and terrible day as she got into her car.

Even though they were just going to be at Christine and Stephen's apartment all day, Christine greeted Jamie in a designer blouse and a pair of sharp, firmly pressed black pants. Her hair was in a perfect upswept bun and she wore a hint of lipstick as well.

Jamie almost rolled her eyes. Cinderella had come ill-dressed for the ball, again.

“You’re late,” Christine complained, letting her in. "But I guess I'll deal." She sighed dramatically and then looked Jamie over with a critical eye, eyeing the breakfast shake with disgust. "Honestly, Jamie, you could at least try to follow a diet," Christine said, grabbing the shake out of Jamie's hands. "Milkshakes in the morning? What are you even thinking
?”

"It's a protein shake," Jamie said, but Christine was already walking into the kitchen and pouring the liquid into the sink.
She glanced around, relieved not to see Stephen.

"Oh, please," Christine said, setting the empty cup on the sideboard. "I know you, Jamie. You wouldn't drink something healthy if your life depended on it. Which it does, if you think about it."

Jamie's stomach growled. She had only drank a few sips of the shake on the way there and she knew it wouldn’t be long before she was ravenous. She sipped her coffee slowly, hoping it would fill her up. Her sister had her best interest at heart, and was more than nervous for a wedding that shouldn’t happen. Her husband-to-be was an ass. "What do you want to do first?" she asked, sitting down on the black leather couch and surveying her former apartment.

Unlike the funky style she had taken with her apartment, with thrift store couches and artwork from local artists, Christine and Stephen had decorated it in a pseudo-intellectual style. The TV was hidden in a dark wood cabinet and bookshelves lined the walls with leather bound books. Prints of famous paintings hung on the walls and there was a fake fireplace on one side of the room where flames were dancing and projecting patterns onto the mahogany coffee table in the middle of the room. It would make anyone seem smart and educated until you looked at the books and realized none of the bindings had ever been cracked. Christine spent more of her time poring through junk magazines than anything else and Stephen watched sports in his free time. Their decorations seemed as fake as their personalities.
Jamie scolded herself for thinking that. It wasn’t her life, or her place to judge.

"I think we should go over the seating arrangements," Christine said, laying a folder on the coffee table as if it was a business meeting. "I don't know who to sit with who. Plus, it’s going to look funny at the head table with just a best man. So, I figured I’d put most of the wedding party together. Everyone who fits.” She waited a moment, purposely reminding Jamie she wasn’t doing her maid of honor part, and thus, had been forced to step down.

"Let's not focus on me, how about we just concentrate on the seating arrangements?"
Jamie forced herself to smile, knowing exactly what her sister was thinking.

"Whatever you say, milkshake girl." Christine smirked and then pulled up the diagram of the seating arrangements. She had penciled Jamie's name in on a table way in the corner, not at the head table where the wedding party was eating. She wrote big enough so Jamie's name took up two seats.

Jamie bit down her anger.
The kids’ table? Really?

Just then Stephen came out of the bedroom from the hall, looking just as immaculately and stiffly dressed as Christine did. He wore a thousand-dollar suit with the jacket, tie. "Have you made coffee, Christine?"

"It's in the pot, dear, all fresh and ready." Christine flashed him her sweetest smile.

"Thank you, darling." He looked up with a grin at the two of them, but his smile disappeared when Christine’s attention went back to the guest list. He glared at Jamie. "I'll be in my room if you need me, Christine."

"Okay, dear," she said. As soon as he was gone she turned to Jamie with a glare. "What the hell did you do to him?" she hissed. "I've never seen him look so uncomfortable in my life."

"I didn't do anything!" Jamie said defensively. And she hadn't. Aside from being in the wrong place at the wrong time, she was the victim. She straightened.
I’m no damn victim!
He could have the decency to apologize or act humiliated for his actions. He certainly hadn't been ashamed when he started fucking her sister.  She wasn't sure why he was any different now.

"Well, whatever it is, you have to apologize to him," Christine said. "I can't have my maid of honor pissing off my groom, now can I?"

"I didn't do anything, I swear!"
She was Christine’s maid of honor again? She thought she’d been demoted. She almost giggled, except the thought of Christine telling her to apologize to Stephen irked her too much.

Christine smiled indulgently. "I'm sure whatever vulgar or uncivilized thing you did, you thought was perfectly normal, Jamie. But that doesn't mean the rest of us who have taste think that acting like a barbarian is acceptable at any occasion."

Jamie closed her eyes and counted to ten. "I didn't do anything," she said, gritting her teeth. "I have nothing to apologize for. And don’t talk to me like that. I’m your sister."

"I don't care what you think you've done," Christine said. "You’ve obviously done something and I can't have you messing up my wedding. So either apologize to my fiancé… or… or…”

“Or what? You going to knock me out of the prized position again?” Jamie covered her mouth in surprise. She knew better than to mock her sister. Fangs and claws came out when you did that.

Christine frowned as her face burned red. “You stupid, fat bitch!
You think you’re better than everyone, don’t you? If you fuck up, you apologize.”

Suddenly, months of rage and resentment boiled up in Jamie and she couldn't force it to stay down. "I’m stupid?!" she shouted. "I don't want to be your dumb-ass maid of honor anyway! Your husband-to-be is an ass! You’re too imprudent to see it! Let Scarlet enjoy your constant bitchy phone calls and stupid breakdowns because I’m done! So fucking done!"
She wanted to rant about Stephen and his dumb-ass ways as well, but managed to bite her tongue. She needed food. She needed a sister on her side. Well, screw them all!

"Good! I told Mom you wouldn’t make it!" Christine snapped. "You're lucky I'm letting you even come to my wedding at all, you ungrateful jealous bitch!”

“Jealous?” Jamie spat back, not believing her sister thought she was jealous.

“Of my husband!” Christine poked at her own chest. “You wish you were still with him!”

“No, I fucking don’t.” She shook her head. “Never in a million years.”

Christine was no longer listening. “I never even wanted you in the wedding party to begin with, especially when it's so clear you don't even love me enough to fix that stupid weight problem of yours. Is it really too much to ask that you stop hoarding for the apocalypse in your damn body? Honestly, Jamie, why would I want a blubbering whale like you ruining my wedding photos?"

“You are such a bitch!” Tears stung Jamie's eyes as she got up.

“Get out!” Christine screamed.

"I’m glad I don't have to deal with your wedding shit anymore, Christine," Jamie said quietly. "You and Stephen really deserve each other. You have no idea." She stomped to the door and slammed it to Christine yelling more profanities at her.