Mr. Hot Boss To Go (A Forbidden Romance)

“Remember to act surprised,” Rowan reminds me as I grab my purse to kiss him goodbye. It’s a funny system we’ve worked out. We both still work at Crane Technologies, obviously, but because we’re keeping our relationship on the downlow, we try to stagger our arrivals in the mornings so that no one will suspect.

I giggle.

“You mean for the intern surprise party tonight, right?”

He grins.

“Yeah, that one. The interns have been great this summer, actually. Harvey helped develop a new gaming system that’s going to make the company millions, so I want to do a proper send-off.”

I smile again.

“I’m surprised because to me, it looked like Harvey was fooling around doing nothing all day. But who knows? I guess I was wrong. But don’t say I didn’t warn you about him.”

My boyfriend shakes his head while putting down the paper.

“Tell me the truth, honey. Does his breath really stink? As bad as you say?”

I nod.

“Ten times worse.”

Rowan merely shakes his head.

“Yeah, thank god I was never close enough to catch it. But Harvey’s work on the video game operating system was amazing and we wouldn’t be where we are without him. So a big bash it is. Plus, I’m celebrating because you won’t be working for me anymore so I can ravish you nine ways until Sunday without the guilt.”

I merely roll my eyes

“You’re such a trouble maker,” I giggle once more. But then my man gets up and grabs me for a kiss before I can head out the door.

“Stay here,” he moans throatily onto my lips. “Play hooky.”

I flutter my lashes at him.

“But it’s my last day at work for the summer, Sir. I think I should go into work like the good girl I am. If you want to punish me, we can talk about that later,” I reply in a coy tone.

With that, my man gives me one last hard kiss as well as a solid thwap on my rump before sending me on my way.

“After the party,” he promises, those blue eyes gleaming. “We’ll talk then with you flat on your back.”

At the office it was a normal day for the most part. I finished up the last of my tasks, and visited with the other interns for mutual goodbyes.

“I can’t believe we’re finally done,” one of the girls said. “I’m going to sneak out early. Do you think anyone will care?”

“No one cares,” Harvey replied.

“Actually, I overheard that they’re throwing us a surprise going away party,” I say in a rueful tone while letting the cat out of the bag. “It should be fun.”

“A party? Really?” Harvey asked, perking up. “That does sound fun.”

I nod.

“Yeah, I think so. I just heard rumors, but they do throw kick ass parties around Crane Technologies. I bet there will be alcohol too.”

I was the only one in the group that wasn’t old enough to drink because the rest of the interns were juniors, but they nodded at the prospect of free alcohol.

“Sounds promising,” murmured one girl, Magdalena. “Could be worth it.” Happy I was able to avert that disaster, with one last wave and nod, I went back to my desk to finish up for the day.

Being able to work at the same office as Rowan has been so nice over the last few months. Even though we had to keep our relationship a secret, the knowledge helped me get through each day, especially when thinking of what we’d do when we were at home.

But at five on the dot, the other interns came by my cube.

“Come on Nats, you were right,” gushed Magdalena. “My manager said there’s a party, and it’s being held in the main conference rom on this floor. So let’s go!”

We smoothed our work clothes and then made our way to the conference room, which by now, was well-stocked with champagne, finger foods, and even some balloons. People milled about, and quite a few came by to say they’d miss me once I was gone. I was touched by their sincerity. Then, a frisson ran down my spine and I knew Rowan had entered the room. Somehow, I can sense my boyfriend even when I don’t see him, and I know he can sense me too. A pleasant warmth spread over my body and I smiled sweetly at the elderly woman I was talking to.

After about twenty minutes or so, my man strode to the front of the room and held his hand up for a speech.

“As you all know, we’ve had the pleasure of working with a few amazing interns over the last few months. I just wanted to make sure they felt appreciated and knew how much we will miss them,” he said looking out into the crowd as his eyes met mine momentarily. “To our interns,” he raised a champagne glass.