The Boss (Managing the Bosses 1)

She giggled. “Really?” Then she quickly dropped the smile when he looked at her straight faced. “Murray’s—MacBane’s food is delicious but it’s not going to help me lose weight.”

“I’ve already let him know you want salads and lighter side foods for dinner. He’ll take care of everything.”

“Oh.” What was she supposed to say? “Okay. Uh, thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Take it easy for the rest of today. If you feel ill, just let me know and I’ll get my driver to take you home.”

“I’ll be fine. Thanks again.” She started to head back to her office.

Alex cleared his throat.

“Yes?” She paused halfway across the room.

“Don’t forget to stay hydrated.” He came around and walked over to the couch, picking up her glass of water and handing it to her.

“Yes, sir.” Jamie looked at him, sure that he was going to fire her just for being a pain in the ass. She clearly didn’t really make his life easier if she was fainting all over the place. She paused at the door between their two offices. “Thank you, sir. I promise this won’t happen again.”

As she turned to leave, Alex called out to her, “Jamie?”

She turned back around to face him. “Yes, Mr. Reid?”

“Eating a snack every thirty minutes is still non-negotiable. If your sister objects to you being her maid of honor over something as trivial as a dress size, then she clearly doesn’t deserve you,” he said.

Jamie gritted her teeth and nodded. “Yes, sir,” she said, and then left. He clearly didn’t understand the importance of dress size. It wasn’t trivial at all.

Chapter 9

The thirty minute timer went off and Jamie stopped typing long enough to turn it off and grab a piece of celery from the Mason jar on her desk. She took a bite of it as she reset the timer and went back to work. She never liked celery, but it was really just a lot of water in plant form and apparently people could burn more calories eating it than they really consumed. It met Alex’s silly requirement of eating something every half hour, and it gave Jamie a small hope of fitting into the maid of honor dress.

“Where’s Alex?” Annette’s voice pierced Jamie’s train of thought and she turned away from her computer screen, doing her best to not look like she was ready to murder someone.

Jamie saved what she was working on. “He’s in his office right now.”

“Good!” Annette barged through Jamie’s office and paused before she stepped through Alex’s door. “Oh, could you run down and get me a coffee? Three cream and two sugars. Make sure you get it at Starbucks, and not some other place.”

Jamie blinked in surprise. She set down the rest of her celery. “Okay,” she said slowly.

Annette wrinkled her nose in disgust. “Make sure you wash your hands before you get it. I don’t want my coffee cup to smell like celery pieces.”

The office door opened and Alex stepped through, bumping into Annette and sending her crashing to the floor. “Annette! Sorry, I didn’t see you!” He bent down to help her up.

She rubbed her ankle still inside her long four-inch heels. “I don’t think I can walk.”

Alex slipped his arms around her and picked her up. He carried her into his office.

Annette wrapped her arms dramatically around his neck and rested her head against his shoulder. “Alex, I’m so glad you’re in,” she whimpered. “It’s been forever since we’ve talked and I wanted to see you.”

“Let’s make sure that ankle of yours is all right. I’ve got ice in my office.” Alex walked back to the door he’d just come through. “I’m extremely busy.”

“I’ll take what I can get, even at the risk of getting hurt.” Annette pointed to her ankle. She turned and smiled at Jamie. “Thank you so much for getting me coffee.”

“You’re getting her coffee?” Alex asked.

“She was kind enough to offer it to me,” Annette said.

Please, bitch, like I don’t see through you. Jamie smiled back politely.

Alex looked at her for a long time. “I see,” he said finally. “Actually, this is perfect, Jamie. I have a few things for you to pick up. Hold on a minute.” He carried Annette into his office and set her down on the couch before heading to his desk and grabbing a pen and notepad. He scribbled something down before wrapping it in a one hundred dollar bill. “Thank you,” he said to her and then closed the door.