The Boss (Managing the Bosses 1)

Jamie’s cheeks burned as tears threatened to overwhelm her. Her father, who had been the only one to be even a little bit happy for her in her new job, was now telling her boss that he should fire her because he thought she had a crush on him. It had to be the most humiliating day in her life, and she could almost understand Stephen’s wish to just go back to work instead of visit his future father-in-law in the hospital.

Alex looked at her father. His smile was cordial but his eyes were ice cold. “While I appreciate your input, Mr. Connors, I’ll decide what’s in the best interest for my company. It is, in fact, my company. What you should know is that your daughter’s a valuable asset. You should be very proud of her, not ashamed.”

Her father’s cheeks burned red and he tried unsuccessfully to sit up.

“Dad, don’t.” Jamie stepped forward as his heart monitor showed a rapid increase.

Alex huffed, his face completely unreadable. “I’ve got to get back to work, Jamie. Goodbye. Christine, Mrs. Connors, Jamie.” He nodded at each of them in turn and then turned on his heel and walked away.

Jamie stared at her family in defeat. They were really, truly horrible people. All of them. Unable to stay in the room and face her family’s wrath and accusations, Jamie ran out the door.

She hesitated in the hallway, not sure which way to go.

Alex stood by the door and reached for her arm. “This way,” he said. “To the elevators.”

“Please don’t touch me,” Jamie whispered, pulling her arm away as if it was on fire. She walked ahead of him and pressed the down button for the elevator doors. As soon as it opened, she went in, but Alex was too quick for the doors to close. He sidled in after her and pressed the emergency stop button on the elevator as soon as the doors were closed.

“What the heck are you doing?” Jamie was on the verge of tears. She couldn’t hold them in much longer.

“You need to cry,” Alex said. “No one’s watching right now. It’s just us. Let it out.”

“Are you insane? We’re going to get in trouble!”

“I’ll make a substantial donation to the hospital.” He waved his hand as if he held a wand and could pull some magic out of it. “Give them a new wing, new equipment, whatever. You’re upset.” He stepped closer to her. “Breathe, Jamie. Breathe.”

She opened her mouth to shout at him but words didn’t come out. Instead she covered her face with her hands and sobbed. Stress, anger, humiliation, sadness and a million other emotions escaped and poured out of her. She felt Alex take her into his strong arms and rub her back.

“It’s okay,” he whispered. “Just cry, Jamie. Just cry.”

Embarrassed, she cried harder and buried her face in his jacket. His heat emanated off of him and comforted her. She pulled away from him and turned away. “They’re right, you know,” she said quietly as she dug in her purse for a Kleenex. “I’m so stupid.”

He handed her a handkerchief from his suit jacket. “You are definitely not stupid.”

She took it and blew her nose, not caring anymore that her face was probably a red, blotchy mess. “You should fire me.”

“Jamie.” He gently grabbed her arms by the elbows and made her face him. “I’m not going to fire you.”

“My family alone is clearly more trouble than I’m worth. You now know I find you attractive. Your employees have probably a million rumors flying around about us. It’s not worth it.”

He looked at her, amused. “You find me attractive?”

Jamie rolled her eyes. “Out of everything I just said, that’s what you take away from it? I’d have to be blind, deaf, and dumb not to find you attractive. Even then—”

She never finished her sentence because suddenly his lips were on hers. He pulled her in tightly, his hand entwining itself in her hair. Shock ran through her and then waves of pleasure, fear, and pure joy. Alex’s lips traveled to her cheek, then up to her temple, and then rested in her hair.

Jamie blinked, trying to get her scattered thoughts back and push the pleasure aside. Why did this man have to be so damn arousing? Finally, she realized what just happened. “This isn’t right,” she said. “You’re my boss. And...” She almost said and you’ll just break my heart, too, but stopped herself just in time. “You said that you didn’t want distractions in the workplace. That’s why you hired me.”

He laughed softly. “I don’t want distractions. It’s impossible not to get distracted by you. I’ve tried hard not to notice how you bite your lip when you’re nervous, or how sexy you look when you’re trying to be the epitome of professionalism. I love how my name sounds when you say it and I always wonder how it would sound if you just called me Alex.” He straightened suddenly, as if realizing he had said the words allowed.

Jamie flushed, at a complete loss for words. “I don’t know what to say,” she said finally.

Alex stepped back and punched the emergency stop button and the elevator started back up. He pressed the ground floor. “You don’t have to say anything. The fault is mine. I didn’t mean what I just said.” He ran his fingers through his hair once and then became completely professional, unreadable. “I apologize. I was up on the moment, the way this day has gone. I didn’t mean what I said.”

Jamie stared at the numbers winding down from three to two. “You don’t need to apologize. It’s fine.”

“You are very g

ood at your job, and you truly are a valuable asset to this company. I felt sorry for you. The way your family is, the stress of the day. It all caught up with me. It won’t happen again. Ever.” His hands were balled into fists at his side and he stared stonily ahead. “I’ll see you on Monday.” When the elevator door slid open, he stepped through quickly while Jamie waited until the door began to close before she stepped out.