The Boss (Managing the Bosses 1)

“Finish it, Mr. Reid. You can’t say something loaded like that and then try to hide behind nothing.”

“It’s incredibly sexy.” His cheeks turned red and he stared down at his mug.

“What is?” Her heart sped and its beat pounded against her ears.

“I was right about you calling me by my first name. It’s incredible sexy.”

She giggled. “Really?”

"You have no idea."

Chapter 14

The conversation halted suddenly. She knew he was trying to be kind after everything that had happened.

“All rightie,” he said, standing up. “I need to cancel that meeting going on in...” He checked his watch. “Shit! I need to call the company now.”

“It’s too late to cancel. Just go to the meeting. I’m fine.” She stood and walked to the kitchen, setting her mug by the sink. “I’ll head down to my apartment.”

“I can cancel.”

“Why? I’m fine.”

“I don’t think you should be alone.”

“Mr. Reid. I’m fine. I’d like to finish up what I need to do. I’ll do it from home, but that’s it. I’m back in work tomorrow. I am fine. Seriously. I’m not lying.”

“You can work from my place. Please?”

She inhaled a long breath. “Fine. But only because I left my tablet and laptop at the office.”

He grinned. “I have one here connected to the office. I’ll get it sorted for you.”

“Thank you. Again.”

When Alex reluctantly left her to go to the meeting, she waited till his car had disappeared behind the gates before going down to her suite to shower and change her clothes. After the shower she stared at herself in the mirror. Three spots were showing on her neck that would probably bruise. She could wear a scarf for a few days and hide it. Since it had grown cool, long s

leeves and jackets were the in-thing.

She stared at herself, surprised at how calm she felt. Everything was going to be all right. She was tired of being a doormat. She deserved more. Changes were going to start from this moment on. Stephen was going to apologize the next time he saw her. She wouldn’t put up with Christine’s whining or any pressure from her family. She’d let go of the few friends she’d had in college. Now she didn’t want to be on her own.

She loved her job, her apartment and she was even beginning to like herself again. What happened with Stephen sucked a royal big one, but, oddly, something good was going to come out of it. Her.

She smiled at herself in the mirror and stuffed her hair into a pony. She dressed into a stretchy pair of jeans that were too big around the waist now. “That’s why we have belts,” she muttered to herself and stared at the sparse walk-in closet. She’d been saving money so maybe it was time to buy a couple more work outfits. She grabbed a dark blue t-shirt out of her drawer and threw it on.

Back in Alex’s house, Jamie settled at the bar counter in his kitchen and worked on the laptop. She could totally picture Alex here doing the same thing. Without distractions from the office like ringing phones and people talking, she finished up her work quickly, leaving her with nothing to do but wait for Alex to come back. “Then what?” she asked herself.

Jamie checked her personal phone, ignoring the texts from Christine and her mother. She did not have to deal with them until tomorrow. Alex sent a message on the business phone and she replied to let him know she was all right, just working on the laptop in his kitchen.

She glanced at his computer. It was his personal computer, not his work computer, even though he had access to everything at work. She wondered what he did in his free time. It would be so easy to look at his history.

No. That would be a terrible intrusion of privacy. He was her boss! She was his PA. He had explained a week or so ago that he would like to start incorporating more work at home and hoped she would be okay with working from the house. That had been one of the reasons he had redone the large suite apartment where she now lived. She didn’t mind at all.

She ran her hand over the mouse part of the laptop. She couldn't betray his trust by going through his history. But it was so tempting.

Jamie set the computer aside and made herself another cup of tea, checked her email, and pulled out the food Murray had prepared for them. He’d made some kind of delicious smelling pasta and chicken that she put in the oven to reheat on low. She set the salad back in the fridge and on a whim, set the bar table up for two for when Alex got back.

Her eyes drifted to the laptop again. He didn't have to know. If he walked in while she was on, then she could say that she was checking her email. He probably didn't have anything embarrassing on his laptop. She couldn't imagine him on hooker websites or hard-core porn. It would be the boring usual, she was sure. Email, social media, probably some work-related things, and maybe even some Buzzfeed videos. That would be it. Completely harmless.