The Boss (The Boss 1)

No matter what Neil said, this was his daughter. Her not liking me might affect things between Neil and I more than he anticipated.

I wrapped up the hairdryer cord and took it to my overnight bag to exchange for my curling iron. Okay, so it’s not like I needed to impress Emma. But I would feel a lot better if I looked awesome today.

“This is a treat for me,” I chirped as I plugged in the cord. “I never get to see you shave.”

“Only because you don’t stay the night during the week,” he reminded me. “You’re welcome to stay over any time.”

“I know. I still just... need my space. And my sleep.” I grinned at him.

“Fair enough.” I knew from his tone that he was trying to act like my rejection didn’t bother him. He put his razor aside and splashed water onto his face.

While he wiped away the remaining shaving cream with a washcloth, I casually strolled back to my bag. I pulled out my toothbrush. It was still wet from when I had used it that morning. It was also brand new, though I didn’t expect Neil to have noticed. He watched me in the mirror as he patted his face dry, then dropped his gaze to the brushed steel toothbrush holder between the two sinks. I didn’t meet his eyes, but I knew what a big deal this was to him.

He tried so hard to act as disinterested as I was acting nonchalant. Both of us were terrible actors.

A giggle bubbled up my throat as I dropped the toothbrush into the holder. When I looked up, he wiped his face and tossed the towel on the counter. “Come here,” he growled, catching me around the waist. He hauled me onto my tiptoes, and bent his head to kiss me. My fingers dug into his forearms so I could balance.

It seemed so bizarre to me that such a little thing would make him happy. And it was just a toothbrush, after all. A part of my mind argued that it starts with a toothbrush. Then I’d be leaving a pair of shoes, a portion of my wardrobe, then Bam! We were living together. I figured I could most likely space out those steps pretty wide, though, and there was no reason we ever had to go beyond “toothbrush,” anyway.

He lifted his head and grinned down at me. “I fucking love you.”

“I fucking love you, too.” I squeezed his arms and stepped back. “Come on, we can’t be naked this time when she gets here.”

Neil was dressed and headed to the kitchen before I was done with my hair, so I hurried to put on a little lip gloss and mascara. I dressed super casual, in jeans and a fitted blue tee. I padded through the foyer on my bare feet, and heard the sound of a key in the door.

I seriously debated running as fast as I could, but I didn’t, because I knew I would get caught. The door opened and Emma stepped in. She forced a smile of resignation, a wordless, let’s get this over with, and said, “Hello.”

“Hi,” I said, offering a half-hearted wave.

She stood silently for a moment, shrugged, her eyebrows shooting up as she gestured toward the hallway that led to the other bedrooms. She went in that direction, towing her wheeled suitcase behind her, and I went to the kitchen.

Sue, the housekeeper, was at the kitchen island, grating ginger that smelled like heaven. I was surprised at how effectively the scent calmed my nervous stomach.

Sue was in her thirties, blonde, tan and fit, and probably the best private chef in the city. On top of that, she did the cleaning and the laundry, so I always felt super guilty if we left our clothes strewn across the floor or something. She worked from nine AM until eight in the evening, so some mornings I hurried out of bed and tidied up before she got in.

“Don’t bother to ask her for a crumb, you’ll be cruelly denied,” Neil warned me from the breakfast table.

“You said you wanted lunch at noon. It’s eleven-forty. You missed your window.” Sue winked at me. “I will look the other way if you get yourself a bowl of cereal, Sophie.”

“No thanks.” I didn’t think my guts could handle food with the way my nerves were jumping. I got myself a cup of coffee and slid onto the bench beside Neil. “Emma’s here.”

“Oh?” He looked up, trying to disguise his alarm. “She was headed to her room. We said ‘hi.’ Don’t panic.” I sipped my coffee, trying to be a little center of calm while Sue cooked.

She was nearly finished with lunch by the time Emma came into the kitchen. Neil got up from the table and went to greet her.