The Boss hole (An Enemies To Lovers Romance)

“Do these fairy women sleep with the men while they are in dragon form? That seems… logistically difficult.”

“Leave it to you to worry about logistics,” she said. “No. When they get sexually aroused, they turn into humans. But the fairy girls are so tempting the dragon guys are almost always in human form when the girls are around. But when they’re in human form, they’re kinda ready to go, if you know what I mean. Not a lot gets done in these communities, as you can imagine.”

“It sounds like the fairy women get done quite a bit.”

Jules pulled her chin back, raising her eyebrows and then laughing. “Mr. White. Did you just make a joke? Has humor been hiding in there this whole time? If I’d known a little alcohol would get you to loosen up, I would’ve been spiking your coffee from day one.”

“I try my best to keep work and my personal life separate. It’s simpler that way.”

“You can be personable without getting personal,” Jules said.

“In some cases, maybe. But in other cases, I think it might be unwise for me to get too personable. It could send the wrong message.”

Jules had been standing close, but now she seemed far too close. If I’d been more sober, I would’ve done the smart thing and stepped back, because I could feel the soft pressure of her breasts against my stomach. I also should’ve been far more aware of how easily my employees could’ve looked at us and seen what was going on.

But I wasn’t sober. And Jules wasn’t just tempting to me. She was addictive. She was like a taste of hard drugs to a recovering addict, and I could feel myself in very real danger of slipping down a dark, unforgiving slope with her.

“What sort of messages are you worried about sending?” she whispered.

That I want to fuck my personal assistant, even if it risks destroying everything my partners and I have worked for over the past ten years. I closed my eyes, because it was the only way I could focus. I couldn’t look into her face and say what I needed to say. Some part of me clawed its way through the haze of alcohol and said the right thing. “I think I’ve made a good enough show of having fun. You may want to turn in soon. I need you here bright and early tomorrow morning.”

Jules was still standing too close, so I took a step back, then pursed my lips in something approximating a smile.

I lowered my voice to a bare whisper. “Letting go like this only makes it harder to go back to the way things have to be. Tomorrow, I’ve still got to be Mr. White. I’ve still got to run this company and pursue my goals. And tomorrow, I’ll still need you to just be my personal assistant.”

“We’re both adults,” Jules said. “I can be friendly with my boss and still do my job. And you can speak your mind around me if you want to. If you cross any lines, I’ll tell you. It’s like I said. I’m a big girl and I can handle myself.”

“I know you can. And I respect you for it. Have a good night, Jules. I’ll see you in the morning.”

9

Jules

Mr. White liked buzzing my desk and gruffly demanding to see me in his office. I was convinced of that. I could almost picture him in there with a smug grin on his face as he waited for me to make the walk.

I got up, making a point of taking my sweet time just to be ornery. I also still had a lingering heaviness in my head from the drinking at last night’s party and today’s early start. Mr. White hadn’t been kidding about needing me first thing. He’d sent Harvey again to pick me up and swing by to gather his black coffee and pick up the shirt I’d sprayed yesterday.

Mr. White was relentless when it came to assigning me tasks. Every day was a revolving door of urgent items that needed my attention and a strict focus on detail. I could tell he never quite thought I’d be able to keep up or meet his standards, so I was learning to find great satisfaction in exceeding his expectations.

For once in my life, I had a chance to prove I was capable. Someone was asking me to apply myself and really dig deep, and I felt like I was thriving, even if I was tired as hell.

I noticed a few polite smiles and nods from the people on the publishing floor as I headed to Mr. White’s office. It wasn’t exactly friendly, but it was a slight improvement, I guessed. Maybe they just needed time to make sure I wasn’t some sort of secret enforcer working for Mr. White.