Can't Touch: A Boss Romance

“Five minutes,” I say, taking her by the arm and guiding her around the corner. We’re not in private, but it’s better than being watched by everybody in that bullpen. “He won’t fire you because you’re fucking good at your job, and if anyone—anyone—tries to punish you for sleeping with me or talking to me, I’ll make sure that your firing will be known as retribution which is against Core Tech’s bylaws.”

Chianna covers her face with her hands. “It doesn’t matter, Kris. I’ll still be the intern who fucked the executive. No one will want to hire me. And the only person that can make sure that I don’t get on every blacklist in the city is Meynard.”

I stare at her. “I love you,” I say. “I am falling in love with you. And I’m telling you that before anything else because I want you to know that I’m not trying to use anything to force you to be with me. I want you to be happy, no matter what.”

“You…” she trails off. “What did you just say?”

“I said that I’m falling in love with you. You’re the best thing that ever happened to me, and I don’t give a shit what anyone thinks about it, and I equally don’t give a shit how long it’s been. I want all of you. In my life. In my bed. And most of all, I want you to be free to make your own choices, whether they include me or not.”

For a moment there’s the glimmer of tears in her eyes as she looks up at me. Her body sways toward mine and I see her forcibly pull it back. “You said before anything else. What do you have to tell me?”

“Your uncle has been using you to line his own pockets, and I can prove it.”

Shock and surprise register on her face. And then her brows furrow. “How?”

“He’s not paying you. And the salary you should be earning, including your overtime, is going into his account.”

Chianna goes pale. It’s the first time that I’ve seen her go the opposite direction of blushing, and it’s unnerving. “What salary?”

“We pay interns just like we do entry-level employees. Core Tech believes that everyone should be compensated for their time, no matter their experience level. But I’m guessing that he didn’t tell you that. Did he?”

She slowly shakes her head. “No. He did not.”

Taking a risk, I lean down and press my forehead to hers. “I’m sorry.”

“What are you doing with him?” Meynard steps around the corner. “I think I made myself very clear, Chianna. You’re not allowed to talk to him, look at him, even breathe near him, or you’re done.”

She pulls away from me and faces him. “Is it true that you lied about my salary and you’ve been pocketing it and any overtime pay that was meant for me?”

He freezes. I can’t stop the smile on my face. He’s fucked now, and it’s his own doing.

“Y-yes. It’s being added to your trust.”

“Bullshit,” she says. “We both know that’s bullshit. Just like we both know your orders to stay away from Kris are bullshit. You’ve been trying to terrify and bully me out of this job since you offered it to me, so what the hell is going on? You owe me some answers.”

Meynard looks around. Chianna isn’t being discreet, and good for her. He only has himself to blame, and for this, he doesn’t deserve discretion.

“What I did, I’m doing for your own good.”

“Yeah?” she crosses her arms. “You’re going to have to explain that one.”

He shakes his head, twisting up his mouth. “You may think I’m an asshole, but I’m trying to protect you. Doing this job killed your mother. She put everything that she had into it, and then she died. I don’t want that to happen to you.”

Chianna takes a step back like she’s been slapped, and I place a hand on her lower back so she knows that I’m with her. “She died of cancer. Not because of her job. She loved her job. You know she did!”

“And how do you think that she got cancer, Chianna? Hours and hours in an R&D lab with all kinds of untested substances, maybe radiation? You want to follow that same path.”

She blinks. “You have no proof that’s what caused her cancer.”

“Not having proof doesn’t make it any less likely.”

“So let me get this straight.” She takes a step forward again. “You offered me my dream entry job, but lied about the pay so that you could control more of my money. You worked me harder than you had every right to so that you could keep more of that money. And your intent was to make it so that I hated this job so much that I would quit the entire tech field?”