Boss Next Door

I smile thinly as I step inside, doing my best not to let the panic swirling in the pit of my stomach to consume me whole. “Thank you, I’m sure that it will taste awesome. I appreciate the effort.”

“So, I guess I don’t need to ask you how your day went today?” he teases me playfully. “Because I know that you were amazing. I told you that you would kick ass and then I was lucky enough to see it.”

I don’t know if I can handle making jokes about it. It makes me feel ill. I nod along as if this isn’t destroying me from the inside out, but my organs are being torn apart. I think I might know which way this is going to go after all, even if that isn’t what I want. I have to do what’s right…

Chapter 10 – William

Serena is still uncomfortable, I can sense it emanating from her, but I know that if I keep acting like everything is okay then she will soon come around to my way of thinking. She will soon relax into this. I might have been freaked out before but I have settled into things now, and I know what I want and how to get it as well.

“It’s all ready now,” I assure her when my joke about work falls flat. “So, if you want to take a seat…”

She does as I ask of her, barely bothering to look around to see how empty my place is. I haven’t exactly bothered to decorate this place since it’s only my week day home, but I suppose it wouldn’t matter if she did ask questions now. I don’t have to hide my money and my mansion just out of town because she has worked it all out.

I hate to see her looking so distracted though, so consumed with worries. I can only hope that some wine will help to ease the tension. I brought a couple of bottles from the store anyway, just in case.

“Here we are.” I hand her a plate of food and a glass of wine. “It shouldn’t poison you…”

She lets out a strangled laugh and quickly glugs back a little too much wine. The poor woman is a nervous wreck. She can drink however much she needs to until that stress goes away. Just hopefully not too much that we can’t have this conversation because it’s very much needed. I want to let her know that I will do anything for her.

“Is it okay?” I ask cautiously, wincing as she takes a bite. “You haven’t thrown up yet. Is that a good sign?”

“It tastes good.” She nods and smiles. “Thank you for sorting that out for me. It’s lovely.”

There is a beat of silence before I reply, needing to address the next part of this. “Not as we expected though…”

“No, you are right about that one.” Serena can’t meet my eyes all over again. “This isn’t how we thought that this dinner would go, is it? I should be telling you all about my day, maybe slagging off my new boss, chatting about the staff. But instead, it’s a bit awkward, isn’t it? I don’t really know what I should say…”

“It doesn’t have to be awkward, does it?” I ask her with my head cocked to one side. “Not the whole time anyway. We can work it out so that it isn’t weird. I think it’s just because it’s unexpected, that’s all.”

Serena meets my eyes and I can see the doubt in her gaze. She definitely isn’t as sure as I am. But that’s okay. It’s easier for me to be alright about this because I’m the boss and in control…not that I intend my work position to get in the way of our personal life. I might be the boss in the office, but here we are equal in our personal lives.

“You want to work it out?” Her voice is cloudy and fearful. “You really think we can have it all?”

“Don’t you?” I drop my fork and stop eating when I see that she seems to be ending this. That isn’t the way that this is supposed to go. I should be convincing her that everything will be fine. “I don’t know about you, but I haven’t ever felt an immediate connection with anyone before like I have with you and I don’t want to let go of that.”

“So… perhaps I should look for another job then?” I can tell that Serena doesn’t want that even as she says it which floods a sense of pride through me. I must be doing something right if she still wants to work for me. My company must offer a warm and a welcoming atmosphere, despite everything. “Will that make it easier?”

“I don’t want you to work somewhere else. I like having you at my place. Plus, you worked hard to get the job, didn’t you? You did all of that research and everything. I think you get on well with Alisha and the team as well. And you need the job. It’s so convenient from here, the exact same reason why I chose an apartment in this block…”