Page 15 of Unlocking my Boss's Heart

“I see. A woman who has it all. Top-notch lawyer, magazine cover husband, housekeepers, babysitters…” she trailed off.

It sounded all too fabricated. I didn’t want to think about it right now, so I changed the subject. “In my line of work, the higher-ups aren’t called CEOs,” I said as I took a big bite.

“Whatever.” Maddison pulled out her phone. “What’s his name?”

I furrowed my brows. “Why do you want to know his name?”

“Because I asked if you have a crush on him, and you avoided the question.”

I gasped. “I didn’t avoid the question. And no, I don’t have a crush on him.”

As I said that, I thought about my reaction to him at the bookstore and how excited I’d been to see him again at the law firm today—even though the instant I saw him behind that desk, I knew he was most definitely off-limits. It was probably just a little infatuation that would fade as soon as I started working with him. Overwork, burnout, and crushes were hardly the recipe for a “happy-ever-after” in my fabricated ideal life.

“Mhm. Right. So, prove it and tell me his name.”

I rolled my eyes, knowing she wouldn’t let the subject drop. “Anton Waltons.”

Her mouth dropped open. “You’re kidding.TheAnton Waltons?”

“Er, am I missing something? Are there multiple Anton Waltons in this city?” I took another bite, unfazed by her reaction.

I’d never heard of him before, but evidently, Maddison had. She quickly typed something on her phone, and a huge grin spread across her face as she showed me the screen with my boss’s photo on it.

“Is that him?”

“Yes, that’s him.”

My heart began to thud again at the sight of his face. It occurred to me that he was much too good-looking to be both a lawyer and my boss. But that was what life in this big city was about: grabbing challenges by the horns and handling them.

Maddison licked her fingers to get the spicy sauce off. “Oh, he’s handsome. No wonder you have a crush and went shopping,” she persisted.

I shook my head. “You’re impossible.”

“Nope. In this city, all things are possible,” she said nonsensically again. “Tell me, what’s the Victoria’s Secret for?”

“To wear under my clothes, and don’t go getting your mind in the gutter.” I snatched up another piece of chicken “I don’t have a crush.” Even though I protested, I knew Maddison would never stop tormenting me about Mr. Waltons now. I shouldn’t have told her about the bookstore meeting. “What’s so special about Anton Waltons, anyway?”

“I don’t know him, but I’ve heard plenty about him.” Maddison waved her hand dismissively, a sly grin forming on her lips. “I don’t blame you for being all moony-eyed over him—”

“Wow, you’re not going to let this go.”

“—his father is rich, so he’s one of the wealthiest under-forty single men in New York. According toMoney Magazine, he was already a millionaire from the womb.” Maddison kept scrolling through her phone, reading off little tidbits as she found them. “Apparently, his family’s wealth comes from a billion-dollar technology corporation that’s been around forever and a day.”

“So, why is he working as a lawyer if he’s always had money?” I asked, wide-eyed.

“To double his wealth and stick it to Daddy, I suppose,” Maddison replied in mock sarcasm. “Why don’t you ask him?”

My eyebrows shut up, and my mouth formed a small “o.”

At my expression, she laughed and thrust her phone in my face. “According to this article, he wanted to bank on his own skills, not his family’s wealth. Shows gumption, if you ask me.”

I nodded.

From the short time I’d spent with him, Anton seemed like a wise, legal, and business-minded person. Learning that he didn’t want to coast on his family’s legacy piqued my interest all the more. Not only was he handsome and successful, but he was also driven.

He embodied what I wanted to become.

A thrill ran through me at the thought of working side by side with him. There was no better way to model success than by working under a role model.

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