Page 4 of Grumpy Boss of the Year

“If I would have known I was joining a love harem, I would have found another office to work in.” I scowl at the four partners of Chase, Parker, & Spector, Attorneys at Law. Max, Kingston, and Remington sit there with wide grins on their loved-up faces, while Gabe flicks through a thick manila folder in his hands.

“We’re in the minority here.” Gabe looks up at me, a glint in his dark brown eyes. He’s the only one of the partners not currently coupled up, and I’m grateful for that. “We should change the firm’s name to The Office Romance.” His tone is sarcastic. “I’m sure there are plenty of women in the city who would love to find a husband they can ‘assist.’”

“Don’t be jealous, Gabe.” Max laughs loudly as he taps his gold-plated pen against his thigh. He’s wearing an Armani suit, and the twinkle in his eyes tells me that he’s not bothered whatsoever by the conversation. “I’m sure we can find you a legal assistant you will want to marry, as well.”

“No thanks.” He pushes his chair back and jumps up, brushing off a stray hair from his navy pin-striped jacket. “Thelast thing I want is an assistant falling in love with me and making my life miserable.”

“Could you imagine?” I shudder. Any talk about falling in love makes me jittery. “Talk about the stalking that would occur.” I look over at Remington, who is smiling at his phone. “Please tell me your lady love is not texting you. We’ve only been in this meeting for an hour, and she’s sitting at her desk, just a few hundred yards away.”

“What can I say?” He grins, putting his phone down as he looks at me. “She misses me and all the ways I make her happy.” He pauses. “The hundreds of different ways.”

“Skye misses the sixty-nine ways I make her happy.” Kingston chuckles, and I roll my eyes as he and Max high-five.

“You gentlemen remind me of my friends at Harrow.” I shake my head and laugh. “From when we were fifteen and students at an all-male boarding school. We had an excuse for being so immature and girl-crazy....” I let my voice trail off to make a point, but all my comment does is make the men laugh.

“How’s your assistant search going?” Max asks me, his blue eyes serious now. “Anyone who can start?—”

“Why are you asking?” I interrupt him with a smirk. “Worried that Lila will choose me instead?” I think of his girlfriend. She’s extremely pretty but not really my type. Maybe it’s because she so obviously dotes on him that I haven’t really given her more than two glances.

“Nope.” He crosses his arms. “But I know you’ve been cycling through Lila, Skye, and Juniper, and you’re driving them crazy with all your demands.”

“I don’t think I have many demands.” I shrug, though I know that’s not true. I like making my assistants work hard. And now that I have a task at hand, I need to push them to their limit. “Plus, it’s not like any of them are working for me full-time.”

“They don’t want to work for you period.” Remington frowns and scrolls through his phone. “You’re driving them crazy, and, Liam, while I respect you as a client, I love Juniper, and I do not want to stress her?—”

“I will not stress her out anymore.” I grin at him. I’m about to tell him that I know a good way to destress her, but I decide to keep the joke to myself. Remington is obviously madly in love with Juniper, and I don’t need him challenging me to a fight over her honor. I’d hate to have to knock him to the ground in under five seconds. “I never thought I’d see the day when you’d be paying attention to the emotional needs of your assistant over your best and most favorite client.”

“Well, now she’s my woman. She’s not just my assistant.” He chuckles and stares at his fingernails for a few moments. “Hopefully soon to be my wife.”

“Whoa, there.” Gabe looks taken aback. “Date her for more than a millisecond before you go making that sort of commitment. That goes for all of you.” He stands up and looks around the room, a crazed expression on his face. “I went away for a few months, and all of you got bitten by the love bug. What is this talk of marriage and commitment?” He shakes his head. “Who’s going to the titty bar with me?”

“You don’t even like strip clubs.” Max chuckles and wraps his arm around Gabe’s shoulder. “We went once, and I know you didn’t even let Mercedes or Sparkle or whatever her name was give you the lap dance I paid for because I saw you on your phone in the middle of the song.”

“I prefer to get my lap dances in the privacy of my own home,” Gabe smirks. “On my couch or bed.”

“I think the man has a point.” I check my watch and stand up. This conversation is going nowhere, and I don’t want to say anything that could get me into trouble. “I have to make a call. It’s almost bedtime.”

“It’s 3:00 p.m.” Remington looks confused as he stares at his watch.

“Seven p.m. in the UK,” I say, by way of minimal explanation. “I will be back.” I grab my phone from the desk and stride out of the office. I can see the man staring at my back, likely frustrated they didn’t get a satisfactory answer about when I’d be hiring an assistant, but I’m not ready yet. I haven’t clicked with any of the applicants that HR has sent through. I like working with Skye, Juniper, and Lila because they are all taken and not making eyes at me. They have no ulterior motives or hopes for working for me. I’m in the States because I want to concentrate on business, not have legions of fans fawning over my English accent and distant relation to the Duke of Marlborough and the royal family. Only the discerning of applicants knows that, though...the ones who have researched me extensively before the interview. The ones who believe the interview is the beginning of a Hallmark movie sequence, whereby they would get the job, and I would fall in love with them and move them into my castle in the English countryside.

The fact of the matter is that while I do have a country manor in Buckinghamshire, with acreage, I much prefer my more modest house in Marylebone as my base. And I’m not looking for a wife. Or a Hallmark movie moment. I shudder at the very thought.

I can’t help but ponder one of the real reasons why I’m in New York. I have always said that I’d do anything to succeed in business, but I do wonder if I am taking things a little too far.

I stop by the elevator and press redial on my phone and wait for an answer.

“Liam, everything okay?” my younger sister, Daisy, answers, and I can hear the TV blasting in the background. "Argh," she groans into the phone. "I think my eardrums are about to burst and run away."

“I could ask the same thing of you, Daisy. What is going on there?” I laugh as I hear Harriet in the background singing one of the songs fromWicked. “I’m guessing you took her to the cinema?” I flinch as I hear the high-pitched cackling, and I'm glad I don't have a front-row ticket to the show.

“Her and two of her school friends.” Daisy lets out a long-suffering sigh and lowers her voice. “I love my daughter and her friends, but Liam, it was the longest afternoon of my life. Let’s just say I wish I could defy gravity and make my way to another universe for the evening. My ears would love me.”

“Are you trying to tell me that my niece is not the best singer in the world?” I joke. "I shouldn't be telling my friends she's about to get a record deal?"

“Liam Gallagher, I am telling you that your niece cannot carry a note to save her life.” She laughs. “She takes after her mother.”

I chuckle loudly as I think back to my teenage years when I wanted to put a muzzle on Daisy's mouth. I step back as the elevator pings, alerting me to the fact that it has arrived. “Hold on, Daisy. The lift just arrived. You may lose me for a few seconds. I’m just going down to the lobby.”

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