Page 13 of The Boss

I raised a brow. “Do I look like I’m joking?”

“I—” He waved a hand around him. “I’m a software engineer. I don’t know the first thing about being a PA.”

“You’ll learn.” I tapped my finger against his desk. “You’ll learn more about this company working with me than you ever will staying here. You want to climb the ladder? Consider this a shortcut. That is, unless you like running bug fixes all day.”

Chris hesitated. I could see the conflict in his expression—the shock, the doubt, the glimmer of something else. Curiosity? Interest? His coworkers were staring, waiting to see what he’d do. It was an unorthodox offer, and it wasn’t lost on me how it might look to the rest of the floor. But none of that mattered. Him saying yes was the only thing that did.

I crossed my arms. “What’s it gonna be, Landry?”

He exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck. “What if I suck at it?”

I gave a crooked grin. “Then we’ll both suffer until I find another replacement, and you’ll go back to engineering. No harm done.”

Chris considered that for a moment. Then, slowly, his lips curved into that lopsided grin of his. “All right. I’m in.”

A murmur rippled through the office.

I clapped him on the shoulder, feeling something loosen in my chest. “Good boy. Pack your things and come upstairs. I’ll inform Alicia about the transfer.”

As I strode back to the elevator, I could feel the stares, the weight of the entire floor’s curiosity pressing down on my back. The sheer audacity of what I’d just done. Let them talk. This would either be the smartest decision I’d made in months—or an absolute disaster.

* * *

Back in my office, I sank into my chair just as my phone rang. Chantelle. A small smile tugged at my lips as I picked up. “Hey, beautiful.”

“Hey yourself,” she purred. “Busy?”

I sighed, rubbing the bridge of my nose. “More than I should be.”

She clicked her tongue. “Still drowning without Melissa?”

“You have no idea.”

“Well, you’ll be happy to know that I finally found the perfect wedding venue.” There was a proud lilt in her voice. “Grace Church. It’s stunning, Isaac! Classic, elegant—exactly what I wanted. And they have an opening in January, so I booked it immediately.”

I smiled, leaning back in my chair. She described the place in vivid detail, her voice alight with excitement. I let her words wash over me, picturing it, seeing the way her mind had already begun shaping our future. But as she chattered, my focus drifted,my thoughts returning to the scene downstairs, to the stunned look on Chris’ face when I offered him the PA job. The light in his eyes when he accepted it. My lips stretched even wider, and I had to force my attention back to Chantelle. “That’s great, babe. Can’t wait to see it.”

“Oh, you better. I don’t want to hear any complaints when you show up on the wedding day.”

I chuckled. “No complaints. Just tell me where to be, and I’ll be there.”

She hummed in satisfaction. Then, her voice dipped into something sultry. “I’ll see you at your place tonight.”

That got my attention. I sat up straighter. “Yeah?”

“Mhm. And FYI, I’m wearing the lace garter belt and stockings.”

My mind flashed back to the last time she’d spent the night—her nails dragging down my back, her long legs wrapped around me. Her breath hot against my ear, the sound of her moaning my name in the dark. I exhaled slowly.This. This was what I needed. A reminder. Something solid. Something real. “You’re cruel, you know that?”

She laughed. “I know. But you love it.”

She wasn’t wrong.

We wrapped up the conversation, and when I hung up, I felt lighter. The restless itch in me hadn’t fully vanished, but I ignored it. For the first time in days, things were falling into place. A new PA. A wedding date set. A beautiful fiancée waiting for me at home. What more could a man ask for?

7. Chris

The days blurred together, each one slotting neatly into the next, a comfortable routine settling between me and Isaac before I had time to question it. I woke up, went to work, sat at my new desk outside his office, and got swept into a whirlwind of emails, meetings, and last-minute requests that would’ve overwhelmed me if Isaac wasn’t—well, Isaac.

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