Page 101 of The Boss Situation

Asher snatches the phone from me and answers it. “Harper, we’re really busy right now,” Asher barks.

He pulls the phone away from his ear, and I can hear her excited screams echoing through the receiver.

“Shh. Listen to me carefully. Billie is out of the office for the rest of the week. She went on a self-discovery retreat. Have everything rescheduled. And anything else can wait until Monday.”

Harper says something back, and then Asher ends the call, handing my phone to me with a sigh.

“Are you insane?” I ask, half amused, half shocked.

“Yes,” he replies with a grin, squeezing my hand. He leads me through the house and out to the back porch.

The fresh breeze brushes across my cheeks, and we both inhale deeply at the same time, then burst into laughter.

Asher guides me over to the hammock setup. He lies down on it first, then opens his arms for me.

“I’m afraid,” I admit, a flutter of nerves dancing in my stomach.

“I’ve got you,” he says, his voice steady as I roll into him. He wraps his arms around me, and the hammock sways violently back and forth.

“What if it flips?” I ask, a hint of panic creeping into my voice.

“Then we’ll fall together,” he reassures me, carefully brushing hair from my face. It doesn’t feel like he’s referring to the hammock.

We’re in a cocoon, hidden from the outside world, just the two of us.

“Are you comfortable?” I ask, knowing my weight is bearing down on him.

“Most comfortable I’ve been in years,” he replies, threading his fingers through my hair.

I rest my head on his chest, listening to the rhythm of his rapidly beating heart.

“You’re heart is racing,” I whisper, feeling his pulse quicken beneath me.

He swallows hard, his fingers trailing down my skin, sending shivers through me. “You always do that to me.”

I meet his eyes and breathe in deeply, inhaling his familiar scent, wanting to bottle it up and keep it with me forever.

“This feeling scares me,” I whisper, vulnerability spilling from my lips.

He softens, a gentle smile spreading across his face. “It’s fucking terrifying.”

“What are we supposed to do?”

He smirks. “Survive. That’s all we can do.”

“I can’t fall in love,” I admit.

He barely leans forward, swiping his soft lips against mine. “You don’t get to decide, Ice Queen. Neither of us does.”

I huff, and he chuckles, holding me tighter.

“Little Miss Needs to Control Every Aspect of Her Life has no control.”

I groan, “So, what is it that we need to discuss?”

I return my head to his chest, and he twirls my hair around his fingers.

“No matter what happens over the next few days, on Saturday, when we’re around one another, you have to promise me that you’ll keep up appearances.”

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