Page 5 of Breaking All The Rules

Shit! What was I supposed to do now? Sneak out of the room and go hide my head in shame in my apartment while I looked for another job? I sure as hell couldn’t start one here after I fornicated with—whoever he was.

I tried to look away, to break this stare-down we were having, but I couldn’t. He pinned me in place with that same cocky smile he had given me that night at the club, and suddenly, that same energy started coursing through me as it did that night. Amusement flashed across his face as he watched me squirm in my seat, tugging my skirt down even though it couldn’t go any lower without me pulling it off completely. He rubbed his lips as he cocked his head and stared at me, a million questions appearing to run through his mind as well. But before he could say anything, Regina broke his attention by calling his name.

“Ethan, did you want to come up here and give us an update?” she asked.

My heart skipped a beat as I rushed to put everything together. If this was Roberts and Associates, and his name was Ethan, that meant he wasEthan Roberts... as in—my new boss.

He stood up and adjusted his jacket and tie as he walked to the front of the room, joining Regina, before addressing the room.

I could feel the heat prickle my skin as I rushed to think through what my next steps should be. I could be the coward that I wanted to be and run out of the room, never looking back as I gave up the job that I had been dreaming about for years. Or I could hold my head high and pretend that I hadn’t fucked my boss in the linen closet of a nightclub while trying to get over my ex.

There wasn’t much time to decide as I noticed everyone getting up to leave as the meeting ended. I smiled as politely as I could at those who passed by me, saying hi before they left. It was going to be now or never.

I held my breath when I saw Regina and Ethan approach me. I stood up, my legs shaking in the heels I was wearing as I tried to steady myself. I ran a hand down the front of my black A-line skirt and tried to wipe the sweat away from my brow so they couldn’t see how frazzled I felt.

“Ethan, this is Eva Sanchez. Eva, this is Ethan Roberts,” Regina said with a smile as she looked between us.

We quickly shook hands before I pulled mine back and held it stiffly at my side. There was this undeniable pull between us that made me want to reach out and touch him again, but this time, I knew better. Being this close to his orgasm-inducing body made it hard to believe that he was now my boss. I found myself looking up at him, getting lost in the dark eyes that were once again locked on me the same way they had been at the club that night.

“I have another meeting that I need to jump into. Ethan, would you mind taking Eva to her office and getting her set up? I’ll check in with you guys as soon as I’m done.” Regina’s voice startled me, pulling me out of my trance. She smiled and walkedaway, not giving him a chance to respond. The door shut behind her, and an awkward silence fell between us.

“So... you’re Eva,” he said nonchalantly, shoving his hands into his pockets as he looked at me.

“And you’re Ethan,” I said, trying to force my nerves to calm down. Too late for that. “Or Mr. Roberts? I’m sorry, I shouldn’t assume that I can call you Ethan... I’m not normally this chaotic, and—” I started to ramble when he lifted his hand to stop me.

“Ethan is fine.” He smiled and waved his hand dismissively before walking past me to hold the door open. “Let’s go get you situated in your office.”

I walked beside him down the long corridor that led to the end of the hallway. Two offices sat across from each other and were separated from the other offices with a receptionist desk against one wall and an elevator on the other. It was relatively private, and I felt my stomach tighten when I thought about being by ourselves, separated from everyone else.

“Eva, this is Kate. She is our shared personal assistant. All visitors will check in with her, and she’ll handle all of your incoming phone calls as well as other stuff. We’ll go over all of that here in a little bit,” Ethan explained before extending his hand out to indicate that he wanted me to move along and go to my office. I said a quick hello to the beautiful young girl with golden brown hair and followed him inside.

My eyes widened with surprise as I walked in and saw floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the city behind the large L-shaped desk that sat in the middle of the room. This was by far the biggest office that I had ever been in, let alone been able to call my own. Behind the desk, off in the corners of the room, were two large bookshelves. There was a couch against the other wall, next to a round bistro-sized table with two padded chairs that sat around it. I was still in awe when I felt him studying me.

“This office is incredible,” I said, walking forward and running my fingers along the dark wood of my desk. I slid around the back and sat down in the plush, oversized office chair, looking at the computer set up in front of me. “Why do I need two monitors?” I asked.

“You can choose whether you want to use only one or both; however, I find that having two monitors is helpful when working through cases. Once you get situated, you can decide what works best for you.”

I nodded and leaned back, trying to take in everything. When I thought about this job as my dream job, I never imagined that it would be this glamorous or luxurious. As if reading my thoughts, Ethan sat down on the edge of the desk and smiled at me.

“It’s a lot, but you’ll get used to it.”

“Thanks. Today has been filled with a lot of surprises, to say the least,” I tried to joke, hoping to address the elephant in the room.

“Well, it’s all business here, so we won’t let our past interfere with that.”

His tone had changed quickly, now sterner and more tense than a few minutes ago.

But I had to remind myself that I didn’t actually know the real Ethan Roberts. I only knew the gorgeous man who fucked me in a linen closet and gave me a mind-blowing orgasm. It was evident that there were two very different versions of him, and I was going to get to know this one.

“Agreed.” I pulled my shoulders back as I sat taller and tried to act like I wasn’t the least bit affected by the man in front of me.

Three

Ethan

“Mr. Roberts?” Kate’s voice came through the speaker of my office phone. I pressed the button to answer her. “Yes?”

“I have Brent Wallace on the line for you.”

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