Page 36 of The Boss Problem

“But my name is one thing that I hope to convince you isn’t trivial,” she added.

I scoffed. “I meant trivialities such as the compliment, Chloe. Not your name. You, your name, your words, and your body—nothing about you is trivial. A man would be a fool if he thought that,” I said with no difficulty. “You help me win the love of my son, and I promise I’ll make it worth your time.”

She seemed softer around the edges when I said that, and her face glowed even more, if that was possible. She was radiant.

I paused, our eyes holding each other’s gaze. In that instant, our warring selves put down their swords, shields, and every bitof armor they possessed. In that instant, we were looking at each other, our souls bared down to their basic levels, naked.

She nodded, her gaze not leaving mine. “I’ll do it,” she said, extending a hand out.

I stared at the bare, sun-kissed arm for a moment too long before I took her hand in mine. We shook, and I loved the feel of her hand in mine more than I should have. It was soft, quite possibly like the rest of her. Parts of her I could never explore, except in my dreams. Oh, she was a regular appearance in my nightly dreams these days. Lush, sweet, and arousing, in a way that drove me insane. So, in return,Idrove her insane too.

I’d woken up with an image of my mouth between her thighs while she was lying flat on her back, whimpering. I kissed her inner thighs, dipping down to run my tongue over her clit. She tasted sweet, and I kept up my attentions, stroking her and teasing her while she got breathy, her face flushed and lips parting. Her hands were in my hair, her mouth gasping while she pushed my head further down. Before long, she had cried out my name while her tense body shuddered with release.

God, what was I doing, having her work for me?

“Why do you want this job anyway?” I blurted out, frustrated. How many more erotic dreams would it take to get her out of my system? “I swear you were doing something else in between all the foolish errands I made up for you.”

“Ah.” She gave me a gleeful smile, her hand on the table as she stood up and prepared to leave. “Now that you’ve run out of foolish errands to make up for me, you might find out.”

She beamed and turned around, walking away. My gaze went to the smooth curves of her ass before the door fell shut behind her.

Darn it, she was mysterious, too, and my need for her rocketed sky high.

19

CHLOE

The idea that Sean thought nothing about me was trivial gave me a warm feeling that stayed with me all day. I couldn’t stop smiling as I went over his words in my mind.

“You, your name, your words, and your body—nothing about you is trivial. A man would be a fool if he thought that.”

Wow. No one had ever paid me such a compliment. Compliments had been rare when I was with Bruce. I wasn’t evenwithSean. The idea was ridiculous, but he had made me feel amazing for today and given me the fuel I needed to keep going for the next few days.

Most days, I quietly bore the weight of guilt surrounding Henry’s accident. Henry didn’t know about it either. It was like a pinprick in my conscience, one I had tried my hardest to get rid of. I usually could ignore those twinges of guilt if I was busy. Running errands, obsessing over Henry’s calendar, trying to schedule his physical therapy. Some days, I had fewer things to obsess over, and when time opened up freely, so did my guilt. A stranger’s kind word did occasionally make my day better,and to get one from a man as grumpy as Sean, well, its effect quadrupled for me.

In the few days I’d been working for him, I’d noticed that when Sean walked past people at work, they would hold their breath. Once he was out of sight, I’d see people relax, sigh in relief, and crowds disperse. There was a magnetic charm and fear attached to him that fascinated people.

His other request stayed in the back of my mind when I was running between floors to try to get the heads of marketing and sales to agree to a meeting. It stayed with me while I took the subway home and while I cooked dinner for Henry and me.

I spoke to Tess, my childhood friend who lived in Virginia, while I sat on the couch after a comforting meal of spaghetti with meatballs. Henry had gone to his room, and I was yearning to talk to someone.

Tess, a pretty brunette with a never-give-up attitude, had recently gotten engaged. I was itching to find out when she was planning the wedding. Of course, the side effect of her happiness was that she was constantly trying to get me in the dating game too.

When I brought up my previous mistake—ditching Bruce for Henry—she became serious. “I don’t want that for you ever again, Chloe,” she said, her voice tender. “You, Chloe, deserve something more than just living only for Henry.”

I felt hurt. “Tess, I don’t just live for Henry. I have my own dreams too,” I said, hoping that she wouldn’t ask me what they were.

“Forget your dreams. Tell me what you want in a man. I’m sure I could set you up with someone I know.”

I laughed. “Tess, my demands are impossible to meet.”

“Try me.”

I began to protest, but Tess wasn’t having it.

“All right,” I said, thinking quickly to all the things Bruce hadn’t done for me. “Well, I want a man in my life who will take care of me. A man who won’t run away when he realizes that Henry is a part of my life. A man who won’t think twice about skipping important work meetings to be with me when I need him.”

Bruce had once refused to join me to celebrate a pay raise because he wanted to work late.

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