Page 1 of Dear Billionaire Boss
1
MAREN
This is the first Friday I’ve gotten home before midnight in weeks.
My boss has zero regard for any of his employees to experience the joys of having a personal life. As his Executive Assistant, I’m expected to be in the office before he arrives and stay until he leaves for the night. And since he’s become a self-made billionaire before his thirtieth birthday, you can imagine the workaholic schedule he likes to keep.
“What have I been telling you?” My roommate Willa asks sitting on the kitchen counter.
We are waiting for our two other best friends, Lucy and Cassidy, to arrive so we can have a girl’s night. It’s been so long since I’ve seen them, I’m pretty sure that I’ve forgotten what they look like.
“You’ve been saying that I should quit my job,” I say as I pull four margarita glasses from the cupboard.
“Exactly, you aren’t happy doing what you’re doing.”
“I don’t really have a lot of options. My student loans aren’t going to pay for themselves and this job is good money. I just need to hold out until I can figure out what I want to do with myself for a career.”
“Is it possible that you put up with your tyrant of a boss because he looks like he’s just stepped off the runway?”
The doorbell rings, sparing me from having to answer her. She isn’t totally wrong in her assumptions. I mean, I do have about sixty-three thousand dollars in student loan debt that I need to pay off before I can really start my career. But in the meantime, my boss is no slouch in the looks department. His tailored Italian suits, that fit his muscled frame leave little to the imagination as to what his body looks like beneath. If I have to spend most of my waking hours in the office, there are worse people to have to see every day.
I walk out into the living room as Willa opens the front door to let in Cassidy and Lucy.
“I’ve been waiting all week for one of your margaritas,” Cassidy says, setting down the pizza box in her hand on the large square coffee table.
I pour us each a glass of the lime alcoholic goodness and we settle onto the sofa sectional and take a long sip.
“Yes, that hits the spot,” Willa sighs.
“I didn’t think you’d be home in time to hang out tonight,” Lucy says, flipping open the pizza box and grabbing a slice.
“Yeah, I know.” I take another sip. “The boss is in London this week, so my work load isn’t as heavy with a six-hour time difference.”
“You need to quit that job,” Cassidy says.
“Thank you.” Willa points at her and turns expectantly at me. “See, I’m not the only one that thinks you need to quit.”
“Well, we all don’t have parents that will pay for collegeandgraduate school for us, so we don’t have debt to deal with.” I dig at Willa.
Lucy snorts into her drink but doesn’t say anything. Willa narrows her eyes at her but then swings her gaze my way. We both know she doesn’t have a leg to stand on. We all graduated together, but instead of heading out into the real world of adulting, she decided to continue her education on her parent’s dime until she could find out what she really wanted to do with her life.
“It’s interesting how you don’t seem to mind my parents paying for this place and me letting you live here rent free, so you can save more money,” Willa digs right back.
“Okay,” Cassidy holds up her arms between us. “Let’s all take a breath before this turns into a repeat of sophomore year when you two didn’t speak for a month because of Brandon Davidson.”
“I’m sorry,” I say, knowing she’s right.
Willa nods. “Me too.”
“Good, we are all friends again. Let’s clink this out.” Cassidy holds up her glass. We all laugh and clink our glasses.
“What I want to know is why we are all here, staying in on a Friday night?” I ask, refilling everyone’s glasses. “I mean, I know why I don’t have a life, but we are all smart, funny, beautiful women. We should have guys lining up down the block for us.” I turn on the sofa and glance out the window, down at the street below. “It’s empty.”
Everyone gets quiet for a moment, considering the question. Each of us is unique in our own amazing ways—Willa is brilliant, Lucy is a sweetheart, Cassidy is clever, and I’m a bit of a mouth. There’s no reason we shouldn’t be able to find someone that would see just how amazing we all are.
Willa raises her hand. “I know why I’m still single.”
She proceeds to tell us about her crush on the British professor at school, who she’s had her eye on since the start of the semester. Lucy admits that she’s been pining over the bad boy that lives next door, who she’s barely spoken a few words to in passing in the hallway. And Cassidy confesses that after seeing her brother’s best friend last year at her brother’s engagement party, no one else seems to hold her interest.
