Total pages in book: 24
Estimated words: 23738 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 119(@200wpm)___ 95(@250wpm)___ 79(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 23738 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 119(@200wpm)___ 95(@250wpm)___ 79(@300wpm)
This man does not come from money, but he got himself hired at my company, so he must be smart. Driven.
I open my mouth to speak, but before I can, he does.
“Hey, boss.” He smirks, and heat pours into my belly. Feelings I’ve never experienced before crush down on me. “Merry Christmas.”
“Oh, um, thank you.” God, I’m stammering like an idiot. I’m CEO of this company. He should be the one afraid of me, not the other way around.
I look down at my desk, anxiously tracing my lower lip with my tongue as I take a deep breath.
My heart pounds against my ribs like a drum. It doesn’t get this high even during my morning run.
Bringing him in here was a bad idea. I’m about to fall apart.
“Something wrong with your lip?”
His words shock me out of my stupor. I look up to see his eyes bearing down on me, amused and hauntingly sexy.
“Ex-excuse me?” I ask, shocked at his bluntness.
“Your lips,” he repeats, pointing. “I saw you were licking the bottom one. Thought maybe it was bothering you.”
Is he…flirting with me? Coming on to me?
I’m his boss. I run this company. I could fire him in an instant. He should be afraid of me.
“Nothing is wrong with my lips,” I reply. “I just wanted to meet you because—”
“That’s good,” he interrupts, coming around to my side of the desk.
“What are you—?”
He sits casually on top of my things like this is his office and not mine. I’m looking up at him now.
I can feel the heat from his body. I can even smell his scent, like he hasn’t showered in a couple days. But it’s glorious. Like man perfume.
“I wanted to talk to you too and ask for some time off for the holidays.”
There’s a pause as we stare at each other. A tense moment like a guitar string stretched too tight.
“Time off,” I repeat. “You’re kidding, right?”
“I’m not,” he chuckles. It’s like he’s already assuming I’m going to give him what he’s asking for.
But I want to keep him here.
I’m not taking time off. I’ll be here every day until everyone gets back. Having him be here with me would be…well, it would be like my own little gift to myself.
“You have family to go home to?” I ask him. He shakes his head.
“No.”
“A girlfriend then?” This time, he nods.
“Yes.”
My stomach flips. Jealousy burns through me like a hot poker stabbing me in the chest.
His eyes are unforgiving, gripping me like he has an actual hold on my body. Try as I might, I can’t look away.
Thankfully, he turns—but not before bowing, almost mocking my status as his boss.
“Thanks, boss. Have a good Christmas.”
He turns his back on me, and my eyes rake up his body, searching for the lines of his physique beneath his clothes.
His strong, thick hand reaches out for the door. What do his palms feel like? Are they rough like a man’s should be?
He takes a step, and his pants snug up over the muscular curves of his backside.
Oh my God, he’s got a great ass…
I don’t think like this. These thoughts are foreign to me.
I’m Kathryn Meyer, CEO of Meyer Enterprises. I don’t get distracted. But the thought of Blake going home to some girl—the thought of him being with her—causes something inside me to snap.
“No.” The word falls simply from my lips, causing him to stop.
“What?” he asks, turning.
“I said, no. No time off for you.”
His eyes narrow, glaring at me like a wolf. “But you just said—"
“I know what I said. But you’re an intern. Time off is reserved for people higher up on the ladder.”
I should not be behaving this way. I’m abusing my power to keep him here, and it’s wrong.
I can hear my pulse as he stares back at me, causing the tension to rise. It’s like a stare down during a business negotiation, with both parties waiting for the other to crack.
But I don’t crack. And apparently, neither does Blake.
I’m shocked when he smiles back at me. Total lack of propriety.
“Okay. If you say so.”
“I do say so,” I reply. My God, the way he talks to me. It’s like I’m just some girl at a bar or something. He’s not even taking me seriously.
“It’s okay. I get it. You don’t want to be alone.”
My jaw drops.
I’m stunned as he gives me a simple nod and exits my office, leaving the door open behind him.
I’m burning inside as I watch him rejoin the party. Tasha finds him again and instantly goes back to flirting. And it’s not long before more girls from marketing join in, all clearly smitten by the new man.
He smiles, even laughs. Is he enjoying the attention? He couldn’t possibly be interested in any of those girls.
Besides, he has a girlfriend.
The thought causes my insides to twist. My whole body tenses up.