The Boss(hole) by Penelope Bloom
Juliette
My last stop before leaving North Carolina was to have Anastasia over to my place. She took one end of my thrift store couch, and I took the other. I’d just finished summarizing everything that had happened, and her eyebrows were officially raised.
“Wow,” Anastasia said. “When you texted that things were ‘spicy’ I expected you to say some creep at the office tried to pinch your ass.”
“Well,” I said. “I guess I should’ve known this secret of mine was eventually going to explode.”
“So you really like this guy?” she asked. “Adrian.”
“Yeah.” I smiled. “He expected the world from me as soon as I started working for him. He was unreasonable, aggressive, and abrasive.”
“Sounds charming,” Anastasia deadpanned.
I grinned. “All the guys I knew before thought I was a spoiled princess. Just some useless wallflower who was only good at swiping daddy’s card. Adrian was the first who actually expected me to be capable. Or maybe he thought I couldn’t manage, but he appreciated what I could do when I did it. He values me for what I’ve done.” I shrugged. “I don’t know. I mean that’s just part of it. I also feel like jelly every time I’m within a few feet of the man. And I respect what he’s trying to do. He makes me feel safe, too. Like in a kind of overprotective, caveman sort of way. But it’s still nice.”
Anastasia nodded. “Sounds perfect. Have you checked him for a power cord? He could be a robot. The real ones always have a flaw somewhere.”
“I’d say I’ve thoroughly explored him. If there was a power cord, I would know it by now.”
She arched an eyebrow. “You dirty dog.”
“I’ve been sneaking into his office once or twice a day now,” I admitted. “Until he left for New York, at least. He just takes me on his desk. Or against the wall. Or on the floor.”
“Jesus. Look at how my little girl has grown,” Anastasia said with a half smile. “Practically a porn star now, aren’t you?”
“Stop,” I laughed. “It just has all kind of been based around work. We both work so late and get up so early. I don’t really get to have him over or do a whole lot of actual dating. So the office is really the only place where… yeah.”
“Sounds hot. Do the employees watch? You should give him a blowjob while making eye contact with them to assert dominance. At least that’s what I’d do.”
I rolled my eyes. “Maybe that’s why you don’t work for Maxi anymore.”
“I don’t work for Maxi anymore because she’s an uptight bitch who wouldn’t know a useful employee if they yanked the stick out of her ass and crawled up there themselves.”
“Vivid image,” I said.
“Yeah, well, fuck her.”
I laughed. “Fuck her,” I agreed.
“And fuck your new boss. On the floor. Or on his desk. Or against the wall,” she said.
I shook my head. “You’re ridiculous.”
“Considering the story you just told me, I think you have no room to talk. I’ve never pressed my face into my boss’ boner in an airplane bathroom.”
“I’ve only done that once,” I said, as if that was a valid defense.
“I don’t usually say this to people,” Anastasia said. “So if you repeat it, I’ll claim you’re lying. But I’m going to miss you. If you come back to visit, you’ll let me know, right?”
“Wow,” I said. I rushed across the couch and hugged her, but she started pushing me off. I hugged her anyway, smiling into her shoulder. “I’m going to miss you too.”
“Don’t make it weird,” she groaned, awkwardly patting my back.
“Too late,” I said. “And I’ll come visit you whenever I can, bestie.”
Anastasia groaned.
I’d never actually beento Adrian’s place in North Carolina. If our relationship had been normal, I would’ve considered that a red flag. But I was with the man almost every hour of the day when he was working, and I sensed that he’d wanted to at least keep one boundary between work and our personal lives. Oddly enough, that boundary seemed to be that we had generally only interacted at work.
Now that was all going to change, I supposed. In fact, it was going to completely reverse, and I hoped our fragile relationship could handle it.
The apartment he secured in New York was a pleasant surprise. I’d seen what a lot of multi-millionaires did with their money. They bought the biggest, most pretentious space they could afford and expected everybody who entered to fall on their knees and begin worshipping.
Adrian didn’t appear to be that type of man. The place wasn’t an echo chamber that was large for the sake of grandeur. It was cozy and had character with exposed brick walls and some industrial touches. It was a two bedroom with a view, and the few nice furniture pieces, paintings, and even a surprising amount of family photos made it feel more like a home than anywhere I’d ever lived growing up.
It occurred to me that I didn’t even know if he was a billionaire. I didn’t know that I particularly cared, but I also hadn’t met many billionaires who weren’t horrible human beings. There was a certain kind of narcissism that drove men and women to keep playing the game of acquiring wealth past a point. It was hoarding resources for the sake of hoarding resources and competing against their peers.
But Adrian, at least, had noble intentions. That set him apart from the majority of the people who ran in my father’s circles. He wanted to accomplish something, and it had nothing to do with money.
Adrian stopped me once we were in the door and kissed me fiercely. He was a physical being, and once we’d crossed the threshold of accepting our relationship, he could barely keep his hands off me. When his mouth was against mine and our bodies were together, my worries melted away. All I needed to do was hold on and let the moment wash over me like refreshing waves of ocean water on a hot day.
But he pulled away from the kiss, then tucked my head toward him and kissed me once more on the crown of my head. “Go ahead and get yourself set up. I’ve got a call with Myers I need to prepare for. I’m going to head down to the office.”
“Oh,” I said. “Myers? I don’t remember setting that up.”
Adrian had already gone halfway out the door when he paused. He hesitated, then sighed and turned to look me straight in the eyes. “I have a secretary at the office. She’s not replacing what you do, but there are just some inter-office things that’ll be easier for her to arrange since she’s on site.”
“Oh,” I said quietly.
He smiled, but I could tell from the look in his eyes he was already shifting to work mode. It was something I’d learned about him. The man had a one-track mind. Once he got his thoughts on work, it was nearly impossible to peel him away. Worse, he only seemed to devote a minimum percentage of his brain power when he was in this mode to things like noticing my feelings. “I’ll see you tonight,” he said. He gave me another quick kiss, then smiled and left.
I was just standing there feeling gutted when the door closed. Another secretary. It was exactly what I’d been afraid of. This whole thing was a farce. Adrian wasn’t going to really see me as his assistant anymore. I was just his girlfriend, and I was getting paid to keep my head in the sand.
I dragged my little suitcase to the couch and flopped down, turning on the TV. I wanted to watch something to take my mind off everything. I went to turn it on and saw nothing had been set up. The damn thing wasn’t even plugged into the wall yet.
I dramatically sprawled out. At least the couch was comfortable. That way I could wallow without getting cramps in my back.
I picked the situation over while I lay there, then decided to call Lythe. We’d exchanged numbers before I left for New York, and I didn’t want to worry Anastasia by calling so soon after our last talk. There were probably a dozen other people I could’ve called from my old life, but I was still hung up on how none of them had bothered to see through the obvious smokescreen of my “extended vacation.” Lythe, at least, liked me for me. Not for being a Coleton.
“Hey, stranger,” Lythe said once she picked up after a few rings.
“I need some advice,” I said.
“Okay, one sec. I’m in the breakroom. Let me get to my desk.”
I waited, listening to the muffled shuffle of her movements and vague hints of conversation from the office. It was ridiculous, but I already felt homesick for the offices of Coleton Publishing. At least I’d been allowed to show my face there.
“Alright, sorry,” Lythe said. “Bunch of eavesdropping assholes back there. What’s up?”
I hadn’t thought too hard about doing it, but I decided to tell Lythe the full truth about who I was. I left out Adrian’s secrets, but decided those weren’t necessarily needed for the advice I wanted. I also included as much as I dared about me and Adrian’s relationship so far, which came as news to Lythe.
“Wow,” Lythe said once I’d finished. “I should probably be more shocked about the Coleton thing, but I’m honestly trying to get over the fact that you got into Adrian White’s pants.”
I groaned. “Oh, come on. That can’t be the most interesting part.”
“I don’t know,” she said, laughing. “I’d be lying if I said I’d never wondered what was behind those fancy slacks of his. The man may be a nightmare, but he’s a gorgeous one.”
“That’s my sort of boyfriend you’re talking about,” I teased.
“So is he actually nice to people he sleeps with?” Lythe asked. “I can’t picture it. Does he get you flowers? Massage your feet?”
I laughed. I needed this. It felt normal, and I was already feeling less gloom and doom about my situation. “We’re still finding our rhythm. As soon as we halfway made things official, we had to pack up and move to New York. And now he’s extra busy getting set up at the new job, so…”
“So no foot rubs yet?”
“No much of anything,” I admitted. “Except the way he practically mauls me whenever he gets a rare break from work. Not that I’m complaining,” I added. “It just feels like we’re kind of in a holding pattern until things settle down. But who knows when that’ll be.”
“Relationships are hard. Maybe see if you can get him to agree to take a little time off tomorrow and do something with just the two of you? I bet you’ll feel a lot better.”
“Yeah. That’s a good idea. I’ll try.”
“Oh, and Jules? Our new boss is a total dweeb. So I’m blaming you for helping my former hot boss get promoted and stealing my eye candy.”
I grinned. “You need to make up your mind. Was he the worst boss ever, or do you want him back?”
“I framed a picture from a company retreat of him and put it on my desk. So he can stay in New York, I guess. But I will miss those beige slacks he wore sometimes. That man looked like he was smuggling giant peaches in the back of those things.” Lythe let out a low, catlike growl.
“God,” I said, grinning. “It sounds like I should be glad we moved. Otherwise you and I would need to have a word or two about boundaries.”
“He’s all yours. I just liked looking.”
I thanked Lythe for the advice and ended the call, feeling significantly better. I was overreacting. Adrian getting a new secretary for the office made sense. After all, he was right. I couldn’t be in the office and have access to some of the people she would. It was just practical, so I was going to stop being dramatic and get over it.
Eventually.
When he came home tonight, I’d see about accomplishing the impossible and getting him to take a break from work to take me out.