The Boss Project by Vi Keeland

I rubbed my bottom lip with my thumb. “I’ll give you the hundred if you win. But if I win, I want a kiss.”

Amelia’s eyes sparkled. “Deal. Let’s play.”



• • •



Two hours later, I sat back in my chair and dragged a hand through my hair. Travis and Will had tossed their cards on the table and gone out back to smoke a joint. “How the hell did you learn to play like that?” I asked.

We’d played Texas Hold ’Em, Five-Card Draw, Crazy Eights, and even Sevens Take All, and Amelia had won almost every single hand.

She leaned forward to rake the last of the pot to her side of the table. “My father loved to play. He taught me how to count cards when I was four, and I’m good at reading people.”

“You count cards? That’s cheating.”

“No, it’s not. It’s using your brain to get an advantage. Cheating is when you hide a few aces under the table and give yourself a winning hand. Or when you help yourself to a view of another player’s cards.”

“But you didn’t mention that you could count cards before we started.”

She shrugged. “I told you I was good at cards and was going to take your money. You didn’t believe me.” Amelia held out her hand, palm up. “By the way, I’ll take my hundred dollars now.”

I shook my head as I dug into my pocket. “I should at least get the kiss I bet since you already fucked me.”

“You didn’t earn it.”

I counted five twenties and held them out. But when she tried to take them, I didn’t let go. Her eyes lifted from the bills to mine.

“Let me earn it a different way,” I said. “Go out with me?”

She plucked the bills from my hand and tucked them into her front jeans pocket. “No thanks.”

“Why not?”

“That would be too easy for you.” She picked up her purse and pulled the strap over her head so it laid diagonally across her body. “But I’ll give you a consolation prize.”

“What’s that?”

“You can watch me walk out.” She turned and strutted toward the door, yelling back over her shoulder. “My ass is even better than my tits.”

She wasn’t wrong. But I was still confused as shit about what had gone down this evening. “Wait. What do I have to do to get you to go out with me?”

She stopped with her hand on the door but never looked back. “Now if I told you that, anything you did would be considered easy, wouldn’t it? Goodnight, Merrick.”





CHAPTER 9

Evie



“Andrea!”

The bellow came from behind Merrick’s closed door. I’d just come upstairs to talk to his assistant about scheduling an appointment, but Andrea wasn’t at her desk. I looked around, and she was nowhere in sight. So I walked to his office and waved so he could see me before popping my head in.

Two people were arguing loudly through his desk speakerphone. But Merrick waved me inside and pushed a button, which I assumed was mute.

“Sorry, I see you’re on a call,” I said. “I heard you yell for Andrea, so I figured I’d let you know she’s not at her desk. I just came up to speak to her myself.”

“Shit.”

“What’s the matter?”

“This call I’m on was in my calendar for this afternoon, not eight in the morning. I think she might’ve flip-flopped two clients when she input the appointments.”

“Oh. Well, do you need something?”

“I need Andrea to run upstairs to my apartment and grab a file that has the reports for this call.”

“I can do that.”

He hesitated. “You sure she’s not around?”

I looked back over my shoulder. “I don’t see her anywhere. But I can check the break room for you, and if I don’t find her, I can grab your file.”

“You don’t mind?”

“Not at all. I’m happy to help.”

Merrick nodded. “If you don’t find her, the file should be on the living room table. Some of the contents are probably outside the folder, so just grab whatever you see.” He pulled out a set of keys. “Top floor, apartment two.”

“Okay. Be right back.”

I quickly checked both the break room and the ladies’ room, but there was no sign of his assistant. So I headed to the elevator and pushed the button for the highest floor on the panel.

When I arrived, I realized apartment two was really penthouse two. I stood with my jaw hanging open as I let myself inside. Merrick’s place was ginormous, with an open floorplan that swept from the gourmet kitchen to the living room and dining room, separated only by a few steps down. I made my way to where he’d said his file was, drooling over the stainless-and-marble kitchen as I passed. Then I completely forgot why I was up here once I got a load of the view from the living room. Floor-to-ceiling windows lined one wall, looking out onto the river and bridge, while the adjoining wall showcased a skyline of tall buildings. I bet it looked incredible all lit up at night.

I could’ve gazed all day, but the boss needed his file—and I needed thirty seconds to nose around the rest of the apartment. At the far end of the living room, there was a long hall, which I assumed led to the bedrooms. So I scooped up the file I’d come to collect and the papers scattered around it, and went to check out the rest of the place.