The Boss Project by Vi Keeland

“So what do you propose?”

I shook my head. “No one can know about us. At least not at the office.”

Merrick frowned. “How am I supposed to fuck you in my office if people can’t know?”

My eyes widened.

Merrick cracked a smile. “I’m kidding.”

“Oh, thank God.”

He shrugged. “I’ll need to get rid of the glass walls before we can do that.” When he saw the look on my face, he laughed. “I get it. You don’t have to worry. I learned my lesson about people in the office knowing my personal business after Amelia. I don’t even bring dates to work functions anymore. My private life doesn’t need to be on display.”

Hearing him say that made me feel slightly less anxious. I nodded. “Okay, great.”

“One exception though.”

“What?”

“Will. He was my closest friend long before I started Crawford Investments. Besides, he loves to fuck with me. So if he doesn’t know, he’s going to continue to flirt with you relentlessly to piss me off.”

I smiled. “Okay. Hopefully Will can keep it quiet.”

“Thank you.” He reached out and rubbed my bottom lip with his thumb. “How come you haven’t worn that red lipstick you had on during your first interview again?”

My nose wrinkled. “What lipstick was I wearing?”

“It was a bright red.”

I covered my mouth and cracked up. “That wasn’t just lipstick. I’d stained my mouth bright red by eating cherries while I was on my way to the appointment. I did the best I could to even it out, but that lipstick was mostly cherry stains.”

“I liked it. I might’ve fantasized about you with just those red-painted lips and nothing but a pair of high heels on more than one occasion.”

I laughed. “I knew you were a perv. If you’re good, maybe one day I’ll make that fantasy come true.”

“Promise?”

I pressed my lips to his. “Sure, boss.”

He brushed a lock of my hair behind my ear. “Anything else you want to talk about?”

I shook my head. “I don’t think so.”

“Good.” Merrick abruptly rolled us so I was on my back, making me squeal. He leaned down and kissed my lips softly. “Heads or tails?”

“You don’t even have a coin in your hand.”

“Pretend I do. What would you pick?”

I shrugged. “Heads, I guess.”

“Good choice. I couldn’t decide.”

“Decide between what?”

“Going down on you or taking you from behind while you’re up on all fours.” He slid down my body. “Head it is.”





CHAPTER 23

Evie



A week and a half went by before Merrick returned Thursday morning. I was a mix of anxious and excited. I knew it might be awkward to pretend nothing had changed between us, but I missed seeing him every day.

Kitty had needed to stay in the hospital a few days longer than originally expected. Her slight fever had turned into a pretty elevated white blood count, and they’d started her on IV antibiotics. She’d finally come home on Wednesday morning, so Merrick had the nurse he’d hired start that day. Late that afternoon he ran out to the grocery store, and when he came back the nurse was gone. Kitty had fired her the first opportunity she had alone with the woman. So Merrick had stayed another week, until he felt comfortable Kitty was recovered enough from her surgery to be left alone with only Marvin’s help. He’d taken a flight this morning.

I was talking to Joan in the break room when he walked in. The sight of him stopped me in my tracks.

“Hey.” A smile spread across my face, but I realized it was a bit overzealous and reined it in. “You’re back.”

He walked to the coffee pot and gave me a grin that made the butterflies in my stomach flutter awake. My eyes darted to Joan to see if she’d noticed anything, but she didn’t seem bothered at all.

“Welcome back,” she said. “I don’t want to bombard you, but I have a few things to talk to you about when you have time.”

He filled a coffee mug and nodded. “Can they hold until tomorrow?”

“No problem.”

His eyes twinkled as he raised his mug to his lips. There was something mischievous in their depths. After he drank, he set the mug on the counter. “I almost forgot. I found something I think might be yours, Evie.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a lipstick. “Did you drop this? It was on the floor right near your office.”

I shook my head. “No, I don’t think so.”

He looked at the bottom of the lipstick case. “You sure? It’s called Cherry Stained.” Merrick’s eyes dropped to my lips before he looked down at my shoes with a dirty smirk. “It’s still sealed, I think.”

Oh my God. I felt my face heating up. He’d been back five minutes and was reminding me of my promise to wear red lipstick and nothing but heels for him while standing with the head of HR. If this was any indication of his discretion, I was in trouble. When Joan turned her back, I shot him a warning glare. But that only heightened the gleam in his eyes. The jerk was still holding out the lipstick, so I took it.

“You know what? Maybe it is. I only wear it with this one special outfit, so I forgot I even had it.” I looked at my phone, not even catching the time. “Ohhh… Look at that. I have an appointment. I need to run. Welcome back, Merrick.” I smiled at my new boss. “I’ll talk to you later, Joan.”