Just a Bit Bossy by Alessandra Hazard

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 29

 

 

When Nate walked into the office the next morning, no one seemed to be working.

“What’s up?” he said, looking in bemusement at all the people gathered around Alex’s computer.

“The boss changed his relationship status on Facebook!” Alex said.

Nate tried not to show any outward reaction. Although Raffaele had said he would do it, he hadn’t expected that he’d bother doing it so soon. But then again, he wasn’t sure why it surprised him. Raffaele wasn’t one to hesitate or change his mind once he chose a course of action.

Fuck, Nate missed him already. At his own insistence, they’d arrived at work separately. Nate hadn’t seen him ever since Raffaele kissed him goodbye very early in the morning and then left before Nate even properly woke up.

“Do you have any idea who the lucky woman is?” Camilla said.

Someone in the crowd snorted and said, “You mean the unlucky woman?”

“I wish I were that unlucky,” Camilla said, rolling her eyes. “He’s filthy rich and very hot. So what if he’s an asshole? All men are; some are just better at pretending that they aren’t.”

“Hey, I resent that,” Nate said.

“Me, too!” Alex chimed in, laughing. “You’re too young to be so cynical.”

“You both are exceptions to the rule,” Camilla said before peering at Nate. “You were his PA for ages. Surely you have some idea who she might be?”

Nate fidgeted under the scrutiny of twenty pairs of eyes, feeling painfully awkward and unsure. Despite his words to Raffaele last night, he couldn’t just say it. He still didn’t want to hide, but… away from Raffaele, it was so much harder not to give a damn about his co-workers’ opinions.

Fuck, how was he even supposed to reveal that? Surprise, it’s me?

“What’s going on here?” Jordan’s sharp voice said from behind. “Why are you not working?”

Everyone quickly returned to their desks, and Nate breathed out. He had never been happier to hear Jordan’s voice. But he knew it was just a temporary respite.

The day seemed to drag.

He pretended to be incredibly busy every time his co-workers attempted to question him, putting off the inevitable. He didn’t want to lie to anyone, but he had no clue how to tell the truth. Maya had taken the news well—after making fun of him for his inability to keep it in his pants, of course—but his colleagues were an entirely different thing. Nate hadn’t expected how big of a deal Raffaele’s relationship status would be. The whole building was buzzing with gossip. Just as Raffaele had predicted, it had taken a total of five minutes for the entire company to know about it. There were actually betting pools on who it was. Some supermodel Raffaele had been seen with in the past was currently the favorite.

It irked Nate, his stomach churning with ugly, vicious possessiveness. He’s mine, not hers, he wanted to snap. Mine.

But he didn’t know how to say it.

To make things worse, he missed Raffaele already. Despite being in the same building, they might as well be across the city. Nate couldn’t believe how clingy he felt, considering that they’d had sex three times last night. He should have felt sated. And he was—physically. He didn’t even necessarily want sex. He just wanted to see him, kiss him, touch him, breathe in Raffaele’s scent, and feel his wry smile against his mouth.

God, he had it so bad it was kind of embarrassing. Nate found himself grinning stupidly at random moments. Despite being stressed over how to reveal their relationship to his co-workers, he’d never felt so happy.

Raffaele loved him.

Loved him.

Nate wanted everyone to know that. He did. Heck, he wanted to shout about it. But it was so much more difficult to tell the truth now that the rumor mill was running rampant and everyone was incredibly invested in their favorite candidates. He felt like the window of opportunity was gone, and it would just be weird if he said anything now.

Fuck, what a mess.

“Come on, Nate, just give me a hint!” Camilla said. “Is it Karen Milson? The actress? I’m going to bet on her. She accompanied the boss to the anniversary party in honor of the partnership with Rutledge Enterprises. They look so good together.”

Nate fixed his gaze on his computer screen. “It was just a publicity stunt for her sake. She’s something of an old acquaintance, as far as I know.”

Camilla deflated. “Fuck. I’m out of ideas, then. And here I was hoping to sweep the betting pool. I could use the money. Emma wants to go to Disneyland for her birthday, but...”

Nate shot her a sympathetic look. Camilla had become a single mother at nineteen, after her boyfriend had dumped her when he found out about her pregnancy, which was probably why she was so cynical about men. Nate admired her for managing to finish school despite having a baby to take care of. He knew she still struggled financially. Although she was too proud to talk about it much, it was obvious that money was always tight.

He wished he could help her.

But then again… he could, couldn’t he?

A mischievous smile appeared on his face at the idea. Maybe he could make one person happy when it was revealed who the “secret girlfriend” was.

When it was six o’clock, Nate got to his feet, leaned down to Camilla’s ear, and murmured, “Bet on me.”

“What?” Camilla said, blinking at him.

Nate just gave her a sheepish smile and a shrug.

Her eyes widened almost comically. “WHAT?”

“Hush,” Nate said, glancing around. “Keep it quiet if you want to win.”

He walked away quickly, ignoring Camila whisper-yelling at him and demanding answers. It was six already. His workday was over. He couldn’t stand the idea of staying here even a moment longer, surrounded by his gossiping colleagues while they speculated about which supermodel his Raffaele was in a relationship with. He would go to Raffaele’s apartment and wait for him there. He knew he’d have to wait a long time—Raffaele rarely left work before eight—but Nate didn’t care. He wanted to see him. It had been twelve whole hours since he’d seen him. Yeah, “clingy” didn’t even begin to describe it, but he didn’t give a damn.

Nate was heading across the parking lot to his car when a familiar white Maserati rolled smoothly to a stop in front of him.

Nate stared.

He hadn’t expected that Raffaele would want to go home so early—it was so unlike him—but maybe he was just as impatient as Nate was.

The passenger door opened, and Nate smiled helplessly. His feet moved.

The next thing he knew, he was inside the car and then Raffaele was right there, and their mouths were meeting hungrily, licking into each other, pressing closer, tighter. God, this man.

Very distantly, Nate was aware of some noise in the background, but he couldn’t focus on anything but Raffaele’s arms around him and his firm, sensual lips on his.

When someone wolf-whistled, they broke apart, gasping for air.

Blinking dazedly, Nate opened his eyes.

He found a few dozen people staring at them, their mouths agape, expressions of utter surprise and shock on their faces. A few people had their phones out, clearly taking pictures.

Fuck.

A laugh left Nate’s mouth. And here he had been, stressing about how to tell his colleagues that they were together.

His face very warm, he looked at Raffaele and just laughed harder when he saw that he was actually attempting to put on his I’m-your-scary-and-horrible-boss look. It wasn’t working very well, considering that his hair was tousled, his dark eyes were glazed, and his lips were still wet and shiny. He looked infinitely kissable and hot, not scary at all.

The intimidating air was also probably ruined by the fact Nate was practically in his lap.

Nate sat back in the passenger seat and gave an awkward smile to their captive audience just as Raffaele smoothly drove them away. His smile turned sheepish when he noticed Brenda among the gawking crowd. She was the only person who didn’t look all that surprised. She gave him a crooked smile and mouthed something that looked suspiciously like I told you.

He chuckled, remembering all the times Brenda had tried to convince him that Raffaele treated him differently from everyone else.

“I hope Camilla managed to put a bet on me,” Nate mumbled, looking away. The cat was out of the bag now. It was almost a relief. Everyone would know now. And maybe the way it was revealed was for the best, no matter how embarrassing it was. The fact that Raffaele had picked him up—and kissed him—in front of everyone showed that he wasn’t ashamed of their relationship—that he was serious about Nate. Raffaele wasn’t exactly known for public displays of affection.

“What?” Raffaele said, his gaze on the road.

Ignoring his buzzing phone—those were probably messages from his freaking-out co-workers—Nate stared at Raffaele’s strong, handsome profile and smiled helplessly, unable to believe this man really was his. Raffaele loved him. He loved him.

“Nothing,” he said, taking Raffaele’s free hand. He felt terribly lovesick and clingy, even though Raffaele was right there. Fuck, he wanted to kiss him so badly, but he was driving.

Raffaele glanced at their joined hands. “Don’t get soppy on me,” he said. But he didn’t pull his hand away, and the look in his dark eyes was soft and indulgent.

Nate smiled wistfully, remembering their first meeting. So much had changed in a year. Who could have thought back then that he’d fall in love with that insufferable, seemingly heartless asshole?

“Soppy? Of course not,” Nate said with a grin—and intertwined their fingers.

Raffaele rolled his eyes but let him.

The End