Page 23 of Sexy Bad Boss

“Bartender, can we get a bottle of your best whiskey?” He grins at me, with a cheeky raise of his eyebrows that makes me laugh. “Only the best for my number one admin.”

“Eighteen-year-old Macallan,” the bartender suggests.

“What do you think?” James asks me.

“It’s a good choice.”

“We’ll take it, and two glasses.” The server puts the bottle and two glasses on the bar and James takes over, pouring for us both. He offers me one then raises his. “Here’s to you, Myra Edwards. You’ve made an excellent addition to Frost Inc.”

I’ve never met a man like James Frost. So dashing, sophisticated, worldly. And charming when he wants to be. If he weren’t my boss, I might be quite blown away. “Thanks. I’m enjoying it.”

“Good.” His blue eyes crinkle at the corners. “Is it what you expected it to be?”

“For the most part. Once I got the lay of the land.”

“Anything I can help with, let me know.”

“Of course.”

“Great. I have a feeling with we’re going to be an unstoppable partnership. You’re already indispensable.” Turning to the bartender who is tidying up close by, he says, “You should see how proficient she is. My clients adore her already. And the way she wrangles a calendar...efficiency must be her middle name.” He smiles at me. “It is, isn’t it? That’s your middle name.”

“Uh, actually it’s Violet.” I pull a stool closer to where he stands and sit on it. “Myra Violet Edwards. After my mother and grandmother.”

“Between you and me”—he tops our glasses up and leans in like we’re co-conspirators, which I guess in a way we are as I guard his inner sanctum and know more about his personal life from his calendar than any other employee—“it should probably be Supergirl.”

I feel a little funny under his engaging stare. Warm and just a touch like I’m floating. I take a sip of spirits. “This is a very nice whisky.”

He grins as he settles on a stool too. “And great company.”

“Absolutely,” I agree.

***

That was probably the night my crush on him began in earnest, although I managed to ignore it for a while. I found him attractive, but that wasn’t surprising. With his wavy, dark hair and those shocking blue eyes, it would have been impossible not to. He was friendly, but that’s the kind of working relationship we had. So what if it also made my pulse speed up? And what did it matter that my daydreams started to feature him more and more regularly? More than forty hours of my week revolved around him. It was par for the course.

He shifts until he’s more vertically propped against the pillows, and drops his hands in his lap. “The point is, though, I know we can fix whatever is wrong here.”

“I’m not sure we can.”

“Just try me, Myra. When have I ever let you down?”

“You haven’t. Other than...”

“Last night.”

“Last night,” I echo. “But that wasn’t...”

“I know whatever it is was important or you would just come out and tell me.”

“Not that important. It can wait until tomorrow. Or the next day.” I fuss with his blanket, tugging and stretching it. Talking about it after so long…I wouldn’t know where to begin. I choked last night. Threw myself at him. I promised myself I wouldn’t shock him quite so hard this time. The plan is to put the idea into his head, not knock him over the head with it.

“Come on, stop it now.” He grabs my arm and unbalances me so that I’m bending over him, one hand clutching the couch for support, the other grazing his groin.

I gasp, and his fingers tighten on my skin. When I snap my gaze to his, he stares at me intently. We’re so close. My breasts are in his line of sight, but he keeps his eyes locked on my face. My mouth tingles when he darts his focus to it.

He exhales and his body shifts under my hands while he lets out a raw groan. It’s not the kind of sound James makes, and it’s fascinating. Is this because of me? Because my fingers are...is it me that’s turning him on? Sex on a crumpet, could I have my wicked way with my boss right now?

“I don’t know what I’m supposed to do,” he whispers. “You’re always the one to help me when I get stumped, but if you can’t talk to me...”