Page 30 of Sexy Bad Boss

I check out my replacement from beneath my lashes as I wait for James to set his laptop down on the couch before handing him his coffee. I spent yesterday morning on the phone with temp agencies, begging them for the cream of the crop, and they sent me a pile of digital résumés to pick through. It didn’t take long to narrow his choices down to a bare handful. Okay, okay, it’s hardly ethical, but I couldn’t stand the idea of Mindy with her big boobs and her cashmere sweater sets being James’s right hand. And Anastasia’s short skirt and legs that belong to a Russian supermodel weren’t coming anywhere near my James either. I might have to help find my replacement, but I draw the line at finding his future trysts.

Alex is quite handsome, I suppose. Young though, and a little eager. Like a puppy that wants to lick your face and pee on your carpet at the same time, which will irritate James in short order if it’s anything more than first day jitters. I’ll have to make sure to have a word with the kid while I take him through keeping James happy.

James was happy for those few minutes yesterday. Not in the way an assistant might make him. I certainly can’t imagine him looking at Alex that way if Alex were to offer him a blowjob. Pleasure rippled over James’s face while I sucked his cock, and for a few moments after the fact, it really seemed like it was more than just getting off.

How do I get him to look at me like that again?

“Myra?” James’s fingers touch mine, and it’s like an electric shock, knocking me sideways out of my daydream. “Are you ready to show Alex the ropes?”

“Of course.” I’ve gone from covertly studying Alex to outright staring, and it hasn’t gone unnoticed by either party, and while our new recruit smiles at me as though he’s used to women staring at him, James’s expression is more calculating. His narrowed gaze shifts between us and his jaw moves from side to side. He sees most things…well, business related at least. But that was before we shared a shower. What does he see now? Would he tell me if I asked him? Would he still be stunned if I told him just how much more I want from him? But Alex is staring at us, so this definitely isn’t the time.

“On second thought, perhaps we should wait until Chloe gets back.” He flicks a glance between us. “Your schedule doesn’t really leave space to train my new assistant properly. You’ve got your hands full these next two weeks. And, Alex, you could start at the office with one of our secretaries. That way, you’ll only need Myra to train you on a few things. That would probably be for the best.”

“What? No, James, I’m quite happy to do it.”

“You don’t have time. Alex needs office experience, and I need you here.”

“I can go into the office with him. You have Garrett dropping by shortly and that conference call in an hour.”

“Fine.” He exhales, clenching his jaw and crossing his arms against his torso as he leans back into the sofa cushions. He’s more than a little frustrated. It can’t be Alex already, or he wouldn’t be talking about training him. It has to be something else. Perhaps his injuries are causing him pain, but I know he took his medication because I gave it to him.

“I’ll ring Barbara and tell her you’re coming in.” To Alex, he says, “She’s the head of our human resources division. She’ll have all your paperwork for you to fill out, and she’ll set you up in an office for the rest of the week.”

“Why not put him at my desk?” After all, Alex will be taking over for me in just a few short days.

“Could you give me a minute, Myra?” James leans forward and clasps his knees. “Would you mind heading over to the office now, Alex?”

Alex nods and pushes out of his chair. “I’ll drive straight over.”

“I’ll meet you there in twenty minutes,” I tell him before he departs, then I turn on James. “He should have my desk. Unless you have an issue with the new hire. Do you think he won’t last?”

“No issue with him,” he grudgingly admits. “But he doesn’t get your desk.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.” I fold my arms across my chest. “You’re being ridiculous. I’m leaving the company. He’s your new assistant.”

“You haven’t left,” he murmurs.

“What? I’ve resigned. I’ve told you I’m not interested in being a partner.”

“Yes, you have.”

He slides his hand around my knee, pulls me closer. “You have told me that. And yet you picked someone who will never be able to do your job.”

“What?”

“That kid’s an intern at best. There’s no way he can juggle your workload. And the other two I talked to were worse. What were you thinking when you shortlisted those three?”

That they wouldn’t make James fall in love with them. That I wouldn’t have to hear six months from now that he’s marrying my substitute because she has some quality I don’t. That I wouldn’t be replaced. Which is why I shouldn’t have put them on the list at all.

“Maybe I was distracted,” I admit. Sidetracked by the way his body responds to me physically though he tells me it’s wrong. Trying to work out what I’m supposed to do with that information.

“Like you were just now?” He raises an eyebrow as he glances in the direction Alex went before settling those deep blue pools on me. “You’ve been pretty distracted recently, and I think I’m starting to understand why.”

A weight lifts in my chest. I’m almost giddy. I can see myself reflected in his eyes, and I have to catch my breath. They make me dizzy. I feel like I’m falling. “You do?”

“I do.”

“James.”