Page 48 of Hating the Boss

“It makes me wonder what else you can handle.”

Chapter 19 Sarah

If my cheeks weren’t red before, they were damn near scarlet now. I couldn’t believe what Brad had just said. His suggestive words landing on my ears were not only shocking, but also heated my very core. I also couldn’t believe how good they sounded falling off his tongue. He knew exactly how to push my buttons and pull my strings. I was a puppet in his strong, calloused hands. How could I say no?

Especially when there was a check right in front of my face that had more zeros than I had ever seen in my life. Right there for the taking. Most every part of my body was screaming for me to take it, while a small part of my conscience was shaking its head furiously.

I ignored it, plucking the check from his hand and pretending he hadn’t just suggested the very thing I had imagined in that dressing room last week.

“I’ll do it,” I said as coolly as I could, meeting his gaze.

Don’t falter. Don’t blink. Don’t show weakness.

Don’t show the hold he has on you.

He smiled in that way I had come to know in the past two weeks. The one that said he knew exactly what he was doing and was used to getting his way. It pissed me off and turned me on all at once.

I folded the check in two, carefully holding it in my hand as if it might break. This was the most valuable thing I had ever held in my lifetime. It felt like it was burning my palm. Burning with possibilities.

“If that’s all for today, I’d like to go home now,” I said softly, still very aware of the small distance between us. My mind was flooded with what had transpired this morning. I needed to go home and sort through all my thoughts. I needed to make sure I was still sane.

Brad seemed to ponder this for a moment.

“After all, I’m no longer your assistant, remember?” I challenged him, standing a little taller. Not that it mattered. He still towered over me by at least a foot.

“That’s not exactly true,” he said, pressing his lips into a tight line. “You just aren’t my assistant on paper, but underneath it all…”

He stepped closer and it felt like the breath had been sucked out of me. The distance between us was now nonexistent. Up close, I could see the lines of his charcoal gray suit that ran along his rippled muscles. I could see the slight stubble along his jawline, matching the darkness of his hair that was perfectly pushed back as if an invisible hand was constantly running through it, keeping it in place. I couldn’t breathe in anything besides his cologne, warm and citrusy. Nothing else existed in that moment.

And then he ran his hands up my arms, making every nerve ending stand at full attention. My eyes instinctively closed when he brought his mouth to my ear. His breath was cool and sent a vibration down my spine that had me arching my back, my body pressing into his.

“You still have to do what I say,” he whispered against my ear.

It was my undoing.

Right then and there, I would have done anything to please this man, but the moment ended as soon as it began. He took a step back and gave me a playful wink before turning his back and walking toward his desk. I watched him sit, my irritation growing with whatever game he was playing. With myself, for wanting to continue playing it.

“You may go,” he said dismissively, without looking up from his computer.

I balled my hands into fists at my sides and tried to hold in my mix of emotions. Without another word, I turned on my heel and left his office, grabbing my purse on the way out. I had to catch my breath. Outside of his office, I closed his door firmly. Out of sight, I leaned against a wall and placed a hand over my stomach, forcing myself to breathe. To catch my bearings.

What the hell were these feelings?

They were a confusing juxtaposition swirling around inside me. If I were going to go through with this deal, which I was pretty sure I was based on the check in my hand, I had to get a grip.

As I rode the subway back to Brooklyn, I might as well have been asleep. I hardly noticed anyone stepping on or off the train. Leaning my head back against the seat, all I really focused on was the rumbling of the subway on the tracks as we passed through the darkness of the tunnel. I tried my best to push out everything else, like the way his hands felt against my bare skin. Or the way his whisper still lingered against the shell of my ear.

This isn’t real, I reminded myself.

Brad Ashcroft could have anyone he wanted, and just because he asked me to do this for him didn’t mean anything. I wasn’t special, though he had a talent for making me feel like I was.

Walking home from the subway station, I wondered if Brad could have anyone he wanted then why hadn’t he found someone? I knew plenty of women who would fall for a handsome billionaire. So why was he asking me to pretend?

All I could come up with was that he didn’t want to settle down, which, for some reason, made me feel foolish. There was a miniscule part of me that thought maybe there was something between us on the tarmac in New Jersey. Clearly, there wasn’t because love and relationships weren’t something he was interested in. That was why he was in his predicament in the first place, having to lie his way into deals and maintaining his position as CEO.

I wondered if what had happened with his fiancée had ruined him. There was a time in his life where he was close to making that leap, but they didn’t make it to the altar. Had he hurt her? Had she hurt him? My curiosity started to get the better of me.

Honestly, whatever made Brad the way he was made me sad. What a lonely life he must lead. One full of pressure from his father, his work, himself. I couldn’t imagine having to navigate through all of that, especially when work began to trickle into his personal life.