Boss Me Forever: Older Man/Younger Woman Workplace Romance

by Cameron Hart

  “Enough. He’ll be dealt with. Now, let’s go to lunch.”

  Despite everything that just happened, I fight a smile. The first time this big, intimidating, growly man has spoken to me directly in a week and he’s shooing off a creeper and then demanding that I go to lunch with him. The same thing Frank wanted and got rejected for.

  Something about Declan though, exudes confidence and power. Not in a way that he would use it to his advantage, like Frank, but in a way that says he works hard for what he wants. And what he wants is to have lunch with me.

  Declan stands in front of my desk and waits for me to gather my things, knowing that I would go with him. It should infuriate me, the way he ordered me to lunch, but I find I don’t mind. In fact… I kind of like him telling me what to do.

  He guides me towards the elevator with his hand on the small of my back, like the first day in his office. Also like that first day, his touch has my body doing all sorts of things like tingle and tighten and blush.

  Get a hold of yourself, girl!

  Chapter 7

  Declan

  Luna plays with the hem of her flowy teal skirt and fidgets nervously in the seat beside me. I don’t know what came over me when I saw her with Frank. Seeing him talk to her had me growling, fucking growling at my desk. I felt like a rabid, delusional dog. But I was holding myself back because I realized I was being ridiculous. I have no claim on this woman, however much she’s captivated me. It’s not fair for me to feel possessive. But then he touched her and I fucking snapped.

  I was over there in half a second, ripping the bastard off of her. I saw where he was gripping her leg and I wanted to punch his fucking face in for hurting her. Touching her. Looking at her.

  Jesus, I wanted to break every bone in the hand he had on her thigh. But then I looked over and saw Luna fighting through her fear, trying to be strong, and I knew she didn’t need this situation to escalate. He’ll be fired at the end of the day, and that has to be good enough for now.

  I’m not sure where the invitation to lunch came from. Ok, so I didn’t so much invite her as I told her, but still. It pleased me very much that she instantly got up and followed me out. Frank was turned down for the very same request, yet here she is, in my car, on the way to lunch.

  I told the driver to take us to Le Coucou, a French bistro that is normally difficult to get into without knowing the right people. Good thing I know the right people.

  We hop out once my driver pulls up, and I resume my position beside Luna, one hand on the small of her back. I can’t explain the urge I have to touch her and feel her warmth.

  The maître d' pulls out a chair for Luna, but I give him a glare and he scampers off. I push her chair in for her. Luna doesn’t seem to notice my sudden caveman behavior, which is just as well.

  Sitting across from her now, I take in every single thing about her. She’s busy studying her menu, while I’m busy studying her. Those rosy cheeks of hers are killing me, along with her tiny nose. She’s like a fucking doll. Luna’s big, expressive eyes roam over the menu, her lovely lashes fluttering ever so slightly when she comes across an unfamiliar dish. She worries her bottom lip with her teeth, which makes my dick twitch.

  Luna sighs and puts her menu down. “What do you normally get?” She asks.

  “I thought we could start with crème de concombre. Then maybe…”

  Luna furrows her brow, which is too cute for me not to grin. She looks a little lost, and for the first time I notice she’s trying to hide her loud pink blouse under her more conservative black coat. She’s clearly uncomfortable here, which is not what I want. It does something weird to my chest, thinking about Luna hiding away. As if she could, anyway, but I don’t like that she wants to.

  “Is there somewhere else you’d like to go?” I ask.

  Instantly, her shoulders loosen and that bright smile is back on her face. I didn’t realize how tense she was before, but now all of that is gone.

  “Oh, yes. I have a great place in mind. You’re going to love it, everyone does.”

  The girl almost knocks her chair over in her hurried escape from this restaurant. I have to chuckle at that. How many woman would kill to be in her position right now, at one of the most expensive and exclusive restaurants with one of the city’s most eligible bachelors? Luna sure isn’t like any woman I’ve ever met.

  I leave fifty bucks on the table for the restaurant’s trouble of finding a place for us on such short notice and follow Luna out. She skips her way to the car, teal skirt and pink shirt blowing around her in the breeze. She looks like a tiny hummingbird. My hummingbird.

  Where the hell did that come from?

  Luna slams her door shut, saving me from my train of thought. She guides my driver closer to our office and has him drop us off a few blocks away. He gives me a skeptical look in the rearview mirror, but I nod him off. I have no idea where she’s taking me, but if worse comes to worse, we can just go back to the office and order in.

  “It should be around here somewhere…” Luna says to herself.

  “Do you not know where this restaurant is?”

  “Of course. It just moves around,” she says as if it’s obvious. It is not obvious.

  I follow her down the block and then we turn the corner.

  “Ah hah!” She exclaims. I’m not sure what I’m looking at, but her joy is contagious. “There, Paco’s Tacos!”

  “I don’t see the restaurant.”

  “It’s a food truck!”

  Before I can even process the fact that I could be having fried oysters right now instead of food from a truck, Luna takes off to stand in line. I follow her, not liking this feeling of her being in the lead. She’s in control now. And I just handed it right over to her.

  “Now, I know what you’re thinking,” she says once I’m beside her in line. “A truck, Luna? Really?” She says in her best imitation of my voice. “But let me just say, these are the best tacos in the city. And if tacos aren’t your thing, then honestly, you don’t deserve to eat.”

  I find myself grinning down at this little spitfire.

  “I like tacos,” I tell her.

  “Phew! You’re not a lost cause after all.”

  I should be offended at her comment, but I’m not. I’ve fired people for less. Literally.

  Her sass, excitement, and even the damn bright outfit she’s wearing has me feeling all sorts of things about her.

  “I think it’s our turn to order,” I say, hoping to get these strange new emotions under control.

  She smiles and orders for us, but once again I’m not listening to her words. I’m simply taking in her beauty and trying not to haul her into my arms and brush my lips against hers.

  I manage to keep my hands to myself, but only because she insisted I grab a table outside once it opened up. A few minutes later, Luna sets down several plates stuffed with tacos of every kind. There have to be at least twelve tacos here.

  “Did you get one of everything?” I tease.

  She shrugs. “You were buying,” she smirks at me. “Plus, there were some tacos I haven’t tried yet. Whenever I come, I don’t want to risk getting a new taco on the chance it’s a dud, so I stick to the three that I know are good.”

  Her response is refreshing and honest and makes me smile again. The tacos are less than three dollars each, so this whole meal is about a fourth of what I would have paid at Le Coucou. Not that I’d mind if it were more. Seeing her this excited is well worth whatever the cost.

  Luna doesn’t hesitate to dig right in once she’s seated. Her eyes shine as she looks over the available tacos, and then she puts three on her plate. I follow suit, but then pause when I hear her moaning. Fucking moaning as she devours her first taco.

  Jesus, how can she make eating a damn taco look sexy?

  “What? Do I have something on my face?” She asks, pulling me out of my trance.

  I clear my throat. “No, nothing,” I mumble. I never mumble. What is she reducing me to?
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  Luna shrugs and takes a sip of water. “So,” she starts. “How did you get to be CEO of such a large advertising company? You look so young.” Her face turns pink, which is fucking killing me. “I mean, not that like you’re too young or anything. I’m sure you’re qualified and everything. Sir,” she adds at the end.

  She looks flustered, and I won’t lie, I like that. I enjoy watching her squirm a little. At least I know I have some sort of effect on her, too.

  “My brothers and I run the company. Asher, the oldest, is constantly running around and acquiring new clients, as well as checking up on our other branches. I handle contracts and negotiate terms, as you know, and the youngest, Cooper, is head of research and development, as well as special projects. The three of us have always worked for the company – it was our father who started it all.”

  “Oh, I didn’t realize you were part of a family dynasty,” she teases.

  “Yeah, well, the old man died a few months ago and left it to us.” It comes out more bitter than I mean it too, and I wish I could take it back. I watch Luna’s face fall. I’m used to getting pity from people, but that’s not what I see on her face. Good thing, too, because for some reason she’s the last person I want to pity me.

  “I’m so sorry,” she all but whispers. “I lost my mom last year. It was totally unexpected… And, well, I’m just so sorry.”

  Shit, I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories for her. Instinctively, I reach out for her hand. My father and I had a complicated relationship, but even so, it was hard losing him. From the looks of it, Luna had a much better relationship with her mom. I’m sure her pain is much deeper than mine.

  Luna startles a little when my hand covers hers, but she doesn’t pull away.

  “You were close with your mom?”

  Luna smiles, though it doesn’t reach her eyes. “Yeah, she was my best friend. I know that sounds lame, to have your mom be your best friend at my age, but she really was.”

  “It doesn’t sound lame. My mom was too busy being a socialite and cheating on my dad to care about my brothers or me. The best thing she ever did for us was move to the Cayman Islands with her barely legal boyfriend.”

  Fuck, why did I say all of that? What the hell is wrong with me? My dad and I didn’t see eye to eye on much, but we both agreed that vulnerability is a weakness. Here I am just giving her all the power. I hate it. I withdraw my hand and ignore the cold feeling that washes over me at the loss of contact.

  Luna looks absolutely stricken by my confession, which has more foreign emotions bubbling up inside. I must have sprung a leak deep down in my soul, but it’s time to patch it up and put up another wall.

  I clear my throat and ask her about lighter topics, like college and her hobbies. She likes reading and working on crafts like scrapbooking and crocheting, which somehow fits her perfectly.

  “Wow, we did good work here, huh?” She asks, surveying the trays that once held tacos.

  “We did indeed,” I reply, that grin playing at my lips again, the one that I can’t seem to stop when I’m around her. “You were right, those tacos were pretty damn good.”

  “Pretty good?!” She asks incredulously. “No offense, Declan, but I take my taco consumption very seriously, and I promise you, those are the best.”

  I hold my hands up in surrender.

  “You know what’s almost as good?” She asks playfully.

  I shake my head no.

  “The churros…” Luna lifts one eyebrow up, almost daring me to try them. Sneaky girl. Of course, I’d buy her a churro. I’d buy her a hundred churros. They are only a dollar, after all.

  “I’ll be the judge of that,” I tell her before making my way back up to the food truck. Luna follows taking care of our dirty dishes on the way.

  A few minutes later, we have piping hot churros in our hands.

  “Wanna take a walk? Let our food settle?” She asks. I know I should get back to work. I have an important client to win back.

  I open my mouth to tell her as much, but instead, I find myself saying, “Lead the way.”

  Luna gives me a shy smile and turns her head away from me so I don’t see the blush on her face. Little does she know, her blush reaches all the way to her ears and down her neck, so I see anyway.

  We walk in silence for a bit, munching on our churros, which are indeed, delicious. I’m not one much for sweets, but I can see how these might be addicting. I have every intention of turning around once we’ve finished and thrown our wrappers in a nearby trashcan, but for some reason, my feet keep right on moving in step with hers.

  Luna tells me more about her mom, though I can tell some of the memories are still painful for her. She talks about her brother and the pranks they used to play on each other growing up. She tells me about the time she found a cat and brought it inside and hid it in her room, feeding it her leftovers, until it got out and her mom screamed and told her it was a raccoon.

  The whole time I’m silent as I listen to her and watch her animated hand gestures, the way her expressive face lights up.

  Finally, she turns to me. The sight catches me off guard. I knew she was sexy, and her curves called out to me, but in this moment, she is simply beautiful. Innocent. Vulnerable. She is pure goodness.

  “Sorry I’ve just been going on and on. It’s nice to have someone—”

  She’s cut off by a biker who whizzes by and clips her on the elbow. She stumbles into me as I reach out for her. Fuck, the way her soft little body presses into me has me practically growling with possessiveness.

  Some primitive and primal part of me takes over. I grab her hips and walk her backwards into the ally just a few feet away. Pressing her into the wall, I look down at the goddess still in my embrace. She looks up at me with those big doe eyes over hers. I see her chest heave with shallow breaths as her pulse quickens on the side of her neck.

  My hand skims up her left side, following the dip of her waist and the curve of her breast. I cup the side of her face and trace the pad of my thumb over her lips. She parts them so sweetly for me.

  “What are you doing to me, little Luna?” I whisper, more to myself than to her.

  “The same thing you’re doing to me,” she breathes out as her hands move from my biceps to my chest, where she fists my shirt.

  Fuck, I know I shouldn’t do this. She’s my assistant, for Christ’s sake. She’s fifteen years my junior. She likes lava lamps and crocheting, and she’s oddly opinionated about tacos. I can’t. And yet…

  I lean down, closer, closer, closer to my temptation. I’m inches away from her sweet lips when she turns her head to the side.

  “We can’t…” she murmurs. Her words say one thing, but her body says another. I can feel the heat of her pussy, and I know she feels my hard cock on her soft little stomach.

  I’m frozen in place, my muscles tense with the need to claim her, to own her, to dominate her, to bring her to the brink of pleasure and the throw her right over until she’s drowning in ecstasy.

  I know she wants it too, but she’s stronger than I am. Luna releases my shirt and slips away from me.

  “We should probably get back to the office. It’s almost two,” she says, slipping back into her professional mode. I look at my phone, and sure enough, almost two hours have passed. How the fuck did that happen? I never lose track of time.

  I clear my throat and nod, calling up my driver to pick us up since we’ve walked quite a few blocks away from the office. He pulls up in no time.

  “I think I’ll walk, if that’s ok,” Luna says.

  I won’t lie, I’m disappointed that she doesn’t want to ride with me, but I understand.

  “That’s fine. I’ll see you back in the office.”

  She gives me a half-hearted smile and then flits away. My little hummingbird.

  Chapter 8

  Luna

  It’s been four weeks since Declan and I had our lunch date. Not that it was a date. I’m not sure what it was. We talked and he even
smiled. I got to see more of the real him, the one I got a hint of during my interview. And then there was that almost kiss. It took everything in me not to give in. His large hands holding me so close, those chiseled muscles brushing against my soft curves, the look of desire in his eyes that I’ve never seen before. I felt safe and secure and wanted and sexy. When he cupped my face and traced my lips, I almost lost it.

  But I couldn’t let anything happen. Even though every cell in my body was buzzing with desire for Declan, for him to ravish me in every way, I knew I couldn’t be selfish. When things inevitably ended, because how could they not, I knew I’d be the one without a job. Lucas needs treatment and stability more than I need to be kissed.

  Declan has reverted back to either ignoring me or ordering me around in what I’ve come to understand is his signature icy tone. Others seem to jump right into action when he goes all boss mode on them, but I know better. I know he has a soft side he keeps guarded with all those walls of his. But, like I said, I still very much need this job, so I follow suit when he dishes out orders.

  Today is no different. I know Declan is under a lot of stress because he’s finally getting another meeting with Mr. Hashimoto. It’s one that he had to work hard for after his last assistant dropped the ball big time. I think it’s made him extra impatient and unreasonable with me, micromanaging my every move. It’s driving me nuts, but I understand.

  I’ve been pulling ten-hour days this last week, which makes me feel guilty for not being there while Lucas is sick. He started his second round of chemo today, and I thought for sure things would be a little more under control by now so I could get away. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. Despite my long hours, it seems Declan’s list of impossible demands is ever-growing. And thanks to the app I had him and the rest of his team download, I know that every single list item is “high priority.” I’m really regretting that damn app right about now.

  Just as I’m checking it on my phone for the tenth time today, I get a phone call. My heart catches in my throat and then plummets to my stomach. It’s the hospital.