Bossing My Friend

by Suzanne Hart

  Bossing My Friend

  A Best Friends To Lovers Romance

  Suzanne Hart

  © Copyright 2018 by Suzanne Hart - All rights reserved.

  In no way is it legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document in either electronic means or in printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited and any storage of this document is not allowed unless with written permission from the publisher. All rights reserved.

  Respective authors own all copyrights not held by the publisher.

  WARNING: This eBook contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language. It may be considered offensive to some readers. This eBook is for sale to adults ONLY.

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  Description

  Elsie

  Ten years ago, Jared disappeared from my life.

  We were supposed to be best friends. We were supposed to tell each other everything.

  Then one day he was gone.

  Poof!

  Disappeared into thin air.

  Nobody knew where.

  Now he’s back and I know exactly where he’s been.

  He’s been building a business empire that’s made him stinkingly rich.

  But he’s not back because he wants to be friends again.

  He wants something else. Something specific.

  And I’m not going to give it to him.

  Jared

  Ten years made no difference to Elsie.

  She’s still as hot as ever.

  Same blue eyes, long legs and that irresistible body.

  I know we were supposed to be friends.

  But let’s be real.

  We weren’t just friends.

  She must have known. She would have seen the way I looked at her!

  Now that I’m back in her life, it’s time to pick up where we left off.

  Thing is, Elsie has other ideas.

  She’s determined to be my enemy.

  Her First Game is a 40,000 word stand-alone romance novella with no cliffhangers, no cheating and a beautiful HEA.

  Contents

  Prologue

  Elsie

  Jared

  Elsie

  Jared

  Elsie

  Jared

  Elsie

  Jared

  Elsie

  Jared

  Elsie

  Jared

  Elsie

  Jared

  Elsie

  Jared

  Elsie

  Jared

  Elsie

  Jared

  Elsie

  Jared

  Elsie

  Jared

  Elsie

  Jared

  Elsie

  Jared

  Elsie

  Jared

  Epilogue

  Bossing The Virgin (Chapters Preview)

  Nora

  Felix

  Nora

  Felix

  Nora

  Felix

  Her First Game (Chapters Preview)

  Dahlia

  Chet

  Dahlia

  Chet

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  About the Author

  Prologue

  Jared

  I parked my bike in our ill-maintained driveway. I was at the porch, and I could already hear the screaming inside. A plate crashed to the floor.

  It was ten, late, I didn’t have other plans for the rest of the night. After a long day at the garage, I was looking forward to some peace and quiet. I was exhausted. I needed sleep.

  I pushed open the front door and was greeted with their raised, screeching voices. I didn’t have to go into the living room to know that they were at each other’s throats.

  These were my parents. This was my home. I was twenty years old and too afraid to walk into my own house.

  I tiptoed past the living room, darting for the stairs.

  “Jared! Jared! Come in here!” I heard Mom’s voice. I was halfway up the stairs already, just moments away from my room.

  “What are you calling him for?” Dad’s voice was heavy with booze and his words were slurring.

  “He should come in here and see his father! In this state!” Mom yelled. “Jared! I heard you come in!”

  I remained frozen to the spot. I didn’t want to get in the middle of this. I just wanted to go to sleep.

  “And what about his whore mother? You think I don’t know you’ve been fucking Paul Maloney all day?” Dad growled. Mom’s screeching laughter filled the house.

  I closed my eyes and sucked in my gut.

  “Jared!” she yelled again.

  I walked down the steps, but instead of going into the living room, I just walked right out of the house again. I ignored my bike, jumped over the fence, and looked up at the dark house of the Carrs. They always went to sleep early. By nine, the lights were off in their home.

  I tried to be as quiet as possible as I squeezed through the bushes and positioned myself under Elsie’s window. I looked around for pebbles and when I found them, I threw them at the window.

  Within moments, I saw the window being pulled up and then her head was sticking out. Her long chestnut hair fell around her shoulders, and she was smiling at me.

  “Long day?” she asked, in a hushed voice.

  “Doing anything?”

  “Just trying to sleep,” she replied.

  “Wanna go for a ride?” I asked.

  Elsie disappeared into her room again. I waited a few minutes and then the front door of their house was opening. Elsie was still in her pajamas, but she’d thrown a denim jacket over herself. She bounded down the steps of the porch and rushed towards me.

  “Did I wake you?” I asked, and she shook her head excitedly.

  “I couldn’t sleep. I was wondering when you’d get back home,” she replied.

  The sound of another plate crashing came from my house and Elsie looked in its direction, over my shoulder. I could see the tension in her eyes. She felt sorry for me. She hated my parents…probably more than I did.

  “Let’s go somewhere?” she asked, and I smiled at her.

  Within minutes, we were riding on my bike. Elsie had her arms around my waist. I could feel her slender warm body pressed up against mine. I rode my bike hard, in the direction of the lake. I could see her hair flying in the breeze, in the rearview mirror.

  When we arrived at the lake, Elsie jumped off. It was a cold night, and even colder by the lake. I had a leather jacket on, but Elsie shivered. I gave her my jacket and she wrapped it around herself as she walked to the bank of the lake.

  It was a clear night; the sky was dotted with shimmering stars. I breathed in the fresh air deeply. It was calm and peaceful. I was glad Elsie was there with me.

  “Are you doing okay?” she asked when I joined her by the bank. We liked to stare out at the water while we talked. I clenched my jaw.

  “I’m okay now,” I told her.

  Elsie reached for my hand, weaving her fingers into mine. She was the closest friend I had…probably the only one. When she held my hand, which she often did—it wasn’t romantic. She held my hand because she thought I needed it. Then she leaned her head on my shoulder and I closed my eyes.

  “Just some more time, Jared, and then we can leave this place. You can leave home and get away from them,” I heard her say. My body stiffened; I couldn’t breathe when Elsie was touching me.

  We’d been friends f
or four years, even though we’d been neighbors forever. I’d wanted her all my life. I valued our friendship. She was always there when I needed someone, but I never had the courage to tell her I wanted more.

  “I can’t wait to get out,” I whispered, and Elsie looked up to meet my eyes.

  “Soon. We’ll go somewhere together. New York or Chicago or LA. Somewhere big and busy. It’ll be so much fun!” Elsie was smiling gleefully now. Her dream sounded amazing, and we spoke about it often. I just didn’t know when it would be possible. I had no money, no support, and a half-baked education. Besides, I couldn’t lead Elsie into a life of poverty and hardships. Her family expected so much more from her.

  I nodded my head and she looked away, still smiling. If I could just build up the courage to tell her…to finally confess my feelings for her, then this life would at least be bearable.

  Soon, I told myself. A few more days, maybe a few more weeks, and I’d bring her out to the lake and tell her I had always loved her.

  Elsie

  Ten Years Later

  I swung my little niece, Emma, way up high in the air. She giggled and threw her arms around my neck.

  “Okay, honey, that was the last one,” I told her. When I put her back down on the ground, she clung to my legs.

  “You’re really good with her, you know,” my sister, Mona, told me. We were walking together around the park. It was our usual Sunday morning tradition.

  “Leave Aunty Elsie alone, Emma!” Mona scolded her four-year old. She finally peeled herself off me and ran ahead of us. I watched her with a smile on my face.

  “She’s growing up so fast! It seems like just yesterday she was in the hospital, a little new born in my arms with no hair.” I threw an arm around my older sister.

  Mona laughed.

  “No hair and no attitude either. You should see the fuss she throws up when it’s time to go to bed,” Mona complained good-heartedly.

  “When does that change in our lives? From when you’re getting too much sleep to when you’re not getting enough,” I remarked and Mona looked at me as we walked.

  “When was the last time you got a full eight hours?” she asked and I shrugged my shoulders.

  “Eight hours is a luxury. Besides, I can survive on five,” I replied, and my sister nudged me with her elbow. She had a habit of doing that when she was displeased about something.

  “Elsie, you’re working too hard. You’re going to make yourself sick!” Mona complained. I kept my eyes averted from her. I knew she was right, but this project was important to me.

  “Another few months and things will be under control,” I told her.

  “That’s what you said two years ago. This job is wearing you down!”

  “It’s the best job I’ve had. I can rest when I retire,” I snapped back.

  Retirement. That was several decades away. I was twenty-eight, my life was just beginning. There was so much work to do, so many things I wanted to achieve in my life.

  Working for The Camphill Foundation was the most fulfilling job I’d ever had. I wasn’t lying to Mona. I was currently spearheading a nationwide campaign to collect aid and resources to build drinking wells in North Africa. It was good work. It was the kind of work I could be proud of. A few months of sleepless nights was a small price to pay. There were millions of starving and thirsty children in those countries I was trying to help. I had them to think about.

  “And what will you have left to show for it?” Mona snapped me out of my thoughts.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “When you retire. At the end of all this. Elsie, ever since you were a little girl, all you’ve wanted was a family. You’ve wanted to be a mother since forever.”

  Mona stopped in her tracks and I had to stop with her.

  “Do you think you’ll be happy?” she asked. I could see the intensity in her eyes. I gulped down the fear that was rising in my throat. It wasn’t that I didn’t think about it.

  “I’m happy now, isn’t that what matters?” I argued and Mona rolled her eyes.

  “What about in ten years? When it’s too late?”

  “I’m twenty-eight, Mona! For God’s sakes. I have plenty of time,” I replied. I didn’t want to keep talking about this.

  Mona sighed.

  “I’m just saying that you should think about slowing down, think about the future…”

  “And where am I just supposed to make a family appear from? I haven’t been in a serious relationship…” Mona didn’t let me complete the sentence.

  “Because of Jared!” she snapped.

  I whipped away from her and marched over to where Emma was playing in the sandbox. Mona trailed behind. She knew I didn’t like to talk about him. I didn’t even want his name mentioned. I hated being reminded of him.

  I played with Emma, helping her build a silly castle in the sand. I could sense Mona standing behind us and watching me. Did she pity me?

  I didn’t need to be pitied. I was doing just fine! I couldn’t stand the fact that she thought she knew what I needed.

  “Okay, honey, it’s time to go. Daddy’s going to be waiting to have lunch with us.” Mona came over to us after a few minutes, lifting Emma up in her arms.

  She looked at me, her face covered in guilt and apology.

  “You sure you don’t want to have lunch with us?” she asked and I stuffed my hands into my denim jacket.

  “Yeah, I’m sure.” I smiled weakly.

  “Work?” she asked.

  “Yeah,” I told her and looked away.

  “See you next Sunday? Unless you want to get a drink sometime during the week.” Mona had Emma in her arms and was beginning to walk away.

  “I’ll let you know,” I replied. I knew I wouldn’t have time during the week.

  “Elsie!” Mona called out to me. She was far enough away to have to shout. “I’m sorry I said anything!”

  I waved at her and smiled. She’d ruined my day.

  I sighed, walking in the opposite direction. She was my sister. I understood her concern, but I didn’t need it. Couldn’t she see I was doing fine? I was happy with my work, busy and distracted. I hadn’t thought about Jared in several months.

  Now, because she’d mentioned him, I knew I’d spend the day thinking about him. I hated that feeling of helplessness…of knowing there was nothing I could do about it.

  By the time I got to my apartment, I felt desperate for a hot shower. I needed to wash off the sticky feeling from my body. Like I could feel his presence around me, like I could hear his voice and see his smile.

  I was fine till Mona mentioned him and now I felt like someone had knocked the breath out of my lungs.

  Jared

  I walked into the nearest coffeeshop I could find. It was just a two-minute walk from the hotel.

  I ordered the double-espresso-shot American and sat down at an empty table by the bay windows. I didn’t have much time. I had a meeting to get to in an hour.

  The business was well-established. I had surrounded myself with a core team of competent men and women who took care of the business for me. I’d spent years recruiting the right fit for the team and now I was in a position to take it a little easy. I had time to enjoy a coffee before a meeting.

  The truth was, I needed the caffeine before this particular meeting. I needed the extra kick.

  Seven years of hard work had produced these results — I was a self-made billionaire at the age of thirty. My business was the highest grossing construction company in the country. I had done it all by myself, without the help of any guardians in the industry.

  In the seven years of trading, I had absorbed several other companies into mine, giving me the upper hand. I now monopolized the country’s west coast. There was no other brand that was as big as mine, more reliable or more profitable.

  It took years of hard work, sleepless nights and picking the right employees. I believed in team work, and I made sure my employees were rewarded for it. In just a few
years, Morin Constructions became the most attractive company to work for. My HR team received thousands of CVs on a regular basis, but we hired nobody, in any of the offices of the country—not without my personal approval.

  That was what I was in Chicago for.

  My head of recruit, Ralph Jones, had come into my office two weeks ago and informed me that there was a particular person he had his eye on for our team. According to Ralph, this person would be ideal for our expansion plans in South America. The only problem was that the woman in question worked for a non-profit organization. She had refused to entertain any of Ralph’s calls or requests for a meeting.

  After hearing Ralph list out her CV’s finer points, I knew what he meant. She would be perfect. This woman was involved in charitable construction projects all over the world, focusing on countries in Africa and South America. She had loads of contacts, lots of bureaucratic experience, and would be invaluable to my team.

  Once I’d settled in with my coffee now, I slipped my phone out. I opened up the professional profile of the woman in question. I’d looked her up the same day that Ralph had mentioned her to me.

  I was now staring at a professionally taken photograph of Elsie Carr on my phone. The first time Ralph told me her name, which was two weeks ago, I’d done a double take.