Misadventures with the Boss

by Kendall Ryan

  In spite of my words, I had no intention of keeping her on. It would be an untenable situation during a time where I needed to focus most on my business. Still, I had a mountain of shit to get through this week, and there was no way I was going to be able to replace her quickly. In fact, judging by Sally’s tone the last time we talked, I was fairly certain it was going to be a real bitch trying to get her to find me more applicants. Until I was able to do that and get someone else in place—preferably someone old with warts and facial hair—I would find Piper another position in the company.

  One that wasn’t directly under me.

  Even that thought sent another rush of blood to my cock. I blew out a sigh.

  It was all going to work out fine. It was only for a few days. We’d get through it, and in the end, she’d still have a job. And me?

  I’d be a free man again. Free to walk the halls without adjusting my suit jacket in an attempt to cover my raging hard-on.

  Heading from my office, I noticed as each of my employees turned to nod and greet me. In my peripheral vision, I saw Piper grin at each of them, offering a little wave. I didn’t bother to stop and introduce her. She wouldn’t be here long enough to make friends. Instead, I slowed to a stop by her desk.

  “This is you. You’ll find what you need in the manual. The directives should be clear and to the point, but if you have questions…”

  I trailed off, because frankly, I didn’t care if she had questions. All I wanted was for her to be able to muddle through well enough to take even a little heat off me and keep me organized until someone more appropriate took her place.

  I gestured to a black binder on her desk and then slipped into my office and closed the door, careful to make sure she’d taken her seat before making my way to my own desk. As usual, papers littered the surface, and I groaned as I opened my email to find a shit ton of new messages, each more important or serious than the last.

  With the merger approaching, we had to ensure that every last one of the commercial listings we were acquiring was fit to come on board with us. We needed nothing but homers here, properties we could move quickly and sell at a premium. Which, in addition to being a major pain in the ass in general, meant that I was hearing from lawyers and accountants on a near constant basis these days.

  My calendar, too, was covered with Post-it notes and crossed-out reminders in so many colors and handwritings that I couldn’t be sure what was important and what wasn’t.

  Sighing, I glanced at the clock, pressed the buzzer, and waited for Piper to answer.

  “How can I help you, Mr. Dane?”

  “Coffee, please. I take it—”

  “Black,” she finished. “All in the manual. I’m a fast reader. I’ll have it for you right away.”

  I blinked but then released the intercom button and focused back on my messages. Within a matter of two minutes, there was a soft knock and then the door swung open, revealing Piper holding my favorite mug and walking slowly toward my desk.

  “Here we go, and—” She gasped as she set down my coffee and then pressed a hand to her mouth, her beautiful eyes wide with dismay.

  She pulled her hand from her mouth and cleared her throat. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be quite so dramatic, but…is this how your office always looks?”

  She squinted at my multicolored Post-its and the utter chaos of my desk.

  “Is there a problem?” I asked.

  “It’s just…how do you work like this?” She poked a faded Post-it whose words weren’t even visible anymore.

  “There’s a system,” I said coolly. There wasn’t, but I wasn’t about to let her walk in and start judging me. Who worked for whom here? “I figure it out.”

  “And what exactly is the system?” she asked, the doubt plain on her face.

  “I figure it out.” I shrugged. It hadn’t always been this way. In fact, before my long-term assistant Imelda had retired, things had been shipshape all the time. Once she’d retired, though, I just hadn’t been able to find anyone to replace her, and things had devolved.

  Now, as I glanced around me, really seeing it for the first time, I barely suppressed the urge to wince. I could see that it might look a little overwhelming from the outside looking in.

  My gaze took in the walls with notes taped to them.

  Fuck, who was I kidding? It was like A Beautiful Mind up in here.

  Still, something about the horror on Piper’s face made me bristle, so I stood my ground.

  “Eventually, as my assistant, you’d be responsible for getting this all digitized and keeping me on track.”

  “Of course,” she said with a nod, her gaze flitting around the space like she was already mentally tidying up. “Well, you have a meeting in the conference room in five minutes. I’ve set up the projector and the computer in there, so you should be all set for the presentation.”

  “You did all that already?”

  “Well, what else was I going to do while the coffee brewed?” She shrugged. “Do you mind if I work on your calendar a little while you’re gone?”

  “Knock yourself out,” I said. Then I collected my papers and made my way to the meeting.

  The presentation was short and sweet—just an update on where we stood in terms of the upcoming merger and a few housekeeping notes on the properties the company had acquired in the past few months. It was all straight and to the point, and by the time my coffee was finished, it was over.

  An hour later, I headed back to my office and stopped short, looking around in confusion. Had I been so distracted that I’d gone to the wrong floor or something? I peered around the door to find Piper there in the corner with a sticky note in hand.

  Okay, so, definitely my office, but it had been altered.

  Completely.

  Rather than facing the door, my desk was now focused on the one wall that wasn’t glass. On that white wall hung four matching bulletin boards, each of which looked important and organized. My desk was completely cleared, save my computer and three boxes marked In, Pending, and Out, and the bar cart in the corner nearest the window had been replaced with a mini coffee maker.

  Piper hovered near a board that had been marked off into three sections. She was thumbtacking a Post-it to it when I closed the door behind me. She looked up with a nod.

  “Hi there.”

  “What the hell did you do?” I demanded, still in shock as I took one cautious step toward my desk.

  “A few things, actually. First of all, studies show the workplace tends to be happier if there is fresh air and sunlight, so I adjusted the layout of the office to maximize productivity and mood.”

  I blinked. I guess I couldn’t exactly argue with that. Still, though…

  “What’s all this, then?” I motioned to the boards.

  “These are your new lifelines.” She made a flourishing motion like she was Vanna White. “This”—she motioned to the board beside her—“is your Kanban board. Are you familiar with it?”

  I’d heard of it, but I shook my head, waiting for her to continue.

  “So, we have three sections. Things that need to be done, things you are doing, and things that have been done. This way, your to-do list doesn’t clog up your brain. Beneath it, I’ve made another Kanban board of things you’d like me to do, so rather than sending emails and forgetting whether you’ve told me things, they’ll all be directly visible to both of us.”

  “Makes sense, I guess,” I said somewhat grudgingly. “And everything else?”

  “Your calendar.” She moved to the next board. “That’s been color-coded based on who you’re meeting with. Personal matters are in black for quick reference, but I posted a key for everything else.” She smiled. “You also have a digital version on your computer now that will remind you of events the day and hour before.”

  “And my bar cart?” I asked. I knew I was being an asshole, because so far everything she said made perfect sense, but change and I were like oil and water, and I was still reelin
g from the unapproved total office renovation.

  She’d said she wanted to move things around a little, not change everything.

  “It says in your manual that you drink five cups of coffee a day and hardly ever drink in the office. Makes no sense to have a bar cart where there could be a hot, fresh cup of coffee at arm’s length.”

  Even now, my mouth watered for a fresh mug, but that wasn’t the point. “The champagne—”

  “Is for clients.” She nodded. “So I’ve put it in the executive break room and will fetch it on request. Which, as far as I can tell, happens like twice a month. This way, we can chill the bottles on ice before clients arrive. I’ve set up a system.”

  “That’s an understatement,” I said, glancing around. “But if you’ve set up all this stuff for me to do myself, then what are you going to do?”

  “Help you with all the other stuff you have to do,” she said with a strained smile. “That’s what you hired me for.”

  “Right.” I scrubbed a hand over my face and then settled into my chair. “Thank you. Will you please—”

  “Lunch is already ordered.”

  I shook my head. “How did you know?”

  “Same time every day.” She shrugged. “Says so in the manual. I had your Meals-to-Go login, so I’ve gotten you the usual at Sal’s Deli. It should be here right on schedule.”

  “I hope you ordered something for yourself,” I said, though in truth I felt lost for words.

  She nodded, her tone clipped and businesslike. “Yep, you gave me a very generous allowance for lunches, and I appreciate it.”

  Without a word, she turned on her heel and strolled toward the door. When it clicked shut behind her, I stared after her, wondering what the hell had just happened.

  In the history of all my assistants, the first few days were nothing more than handholding and making sure they remembered how I liked my coffee. Never—not once—had anyone walked in and taken control like Piper. Nobody had ever been so thoughtful, so attentive.

  Which, of course, made my life that much harder.

  After all, I couldn’t exactly get rid of a perfectly good assistant when it had taken me months to find someone like her. But then, even when she’d been explaining her perfectly color-coded system, I’d been half imagining unbuttoning that staid little shirt of hers and getting another look at what lay underneath.

  A lethal combination of feelings, there was no doubt about it.

  Biting the inside of my cheek, I gripped the arms of my chair, propelled myself up, and walked toward my square of neat bulletin boards. Maybe she’d missed something—some detail that would ruin everything if I hadn’t caught it myself. That would give me a reason to let her go with a clear conscience. After all, organization was good, but not at the cost of business.

  But no. I examined the calendar, the to-do list, everything. Not a single thing had been misplaced—right down to my haircut on the eighteenth. She’d taken care of everything.

  I glanced up at the ceiling and then trudged back to my desk and sat again. I had plenty to do. I had no business worrying about what I was going to do about this assistant. Still, a part of me felt like I should have known this was a bad idea.

  Considering how attentive and responsive she’d been on that rooftop, there shouldn’t have been a doubt in my mind that she’d be the same professionally. She did everything wholeheartedly—just like me.

  I growled under my breath as I opened my emails and tried to focus on the many messages but found there was nothing for me to look at.

  Nothing at all.

  My inbox had been completely emptied.

  Pressing the intercom, I waited as Piper said, “How can I help you, Mr. Dane?”

  “What happened to all my emails?” I snapped.

  “They’ve been coordinated to appear when you need them. I cleaned out the junk mail and scheduled the rest. If you prefer to see them in total, just click the check box to the right of your inbox. I hope I didn’t overstep…?”

  “You—” I closed my eyes and then opened them again. If her email system was as foolproof as she said… I clicked the checkbox, and they all appeared. “No, you didn’t. Thank you.”

  I released the button and glanced around the room again.

  She was the world’s best assistant. And the best lover I’d ever had. In fact, I’d spent my entire weekend replaying my night with her over in my mind and my entire Sunday night trying to convince myself I had the will power to stop myself from jerking off while thinking about her.

  Surely having her here would be total hell.

  Unless, of course, I could have the best of both worlds…

  Chapter Seven

  Piper

  “Tequila!” I shouted, both as an order to the bartender and in response to the catchy song blaring over the bar speakers.

  I sipped the margarita in front of me, pushed my empty shot glass toward the edge of the bar, and then glanced around at my fellow businesspeople, all unwinding on Cinco de Mayo after a long day of work.

  The past week had been a blur of activity and organization, but I was definitely falling into the swing of things. In fact, a few times, some of my officemates had stopped by my desk to offer their congratulations on my ability to “tame the dragon.”

  And after working with Jackson all week, I could definitely see why. His moods were changeable to say the least. Driven one minute and frustrated the next. Sometimes he would fall into a trance so deep that I was sure he didn’t hear me when I spoke. But other times…

  Other times, I knew he saw me. His gaze bore into me, and though I’d been careful to wear my drabbest business clothes, I was sure he was seeing right through them. That he could tell the way my nipples still stiffened to a straining peak whenever I set eyes on him. That he knew the way my knees weakened when he spoke. But more than that, I was sure he reveled in it.

  A few times, he’d even called me into his office only to tell me to leave again, his question unasked. But I knew what the question was. I could see it in the tick of his jaw when he looked at me or the way he breathed in my perfume whenever I was near.

  It had been so hard to leave that night on the rooftop. To walk away and not beg him to do it all over again. But I knew if I didn’t, I’d be in deep. Too deep. He’d made it more than clear he wanted to hook up. A one-night thing and nothing more. Once he’d rocked my world—twice, no less—I hadn’t needed much prompting to head for the hills. If I didn’t and we did that again?

  I might have dropped to one knee and asked for his hand in marriage.

  Okay, not really, but still. He was addictive. I knew it from one taste. Which meant I had to stay away.

  Only now there was no escape, was there?

  The bartender set another shot in front of me, and with the memory of Jackson’s dark eyes searing into me, I downed it in one and sipped my margarita as a chaser.

  Tonight was not going to be about Jackson Dane. Truth be told, I already spent way too much time thinking about—and fantasizing over—him. No, tonight I was young and single in a new city and looking for someone to catch my eye.

  Which, luckily, they did.

  My gaze fell on a man staring me down across the bar, his red tie partially undone as he rolled the tip of his finger around his beer glass. He looked like a young professional, complete with the suit and slicked-back hair. The slightest bit of five o’clock shadow darkened his features, and I offered him a coy smile before turning my attention to my drink again.

  He was handsome. Slightly out of character, maybe, but I had just enough liquid courage in me to consider crossing the bar and introducing myself.

  As it was, though, I grabbed my phone from my pocket and did my best to squish down the fact that all I could think was how he wasn’t quite as good-looking as Jackson. Didn’t have that sparkle. That sexy charm that rolled off him in waves.

  Not by a mile.

  “Hey,” rumbled a deep voice near my ear. I glanced up to find mys
elf practically nose-to-nose with this new handsome stranger.

  “I’m Steve. What’s your name?”

  “Oh. Hi, I’m Piper. Nice to meet you.”

  My phone blared a loud tinkling noise, and I glanced down to see Jackson Dane blinking across the screen.

  I held up a finger, my heart pounding in my chest. “I have to take this. I’ll be right back.”

  I rolled off my seat and scuttled quickly to the exit, pushing the door open with my hip.

  Stepping outside the bar, I pressed the answer key and then held my phone to my ear. “Hello?”

  “Piper, I need you to come into the office.” Jackson’s tone was matter-of-fact. As if every boss called their employees at seven o’clock on a Friday night.

  “I really…can’t,” I said.

  “On a date?” he asked, his tone clipped.

  “No, not that it’s any of your business,” I added briskly. “It’s after work hours, and I’ve had a couple of drinks.”

  “That doesn’t matter. I don’t mind, and I need you here ASAP. Won’t take long. I’ll see you shortly.”

  The line died, and I stared at my phone for a moment, trying to convince myself that he hadn’t just ordered me around like some sort of indentured servant he’d smuggled here on a ship in the fifteen hundreds.

  I shouldn’t go. I shouldn’t let him win.

  But even as I thought over all the reasons it was wrong to go back into work tonight, I found myself paying my bill and making excuses to Steve before I hit the sidewalk and marched the two blocks to the dark-mirrored glass office tower where I worked.

  I knew it was stupid, but dang it, I actually liked my job. I liked that Jackson needed me.

  What else do you like, Piper?

  I shoved the mocking voice away and willed the heat from my face. Sure, it was after hours, but I could be professional.

  I entered the building after a janitor let me in, and I made for the elevator swiftly, closing my eyes to stop the slight sway of the world around me as I walked. I was one tequila shot away from hiccupping, but Jackson had robbed me of that. Or maybe he’d saved me. I wasn’t quite sure.