I Married the Boss!

by Laura Anthony

  She wore blue denim sneakers and short white socks with pompoms at the back. She’d caught her hair into a ponytail with a large white bow. A thin gold chain adorned her neck and two gold studs were nestled in her earlobes.

  “I’m so pleased I’m finally going to get to meet your boss.”

  “Me, too.”

  Sophia had dreamed of this moment for months. Her anxiety had mounted with each day that passed until now, on this bright, warm Saturday morning, she felt ready to explode with nervous anticipation. What would Michael look like? she wondered. Would he be as handsome as his father? How would he react? Would he hug her? Shake her hand? Would he smile sexily and flirt a little or would Michael be more reserved?

  The official invitation from the Barrington Corporation to the annual end-of-the-summer fling had encouraged employees to bring family members along. Sophia didn’t know whether her mother’s presence would make things better or worse for her but after seeing the excitement in her mother’s eyes at the thought of an outing, she was glad Jannette had come.

  “I’m also very proud of you that you had the courage to break things off with Mike,” Jannette said.

  Break things off with Mike? He’d broken things off with her. Or so Sophia supposed. A strange ache lodged in her belly. He’d stopped hanging around her office, had even discontinued his hearty greetings when he made the mail rounds. She felt as if she’d lost her best friend.

  “Let’s not talk about Mike, okay?”

  Jannette nodded and reached over to pat Sophia’s hand. “It’s for the best, honey. He wasn’t the man for you.”

  But how did Jannette know that? Just because she’d had a bad experience didn’t mean all men were like Sophia’s father. And Mike had so many good qualities. He was fun and optimistic. He had a positive attitude and people really liked him.

  Forget him, Sophia. You’re going to meet Michael today—the man you’re going to marry.

  How would Mike act at the picnic? she fretted. Hopefully he would be as aloof there as he had been at the office the last two weeks. She’d hate for Michael to show up and find Mike hanging around.

  Sophia turned off the highway at the exit marked—Casa Del Sol Dude Ranch. A caravan of cars proceeded down the road in front of them. They arrived a few minutes later and Sophia found a parking place in the vast lot. She spotted Olivia and Lucas Hunter as they drove by, and waved.

  “I can’t believe Olivia came,” Sophia told Jannette as she helped her from the car and into her wheelchair. “She’s due to deliver that baby in just over a week.”

  Jannette sucked in her breath. “She should be careful! First babies are often early.”

  “I’m sure she’ll be fine,” Sophia said, but cast a worried glance over her shoulder. Lucas and Olivia were slowly making their way over.

  Sophia waited on her friends, then the four of them chatted on the way to the entrance.

  Lucas was so solicitous of his wife. He took her hand with one arm and gently led her across the parking area. Jealousy stabbed through Sophia. Would she ever have a man like that?

  Rex Barrington and Mildred Van Hess stood at the gate, greeting everyone individually as they entered. Sophia wanted to ask him if he’d heard from his son, but she was too shy.

  Hired cowboys issued a hearty welcome and herded the guests toward the activities. A large white banner with red lettering proclaimed Barrington Corporation Goodbye To Summer Picnic. Cool, blue water from a guitar-shaped pool beckoned swimmers. The corrals displayed a variety of horses for interested riders. Concession stands offered a wide selection of beverages from soft drinks to imported beers to lemonade. Numerous barbecue grills were loaded with hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken and fish. Bowls of salads, pasta and fresh fruit were laid out on trestle tables of crushed ice.

  Lucas found them a long table under a brightly colored awning. He helped Olivia sit while Sophia set the parking brake on Jannette’s wheelchair. Sophia then took a seat where she could watch the front entrance for Michael’s appearance.

  “I’ll go get cold drinks,” Lucas said and took their orders.

  “He’s such a great guy,” Sophia said to Olivia with a sigh as they watched him make his way to the concession stand.

  Olivia smiled demurely and wrapped her hands around her tummy. “I like to think so.”

  “Hello, ladies.” They looked up to see Olivia’s old boss, Stanley Whitcomb standing beside their table.

  Olivia’s face brightened. “Stanley. Sit down. You know Sophia, of course. And this is her mother, Jannette.”

  “Hello, Jannette.” Stanley sat down next to her mother and smiled broadly. To Sophia’s surprise, Jannette smiled back. Before she knew it, her mother and Stanley were deeply engrossed in conversation.

  “So,” Olivia whispered, “how’s Mike?”

  Sophia took a deep breath. “That has cooled down.”

  “Oh.” Olivia looked disappointed. “That’s a shame.”

  “No.” Sophia shook her head. “Not really. Michael’s coming to the picnic.”

  “Michael Barrington?”

  Sophia nodded. “I’m so nervous.”

  “But what about Mike?”

  “What about him?” Sophia asked, irritated. She wished her friend would stop bringing up the man she wanted to forget.

  “What happened to cool things off?”

  A very hot necking session.

  “Let’s not talk about Mike.”

  “Why not? Because you still care about him?” Olivia sent her a chiding expression.

  “No.”

  “You don’t have to lie to me.”

  “I’m not lying.”

  “Then why is Mike standing over there staring at you as if you were made of chocolate and sugar?”

  “What?” Alarmed, Sophia’s gaze swept the area.

  Sure enough, there he was, lounging around a split-rail fence, his eyes devouring her. She did not expect her skin to catch flame, but it did. Their gazes met but she couldn’t hold his stare. Her chest suddenly went tight and her head swam. She had to get away, remove herself from his propinquity before she did something rash.

  Knowing she was taking a chance on missing Michael’s entrance, Sophia turned to Olivia. “If my mother asks, I went to the bathroom.” She glanced over to find Jannette’s attention was fully focused on Stanley Whitcomb.

  Head down, Sophia hustled away. Where were the rest rooms? she wondered, desperate for a cool damp towel and a place to hide out from Mike. She rounded the corner of the building and paused to catch her breath. Briefly she closed her eyes.

  Calm down, Sophia, she coached herself. You see him every day at the office. What’s the big deal?

  Yes, but at the office he was fully clothed. Here, Mike wore tight blue shorts and the top three buttons on his white polo shirt were undone, revealing more of his masculine chest than she cared to see. His legs were long, tan and very muscular. Just as she had imagined they would be, And his rear end! Well, somewhere there were angels singing Hallelujah. To see her midnight fantasies brought to life like this was rather disconcerting.

  “Morning, Sophia.”

  That voice! So warm and deep. Just like Michael Barrington’s. Could it be him?

  Startled, her eyes flew open and her heart dropped to her feet.

  Mike.

  Standing inches away. A smirk on his face, one arm draped casually against the side of the building. There was something primitive about him, something elementally male.

  “Hello, Mike,” she said hoarsely.

  He took a step toward her and she forced herself not to slink backward, away from his heat. She could handle this.

  “I’ve been thinking about you,” he said. “A lot.”

  “Mike...I...”

  “I can’t forget what happened in your office that Friday night. Lord knows I’ve tried. I’ve kept my distance. I know I’m not what you want in a man.”

  Oh, but he was! He was! Therein lay the problem.

&nb
sp; Mike was all wrong for her but Sophia wanted him. More than she could express. Her lower abdomen ached with longing whenever she looked at him. Her breast hung heavy at the remembrance of his frisky tongue. Her thighs burned with the thought of having him between them. She felt dizzy, out of control.

  He reached over and gently brushed a lock of hair from her forehead. Sophia gulped against those red-hot fingertips.

  “I’ve got something to tell you,” he said huskily. The sound drove a spike of desire straight through her.

  “Yes?” she whispered.

  He gazed into her eyes. Sophia was shocked at what she read in those green depths.

  Was Mike the mailman in love with her?

  Sophia suddenly shivered. No. It couldn’t be. Not a man like Mike. He could never be tied down to one woman, one city, one life.

  They stood staring at each other, both enraptured by what they saw.

  “What?” Sophia spoke at last. “What did you want to tell me?” Was he going to propose? What on earth would she say if he did? What would she do about Michael Barrington?

  “I’m quitting my job.”

  Sophia stared, not sure if she’d heard him correctly.

  He nodded. “I’m leaving Phoenix.”

  “Why?”

  Mike shrugged. “I can’t keep working at Barrington, caring about you the way I do, knowing you’re in love with your boss, knowing there’s no chance for me.”

  “You can’t leave because of me. You like your job.” She reached out to take his hand and give it a squeeze. “Please reconsider.”

  “There are other jobs.” He gave a wry smile. “But there’s no one else like you, Sophia.”

  No man had ever said such a wonderful thing to her. How foolish she was to let him walk away from her because he was not successful. How shallow for her to look at money as the bottom line. What mattered was how they felt about one another.

  Right?

  But years of Jannette’s negative training contradicted that knowledge. That and Sophia’s own experiences at being poor. As her mother put it, love didn’t pay the rent.

  “When are you leaving?” she asked.

  “I’m giving my two-week notice on Monday.”

  “I see.”

  “I’ll miss you.”

  “I’ll miss you, too,” she said it lightly, as if she didn’t really care, but she did! She cared so much. Too much. It felt as if she’d just taken a bullet to the chest.

  “I wanted you to be the first to know.”

  “You haven’t told Mr. Barrington yet?”

  “No.” He lifted her hand to his lips, gently kissed her skin.

  She took a breath so long and deep, it rippled through her body. “Mike?”

  “Yes?”

  “Kiss me.”

  Why was she saying this when she should be saying, “Congratulations, have a good life.” She should be on her knees thanking the heavens for rescuing her from her men problems. Instead, the thought of never seeing Mike again left her feeling lonely and abandoned. If nothing else, she deserved one last kiss.

  “What?”

  “Kiss me.”

  “You mean like this?” In an instant, Mike pulled her to his chest and wrapped his arms around her.

  The minute his lips grazed hers, Sophia recognized the foolishness of her request. What had she started? Why did she constantly persist in playing with fire where this man was concerned? She knew better, and yet she could not seem to help herself.

  “Oh, Mike,” Sophia whispered, and helplessly succumbed to his mouth.

  Chapter Eight

  He hadn’t intended for things to play out this way.

  Last night, while lying in bed thinking about Sophia, he’d promised himself he was going to tell her the truth. That he was Michael Barrington, the man she’d been scheming to marry. Instead he’d told her he was quitting Barrington Corporation and leaving town.

  Why?

  For this.

  His mouth moved against her heated lips, soaking up her essence, reveling in the woman that was Sophia Shepherd. She intoxicated him with her clean, fresh floral scent. Her full lips drove him crazy. The smooth curve of her thigh against his leg had Mike battling to keep his arousal under control.

  What he wouldn’t give to slip off to the lake with Sophia and make love on the beach, their bodies sinking into the sand, the heat warming their skin, the water lapping rhythmically against the shore as they became one, in harmony with nature.

  Mike felt his control slipping. Rapidly. He forgot they were at the dude ranch with hundreds of co-workers and his father and Sophia’s mother in attendance. He forgot he was supposed to be proving to himself that she meant nothing to him. He forgot everything, even his own name. It didn’t matter if he was Mike the mailman or Michael Barrington, corporate executive. All that mattered was Sophia. Sophia, in his arms, in his mind, in his heart.

  She tasted like summer. Sultry, tempting, dangerous. Her kisses were an exotic blending of innocence and desire.

  Since that night two weeks ago when they’d lost their heads in her office, Mike had been able to think of little else. And now here they were, spinning out of control again, blanketed in each other’s arms.

  His desperate need for so much more than kisses, finally broke through his fog of passion.

  No matter how much he might wish it, he could not have her here and now. It was a public place, but much more than that, he could not make love to Sophia until she knew the truth about him. Until she accepted him for who he was, not for who she wanted him to be.

  Purposefully he grasped her shoulders in both his hands and broke their kiss.

  He cupped her chin in his palm, raised her face to meet his. Her blue eyes were misty with desire and it took every ounce of strength he possessed not to take those delicious lips once more.

  She wanted him. He had no doubts about that. But physical lust was one thing, love was another. Could Sophia admit she loved Mike? Could she commit to a man with no future and no visible means of support? Could she let her heart lead her into his arms forever? He would not tell her he was Michael Barrington until he knew the answer to that.

  “Sophia,” he said simply. Ask me to stay, he mentally begged her. Plead with me not to leave Phoenix.

  She smiled at him. She loved hearing him say her name. It made her feel cherished. As if she were special.

  Be careful, Sophia. Cindy’s words popped into her head. It’s rumored that Mike is a consummate womanizer.

  Oh, gosh, why had she practically dared him to kiss her? Had she been out of her mind? What if Michael Barrington had shown up? What if he were here now, searching the dude ranch for her?

  She dropped her gaze and moved away from Mike. “I’ve got to get back to my mother. She’ll be worried.”

  “All right.”

  “Your mind is made up? You’re still going?”

  His eyes clouded. “There’s something else I have to tell you. Something very important.”

  The seriousness in his voice caught her attention. “What is it, Mike?”

  “Sophia! There you are.”

  They looked over to see Lucas Hunter coming toward them.

  “Hello, Lucas,” Sophia said, anxious to relieve the tension between her and Mike. “What’s up?”

  “Mr. Barrington’s looking for you.”

  “Me?” Sophia pressed a hand to herself. A heated chill zipped through her veins. Her mouth felt dry, chalky. “Wh-which Mr. Barrington?” she stammered. “Rex or Michael?”

  Lucas gave her a funny look. “Why, Rex, of course. I wouldn’t know Michael Barrington if he came up and tapped me on the shoulder.”

  On shaky legs, Sophia left the two men behind her and walked to the front entrance. People gathered in clumps. Some stood in line at the concession stand, others were at the barbecue pit, giving directions to the cook. A group of kids rode Shetland ponies in the corral.

  She spotted her friends Molly and Patricia with their fiancés,
Jack and Sam, lounging around the guitar-shaped swimming pool. She lifted a hand in greeting and they waved back.

  Squinting against the sun and wishing she hadn’t left her sunglasses on the table, Sophia scanned the crowd for a man in a white T-shirt and blue shorts. No one fit the description.

  Her spirits stumbled.

  Michael, where are you?

  “Sophia, my dear.”

  She turned, saw Rex Barrington making his way through the crowd. “Hello, Mr. Barrington.”

  “Are you enjoying yourself?”

  “Yes.” She smiled. “It’s a lovely party.”

  “I’m saddened to think it’s going to be my last outing as the CEO of Barrington Corporation, but it really is time for me to retire and turn the reins over to Michael.”

  “Lucas said you wanted to speak to me?”

  Rex nodded. “I need your help.”

  “My help?”

  “Organizing the three-legged race.”

  “Oh.” For some reason she had assumed Rex carried news of Michael. She hadn’t expected to be drafted as race coordinator.

  “All right. What do you need for me to do?”

  Rex grinned and Sophia wondered if he had an ulterior motive for this race, though for the life of her she couldn’t say why she’d gotten that impression.

  He handed her several dozen pieces of rope about three feet long. “Tie the contestants’ ankles and knees together.”

  Curious, she accepted the rope then watched as he stepped up over to where a loudspeaker had been rigged up.

  “May I have your attention?”

  All heads turned in his direction.

  “We’re about to begin the three-legged race. I have selected your partners for you. As I call out your names, please assemble at the starting line on top of the hill.” Mr. Barrington pointed to a rolling bluff several hundred yards away. “Sophia Shepherd will be waiting there to help you. The finish line is directly behind the concession stand. The winners will receive a free dinner at Reflections at the White Swan Hotel in Sedona.”

  I’m supposed to win that, Sophia thought suddenly. Me and Michael. Except Michael wasn’t here.

  While Rex laughed, joked and called out the names of the contestants and their pairings, Sophia, ropes in hand, made her way over to the bluff. Before everyone arrived, she had a brief opportunity to check the crowd again, but still no Michael. She did however, catch sight of Mike. He was sitting talking to Olivia, her mother and Mr. Whitcomb. She waved but none of them saw her.