Touch Me Boss: A Single Dad Office Romance

by Aria Ford

  “Apparently, no one closed last night either. When I got here, the sign was on and the door was open. No one wanting to open or close besides you could be a problem. Are you hiring?”

  Bianca pulled out one of the red bags and put the shoe box inside. “I’m perpetually hiring, do you need a job?”

  The woman extended her hand. “I’m Ashley.”

  Bianca shook it. “When can you start? I’m beyond conducting interviews at this point.”

  Ashley sputtered, “Today, I guess?”

  Bianca handed her the shoes. “Great, I need the rest of the day off. Get back here, I’ll order you a name tag later.”

  Bianca’s head hit the keyboard in a defeated thud as the email from Alex and Boots Corporate defiantly stared back at her.

  “Why is this week complete garbage?” she hollered and Ashley poked her head into the management office. Her fingers gripped the edge of the door.

  “Anything I can do?”

  Bianca batted at tears at the corner of her eyes with her knuckle and punctuated the motion with a sniffle. She lifted her emerald eyes to look at Ashley.

  “I could get fired if I don’t hire someone trustworthy.

  “Well, you’ve got me,” Ashley crooned.

  Bianca pushed her chair back and pulled out a thick black binder.

  “This is a list of all of the employees that have worked here since I became the store manager.”

  “That’s not so bad.” Ashley looked to the register to see if she had any customers and squeezed her way into the manager’s office, which was the size of what could be generously described as a narrow hallway.

  “A lot of people places hire and let go people in that volume over years.”

  “That’s from October.”

  Bianca sat back down and reread the email. Maybe there’s positive over tones to this if I read it and wish really hard.

  The screen reflected the following:

  Dear Bianca Torres:

  This location of Alex and Boots does not have a single employee on file that has stayed on payroll longer than two months. I would like to discuss what we can do to greatly decrease your turn-over rate. I will be flying into Puerto Rico soon and investigating all stores in the area.

  Respectfully,

  Alexander Campbell

  Alex & Boots Co.

  CEO

  Bianca chewed on her cuticle and swiveled to Ashley. “‘Respectfully’ has to be a good sign, right?” she asked.

  The store carried the scent of cinnamon instead of ripe feet jamming themselves into shoes the Tuesday afternoon that Alexander Campbell was due to arrive in Puerto Rico. His flight had probably left Australia two days before.

  He might be weary from his trip and cranky. What if he’s more critical? Bianca thought, and she hustled over to the front counter and pulled two more incense cones out of the drawer. Ashley sneezed.

  “Is this going to be permanent? I should have mentioned that I have allergies.” Ashley swiped a feather duster over the first three boot displays for the fifth time that morning.

  Bianca carefully placed all of her gift cards in an attractive diagonal layout on the front counter. “I’m sorry, Ashley. Bear with me? It’s just going to be like this until after Alexander leaves.”

  They decided to let the cool summer breeze in and kept the door to the store open. People shuffled by, and every once-in-a-while, someone would peek in to see what the specials on this season’s sandals were. The air seemed to cling to Bianca’s golden skin. Earlier that morning, standing in front of a toothpaste smeared mirror, she had considered putting her hair into a no-nonsense bun to look the part of a put-together business woman, but she opted for wearing her thick raven hair down instead. She didn’t want to risk coming off like a boss that was so no-nonsense that she kept letting all of her imperfect employees go.

  “Could you relax? You’re stressing me out.”

  Bianca glared at Ashley and gasped when a tall man in an expensive suit walked through the door. She felt her stomach do summer saults from standing in front of the sole owner of Alex & Boots, the man whose judgement determined her livelihood. It also didn’t help that he had to be the sexiest man she had ever seen in Puerto Rico.

  His skin was pale and his hair contrasted with a dark chocolate color. He filled out his suit nicely, and Bianca was tempted to ease her nervous grin into something a bit more sultry.

  He stepped forward and took in that Bianca and Ashely were the only two in the store. “Is the manager around?” he asked. His voice had a raspy, deep quality to it, like a jazz singer.

  Bianca raised a couple of fingers and pointed to herself. “I’m the general manager here, Bianca Torres.”

  His expression was all business. He offered a tight-lipped smile and extended his hand. Bianca shook it but her wrist was limp and her fingers were clammy.

  “So, I’d like to take a look at the store, see if things are in order, and interview the employees here.”

  He paused and laughed. Bianca noticed that his Australian accent was faint. Maybe he had spent more time in the states then his home continent? Bianca wondered.

  “I’m sorry, I sound like a dingus. There are almost no employees at this location and I didn’t even properly introduce myself- I’m Alexander Campbell, owner and CEO of Alex and Boots.”

  Bianca nodded. “You’re more than welcome to interview Ashley, my only employee at the moment.”

  He scoffed and took off his suit jacket, throwing it on the counter. Bianca chewed on her lip at the sight of Alex in his cream colored pressed dress shirt. He wasn’t an incredibly muscular man but he filled out his clothing wonderfully. He had broad shoulders and he was lean, with a trim waist and a perfectly shaped ass.

  It’s a good thing I live on the fourth floor in my building, just a quick sprint up and down those once a day and I don’t look like a complete slob when I stand next to Alexander.

  His pants fit snug against his ass which Bianca quickly took her eyes off of when he turned around.

  He led her to the children’s corner of the store, all decorated in purple and yellow butterfly decals on the wall. He waved a hand at the decor.

  “This is last year’s design. Did you guys ever get decals for this year? It’s a jolly tiger wearing our sneakers.”

  Bianca folded her arms behind her back. “I got it in January and one of my employees took it with him to put on his kid’s wall when he quit in the middle of his shift. I reported it and everything.”

  Alex frowned with skepticism in his eyes. He walked over to the Ladies Outerwear section and stood in front of it. He eyed it from every angle. He took out his phone and compared one of the shoes to a pair on the company website.

  Bianca tensely followed him around, but she allowed herself a small exhale of relief when they made it back around to the front counter. Ashley clipped pieces of receipt paper into perfect squares to make into sticky notes. Bianca had instructed her to clean and organize every section of the store two days ago. There weren’t any customers for Ashely to busy herself with during Alex’s visit. The store seemed to be going through a dry period, and very few customers had walked through the door in the past week.

  “So, while I think the store could certainly look better, your store isn’t altogether bad. There are a few improvements that I would like to discuss over lunch tomorrow afternoon,” Alex said.

  He leaned against the counter and stared at her, waiting for a response. Bianca blinked herself present and tried to mold her expression into what she hoped came off as obvious enthusiasm.

  “Sure! Where should I meet you?”

  He rubbed his smooth chin in thought. “There was a place that I visited the last time I was in Puerto Rico that I really liked. “

  “Oh? What’s the name?” Bianca asked, she started writing down her number on a sticky note.

  “ Amores de Carne?”

  The corners of her mouth quirked upward at his horribly pronounced Spanish. His ac
cent did nothing to help his pronunciation.

  “I’ll look up the address,” she offered.

  Alex nodded and waved goodbye to Ashley. He tossed Bianca a nod as well and walked out of the store.

  Bianca sighed. “That means neither of us are fired then.”

  Ashely pushed the employee directory toward her. “Good. Can we burn this pathetic binder then?”

  “Maybe we can make s’mores over it after my meeting with Alexander. Hopefully, it goes well and he doesn’t chew me out for two hours over taquitos.”

  Chapter Two

  Bianca forced the door to her apartment open. The ever-present draft assaulted her as she walked in. She swore she lived in the oldest, and coldest, apartment in Puerto Rico.

  She heaved a heavy sigh as she sat down on her couch. Her eyes focused on the grey walls at first, but they rolled up to the celling as she laid on her back.

  Her couch felt like a sack of rocks.

  Maybe I should eat dinner before I pass out. She mulled the idea around and decided that she didn’t have much of an appetite. Her phone chirped from her pocket and then it began to vibrate. She pulled it out and mumbled, “Hello?”

  “Hola, esta bien?”

  “Si, Mama. Estoy durmiendo. Que paso?”

  Bianca rolled her eyes and sat up as her mother told her all about the bruja at the grocery store. When she finally got off of the phone an hour later, she chuckled. “I’m awake now.”

  She shifted on the couch and her eyes drifted around her apartment. It had been ages since she had a reason to really make it look nice. Her parents lived in Miami, and she had run out of friends because most of them started getting married and having kids.

  She hadn’t had a date in months. After encountering seventeen losers in a row, she had resigned herself to the fact that her sex life would consist of her index and middle fingers, and bottle of red wine.

  She ran a hand over her plump breast and then grazed her lower abdomen in a way that would have sent a dangerous shiver down her spine if a man had done it.

  I’m tired of being alone. I want someone to want to do this with me. Why don’t I ever meet guys like Alex?

  She got up and walked to the kitchen, telling herself that she needed to concentrate solely on keeping her job and not how hot her boss was. Those thoughts would only get her in trouble. She pulled out a tea kettle and turned the faucet on. She filled the kettle with water and placed it on the stove, then rooted through her cabinets and pulled out a tin of hot cocoa.

  I should probably go ahead and take care of myself later so I’m not a total hornball at our meeting.

  The sun beat down on them, and Alex grunted in frustration as he peeked into the dark building in front of them.

  “Shit. How could they be closed on one of the only days in the year that I’m able to eat here?” Alex looked at Bianca, dressed casually in a floral peplum top and denim shorts with Alex and Boots sandals strapped to her feet. Her long black hair was in a braid and she had decorated her lips with bright red lipstick.

  She tried to think of something to diffuse Alex’s frustration She nodded and said, “Maybe we could try some place else? There’s a restaurant on every corner.”

  “I was really looking forward to this one, however.”

  “Most of the restaurants around here serve the same kind of food,” she offered.

  Alex shook his head. “Not every restaurant makes mole like this one does. I suppose this afternoon was about discussing improvements to your store though, huh?”

  Bianca smiled at him and he smiled back. That’s the first real smile she’s given, instead of that nervous grimace, he thought to himself.

  “Mole, huh?”

  “Yes. Do you know any other good restaurants around here?”

  Bianca didn’t respond right away. Her eyebrows creased and she smirked. “You want mole?”

  “You know a place that serves good mole poblano?”

  “I know how to make mole. And my place has a dining table where we can eat and talk about the store. I guarantee, my mole is the best you’ll ever have.”

  Alex rolled that around in his head, wondering if it was inappropriate for him to have lunch in Bianca’s home. He supposed that as long as he stayed professional, it should be fine.

  “Alright. Do you live near here?”

  “Yeah, I walked. We need to stop by the grocery store down the street though so I can get what I need.”

  Bianca smiled and led him through the neighborhood. Kids sprinkled the streets and Alex relaxed. Puerto Rico was such a beautiful country. Alex hadn’t visited since he was in his twenties, and after he returned to his brownstone in New York, decided another location would do incredibly well here.

  I’m still not sure if this location is worth keeping around, though. he thought, as Bianca’s long golden legs strode ahead of him and he took in how toned they were. Maybe standing in that store all day gives her such nice legs.

  They arrived at a small market, and Bianca plucked vegetables out and grabbed a few packs of chicken. They went to the checkout counter and Bianca greeted the clerk,

  “Hola. Es todo.”

  “Bueno. Como estas?”

  “Bien, El es mi jefe.” Bianca gestured toward Alex who looked between her and the clerk, perplexed.

  “El no hablan espanol.”

  “She asked how I am and I told her I am good and that you are my boss,” she said, not wanting Alex to think she was being rude by speaking a language he clearly didn’t understand.

  Gratefully, Alex nodded and smiled at the clerk.

  The clerk smiled back and rang up all of the items.

  Bianca chuckled and she dug around in her red satchel for her wallet. “You didn’t bother to learn Spanish before opening a store in Puerto Rico?” she asked him.

  “Well, I took some classes in college, but clearly none of it stuck. And, here, let me get that,” he said, and pulled out his visa and shoved it at the clerk.

  Bianca felt her cheeks heat up and said, “Oh no, you really don’t have to do that. You pay me enough to be able to afford a few groceries.”

  He smiled and managed to tell the clerk, “Gracias.” As they left the bustling grocery store, he told her, “It’s fine. This is a company meeting, so the company should pay.”

  “Oh, but you’re visiting, I hate to impose,” Bianca said.

  “Nonsense. Now, let’s talk a little business. You store needs some serious updates. I hate pouring money into projects that just aren’t working but I can tell that you have positive intent toward my company. Most people that are qualified to be a general manager would have left by now after having that many nightmarish employees. I appreciate you sticking around.”

  He didn’t take his eyes off of her as they walked around the corner to her building. Bianca felt goosebumps rising on her skin, his smoldering gaze holding her captive.

  She smiled and pointed out her building. “This is it. Es mi casa.”

  “If you’re going to keep speaking Spanish, I’m going to have to use Australian slang to even the playing field,” Alex teased.

  “I’m sorry, I’m not used to being around people that aren’t used to speaking Spanish.”

  They started the climb up the stairs and Alex looked around, noticing that his brand new white sneakers had already collected some dirt going up the steps.

  He couldn’t help but stare at her perfectly round bottom as he followed her up the steps. He could see no tan lines from the bottom of her shorts and that intrigued him. He felt his pants tighten a bit in the crotch as he pictured her sunbathing on a nude beach. He could barely hide his attraction.

  They reached her apartment and Bianca shouldered the door open. Alex walked into the center of her drab living room as she hustled into the kitchen.

  Why is her place so shitty? I’m almost positive she’s getting a generous salary, he thought as he sat on the couch and noticed that she didn’t even have a nice view. The walls were grey and
boring, not a single piece of artwork was hung to brighten the room. Her place was clean, but it was hospital clean, being inside of it made you feel more uneasy than cozy.

  The sound of Bianca chopping vegetables could be heard from the kitchen. “So,” she called out over the clinking of knives, “you’re from Australia?”

  He twisted around on the sofa to look at her. “Yes, I was born there and lived there until I was about eighteen. Then I moved to the states, and I dropped out of college to start up Alex & Boots.”

  “My parents live in Miami,” she chopped an onion in half, “I never cared for the states.”

  “No? American living is refreshing, they have romantic ideas about what it’s like to live overseas.”

  “I’m sure they do. I just find it to be an uninteresting country. There’s plenty of romance here in Puerto Rico.” She paused from chopping vegetables, and looked up at him.

  He chuckled and decided to take his shoes off. “I’m sure a Sheila like yourself finds a lot of romance.”

  Bianca frowned and washed her hands. “My name is Bianca.”

  He laughed heartily. “I know your name. That’s Australian slang, it means beautiful woman. It’s payback for you speaking Spanish all the time. I warned you,” he said with an easy grin.

  She giggled and pulled out a large pot and filled it with water. “That’s not payback at all, you called me beautiful. Tell me, is my beauty enough to keep my store open?”

  “No one is shutting down your store.” He got up, rising to his full six feet. He walked into the kitchen. He leaned against the wall, wanting to stay out of Bianca’s way.

  “Really? You know, I was so scared of you. I thought you’d be this intimidating, no-nonsense professional.” She laughed as she seasoned the chicken with paprika. “But you’re letting me make you a meal in my tiny and well, shitty, apartment and you’re agreeing to keep my store open.”

  He smirked. “Just because I am a multi-billionaire, doesn’t mean that I can’t appreciate a home cooked meal made by a beautiful, intelligent, and hard-working woman.”

  Oh my. Bianca thought. “You’ve only known me for two days, and you’ve got all that?”