Bad Boss

by Brooke Page

  He caught up to me. “Would you slow down and let me explain?”

  “There isn’t anything to explain. I get it, okay?” A taxi was in sight, and I waved it down.

  “No, you don’t get it. Let me take you home. We can talk on the way there,” he pleaded, planting himself between me and the taxi door.

  “I know why you’ve reigned in the dickhead attitude. I’m not going to report you, so stop trying to make an impression,” I said passively, although I was really dying inside.

  Reaching around him, I grabbed the handle on the door.

  “That wasn’t what you thought,” he whispered, holding the top of the door while I scooted inside. He held it tight so I couldn’t close it.

  “Where to, ma’am?” The taxi driver asked, his voice unsure and filled with discomfort from Craft glaring at him.

  “43rd Street and Barstool, please.”

  He nodded to me, then patiently waited for Craft to let go of the door.

  Doing my best to put on a smile, I needed to talk him into letting me go. “Mack, really, it’s fine. I’m tired and need to sleep. I had fun tonight. I’ll see you Monday morning.”

  His jaw was clenched along with his knuckles. He didn’t believe me, rightfully so. “You’re sure?”

  I nodded, offering him another smile.

  He sighed, then finally let go of the door, slamming it shut.

  I let out a breath of relief, holding in my tears until the taxi pulled up to my apartment. I let the tears flow freely while drudging up the steps, not bothering to grab the mail or say hello to the old lady who sat on the front porch of the lower level apartment.

  Sinking into my bed, I clung to my pillow, crying myself to sleep. A well-rested body would help me rationalize what had happened within the past twenty-four hours, and give me a clear head on how to handle the situation.

  Mackenzie Craft wasn’t interested in me for more than just a sexual fling, and was most likely thinking he could use me for more than my scheduling and Power Point skills.

  The gentleness in his eyes was all a front, tricking me into thinking he was interested in something more than a hookup.

  Chapter Eighteen

  I fucked up.

  I never intended to let my attraction to Ms. Neely get out of hand, but I couldn’t help it when she was in my office. The Dress she wore was a temptation in itself, hugging her delicious curves perfectly. She was shorter than any other female in the office, but that didn’t mean her voluptuous body wasn’t a turn on. I’d fantasized about her since she’d come into my building as an intern. She wasn’t wide eyed and afraid, she was prepared and ready to tackle whatever project we threw at her.

  She didn’t give a crap about her rank, and only cared whether the project was done efficiently and to the needs of the client. She didn’t fight back, but held her ground at the same time. I was well aware my tone isn’t always that of a positive note, and my temper can get the best of me, but it was only because I expected the best out of all of my employees.

  Kelsey Neely delivered, and I let her go through my fingertips.

  My heart pounded in anticipation for Monday morning, wondering what would be on my desk, or worse, if Ms. Neely gave me the cold shoulder.

  The cold shoulder was something I was used to, but I didn’t want it from her. Not now that I’d had a taste of her.

  My cock wouldn’t stop fantasizing about her, either. “Settle down,” I grumbled, adjusting myself in my pants. “She doesn’t come in for another three hours, and you need to behave yourself, at least until we can sort out our differences.” I scolded my lap, then felt like a twat for talking to my dick.

  My elbows found my desk, my hands running through my hair. I don’t know why I bothered to style it this morning. I was agitated, and knew I’d screwed up with the best assistant I’d ever had, for more reasons than one.

  She was a hard worker, anyone with half a brain could realize that. She was insanely bright, and holy hell, she was stunning. I told myself from the beginning she’d be a lawsuit, a woman who wouldn’t let a man interfere with her career.

  Maybe if I would have promoted her like I intended to, I wouldn’t be in this situation, but no. I was greedy, and I wanted her all to myself. I saw how some of the marketing coordinators checked her out. She’d eat them alive, for one, and two, I was the only man in this building allowed to stare at her ass.

  I frowned. I couldn’t be so possessive of her. She wasn’t mine, and seventy percent of the time she drove me insane. The banter was what got me though. It was a turn on when she’d bite her lip and roll her eyes when she thought I wasn’t looking, and the fact that she was opening up to me and letting me have it how I should get it, was fucking sexy as hell. I needed to touch her, to taste her, to feel her connected with me, the curve of her spine fitting perfect in my hands.

  My shaft was at full mast now, and I shoved my hand to cover it. I needed to calm down.

  A few hours had passed, and the accounts I’d been working on had been in the exact same spot as I they were when I had arrived. My mind couldn’t focus, not until I knew Ms. Neely was sitting at her desk, being the wonderful front woman I needed her to be.

  My door flew open, and my smile filled with hope that it was her, vanished. “Heard of knocking?” I said grumpily, gazing at my computer as if I had no interested in Mindy exploding into my room as if it was hers. I knew she hated me, and I didn’t care. There was a reason she was my partner’s assistant and not mine.

  She slammed a piece of paper down on my desk, and I froze. “Kelsey asked me to hand deliver this to you.”

  She crossed her arms and jutted her chin.

  “Thanks,” I said uninterested, hiding how terrified I was of the pile of paper sitting on my desk.

  “I knew you’d get to her. You’re such an asshole, and have no idea when you’ve got something good.”

  My chest tightened and my jaw tensed. Kelsey was a good thing, and the physical evidence that I threw any chance of having her, even if that was as a kickass employee, right down the drain.

  “I treated her like every other employee.”

  Mindy sneered. “Yeah, and for some ungodly reason, Kelsey doesn’t want to write a formal complaint. Who am I supposed to eat lunch with now? Those interns you rotate fucking?” She shook her head in disgust. “I can’t believe you categorized Kelsey into that group.”

  My eyes narrowed. “You know nothing about my personal life, so I suggest you stop accusing your superior with such foolish accusations.”

  “You’re not my superior,” she spat. “Good luck finding a new assistant.” With that, she stomped out of my office, leaving me with what I’d feared.

  It was a letter of resignation. HR was going to have a fit. It didn’t match the shortness of breath and the searing pain that was enveloping inside my chest. I really did it. I pushed her away with one stupid comment. I needed to restrain my locker room talk.

  I stood from my desk, folding the piece of paper and slipping it inside of my coat pocket. I couldn’t sit in this office and work at my desk. I could still smell her citrus scent, could still vividly see her spreading her legs for me. I licked my lips, hungry to taste her again. She was sweet and delicious, a flavor I’d crave for the rest of my life.

  Walking around my desk, I noticed the conference table, a chill haunting my bones. I saw her on all fours, the curve of her back arched, her lips popped open from pleasure. I clenched my fist, remembering having her long silky blonde hair curled around it, tugging it only to be granted with the sound of angels muttering from her lips.

  I had to get the fuck out of here. She was surrounding me, controlling my mind in my most sacred place. There was no way she was actually leaving. I wouldn’t let her make such an irrational decision on such short notice, and for sure without having a sit down with me.

  She could sit on my face for all I cared, as long as she came back to me.

  I needed her.

  She filled a spot
inside of me I thought was void forever.

  Pulling out my phone, I swiped through to her contact number. No surprise, she didn’t answer. “Ms. Neely, it’s imperative that you call me back.”

  I hung up the phone, then shook my head, smacking myself in the face. “Yeah, that sure as shit won’t get her to call me back.”

  I took a few deep breaths and counted to ten. I needed to reign in the dominant asshole that I saved for the bank vultures and clients who thought they could take advantage of our company.

  “Kelsey,” yeah, use her first name. “Please call me back. We need to talk. I need to explain myself. You’re important to this company,” I winced, stop being so fucking formal. This isn’t about work anymore, it’s about her. “Let’s meet for dinner. Tonight. I’ll be at the bar you love to go too. You know, where we were at on Friday.”

  I hung up the phone, hoping to God she’d show up.

  Chapter Nineteen

  “She’s not coming,” Cody said, throwing me another drink. I took it, chugging it back. He was right. I was stupid for thinking she actually would meet me. Standing me up every night in the same spot for the past two weeks was a big, fuck you, Craft. I was an asshole who used her for sex in her mind.

  “Maybe I’ll go to her apartment?”

  Cody set both hands on the bar top, leaning in and whispering in my face. “Are you crazy? She overheard you telling me you were kissing her ass so she wouldn’t file a complaint. She’s not going to let that one go. Time to start hiring again, Mack.”

  I sunk in my chair. I’d gone through more assistants than James Dean went through condoms. No one fit so perfectly until Kelsey came around. I’d even fired three temporaries within the past two weeks, another quitting on their own.

  The first one played on the internet all day.

  The second one was texting on her phone more than typing out reports.

  The third burst into tears when I told her the coffee she brought me was disgusting.

  The fourth one was decent, but she used a fucking USB port. There was only one woman I’d put up with using that dead technology.

  “She was so much more,” I murmured into my drink.

  Cody gave me a lopsided smile. “You can’t let a woman control you like that. I should have known you had a thing for her, especially how you let her pick your entire fantasy baseball team.” He shook his head. “Crazy ass.”

  “She needed to feel involved. I didn’t want her to just sit there all night while I stared at a magazine.”

  Cody laughed. “Yeah, you let her stare at it so you could stare at her.”

  I shrugged my shoulders. “Maybe.”

  “You should have taken her to the bedroom,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows. “That’d make her forget filing a complaint and have her begging for more.”

  I traced the rim of my beer, remembering how gorgeous she looked under the moonlight with her shirt off, coming at the mercy of my thumb, sweat beading her breasts and stomach.

  “She has a brain. I like bantering with her. She challenges me.”

  “Then go tell her that,” he stated simply. “For someone so bright, you really have trouble seeing the obvious.”

  I glowered at him. “You just told me I shouldn’t go to her apartment.”

  He shrugged. “That was before I knew you were actually into her. I thought she was just a piece of ass on the side.”

  He couldn’t be further from the truth. I slammed the rest of my beer and hopped off the stool.

  “What are you doing?” Cody asked, his lip curling in concern.

  “I’m going to go see her.”

  “Should you maybe wait until the morning? It’s almost midnight, and you’ve had quite a few tonight.”

  I waved him off on my way to the door. “I’m fine. I need to see her.”

  ***

  “Kelsey!” A muffled voice rumbled along with a pounding on my door.

  The sound startled me, waking me from my spot on the couch. I’d fallen asleep watching a Nicholas Sparks movie with a tub of ice cream, again.

  Adjusting my clothing, a super-hot t-shirt from a 5k I ran in college and yoga pants, I sluggishly moved from the couch to the door.

  Peeking through the hole made me lose my breath. The very reason for the cheesy love stories and unhealthy amounts of sugar was standing there, demanding to see me. My stomach tightened. The pain that twisted my gut wouldn’t go away, and was on full blast now that he was so close. I’d avoided his texts, contemplating how to respond to them.

  Give it up Craft, I’m not interested.

  Really? Dinner? So you can beg for me to come back to work? Pshhhhh

  Why? So you can fuck me in the bathroom?

  Yes, take me to dinner and kiss me until our lips are numb.

  Tell me you want me for more than my Power Point skills.

  “Please, open up,” he choked. “I need to see you.”

  Taking a deep breath, I unlocked the chain and the deadbolt. The door creaked open, and there he was, dressed for work.

  Yet, he wasn’t put together at all. His shirt was untucked and unbuttoned at the top, the sleeves rolled to his elbows. His hair was longer, matching the stubble along his jaw. There were bags under his eyes, his hair a mess as if he’d been running his hands through it. He was a wreck, but oh my gosh, was he beautiful.

  I half hid behind the door. “Why are you here?” I bit, sounding more pissed than I meant to.

  His lips sucked together as he took me in. The sigh of relief he expelled along with the lack of posture was another trait he didn’t traditionally carry.

  “Are you okay?” I asked with concern.

  He set his forearm on the frame of the door, leaning forward. “God, you are so fucking beautiful.”

  I could smell the alcohol on his breath. “Jesus, Craft,” I scolded, attempting to close the door.

  His hand caught it. “Just hear me out.”

  I sighed, my head resting on the back of the door. He couldn’t see me, and I could only see the ends of his strong fingers. The same fingers that had the power to unravel me.

  “Look, I know you overheard me talking to Cody,” he said slowly. “It was stupid, and if I could take it back I would. Even though you should file a complaint about me, I knew you wouldn’t, and that wasn’t why I was treating you… differently.” He let out a deep breath. “I just…”

  He sighed deeply, and I was hanging onto his every word.

  “Fuck, I played this out in my head so many times,” he mumbled. His hand left the door, and I glanced around the corner. He was pacing in the hall, his hands fisting his hair.

  When he caught sight of me, he stopped dead in his tracks, dropping his hands to his sides. “I miss you at the office, Kelsey.”

  I scoffed, back to work as always. “Yeah, I bet you do. No one willing to put up with how big of an asshole you are?”

  His brows pinched together. “No, wait, that’s not what I meant.”

  I held up my hand, stopping him from coming closer to me. “I’ll never work for you again.”

  He ignored my hand, stepping forward so I was touching him. His heart was pounding wildly. “I get that,” he whispered. “It’s not just work where I miss you.”

  The ache in my chest rose from his words. I’d missed him too, the gentle, caring side he showed me that night. The one that stroked my skin so delicately and kissed me with a tenderness he’d never showed until then.

  “Please, I’ve never felt this way before.” He whispered so softly that I wondered if I’d imagined it.

  My emotions went into overdrive, trying to read between the lines. He wasn’t being blunt, and was beating around the bush. I needed the upfront, no nonsense Craft. “I don’t understand.”

  His eyelids slowly opened and a warmth covered the sadness and confusion written on his face. “I want to spend time with you. Every morning I come into work, hoping you’ll be at your desk, sending me a smile I don’t deserve. Bringing me co
ffee that is too watered down, getting my Au Hi Tuna salad and including avocados and feta cheese with saracha.”

  “That’s so gross,” I blurted. I hated the smell, and the restaurant refused to deliver to our building, so that meant three days a week I’d have that shit in my car.

  He laughed. “Don’t judge me, I put up with your egg salad.”

  My jaw dropped. “You smell that?”

  He shook his head. “Every fucking day.”

  I flushed.

  “I miss hearing you laugh in the lounge. I even miss those damn USB ports laying around everywhere.”

  I’d never been so confused. He always complained, always scolded. The negativity in the office was predominantly from him, and I always thought it was because of me.

  His head dipped down, his voice becoming a faint whisper. “I’m so unbelievably mad at myself for being such a dick to you.” I watched his Adams apple bob as he swallowed. “I want more nights like fantasy night.”

  My stomach twisted. Hearing him say that night meant a lot to him hit me like a truck on the freeway. I felt the same way. It was why overhearing him hurt so badly. Needing the crackle of discomfort to disappear, I tried to make a joke, but it came out as insecure and offended. “You just want to see me naked.”

  “Kelsey,” he continued. “It’s so much more than just the sex. Don’t get me wrong, I still want to see you naked from head to toe, but I want to see inside your head more. I want you to see inside of mine, too. If you don’t want to work for me, fine, but please, come back to me.”

  My lips parted, itching to jump him, but I just couldn’t do it.

  I was beyond confused, having no idea what my heart was telling me. I was scared, afraid that he was playing with me again. No matter how wrecked and open he was standing before me, I needed to wait to give him an answer. I couldn’t process what was going on in my own head, let alone his.