by Stella Stone
HOT Boss
Stella Stone
HOT Boss
Copyright © 2018 by Stella Stone
All rights reserved.
Cover Designer: Pink Ink Designs. Cassy Roop. http://www.pinkinkdesigns.com
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
ISBN-13: 978-1726232647
ISBN-10: 1726232646
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Contents
About the Author
Also By Stella Stone
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWLEVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
EPILOGUE
About the Author
Stella Stone is a penname for an already established author who wants to write Simply. Sexy. Stories.
She is a mother of two boys, and a wife to a bearded hubby, residing in a rural Texas town. During the day she writes sexy stories while her children are at school. In the afternoon, she is a chauffeur, Taekwondo observed, loud baseball, basketball, and cheering swim mom.
Enjoy her Simply. Sexy. Stories and the Alpha men she enjoys creating.
Also By Stella Stone
Alpha Billionaire Series
BUYING THE HEIRESS
BUYING THE BARISTA
BUYING THE VIRGIN
HOT Alpha Series
HOT Recluse
HOT Cop
HOT Boss
PROLOGUE
LIAM
My eye catches Shawn’s round ass. It’s encased in the tightest fucking skirt and I groan at the sight. This little girl will be the death of me, is what she’s going to be. Too sexy, too innocent, and too fucking young.
Jenkins all but begged me to take her on as my secretary. I knew it was a bad move the second she walked into my office and introduced herself. My cock stood at attention, like a goddamn solider ready for action and the only action it wanted was inside of this pretty young thing.
This pretty young thing who is my business partner’s daughter.
Goddamn.
Fucking shit.
She straightens her back, turning her head to the side. I watch her profile, her lips, the curve of her cute nose, and then she frowns. My gaze follows hers, and my own frown appears, I’m sure for completely different reasons.
Detective Grant Anderson is walking up to her. He stops right in front of her desk. His chin dips, and I growl. If he thinks I didn’t notice him checking her out a couple weeks ago, when he was in here, he’s dead fucking wrong. I noticed.
Shawn turns toward my office door, taking a few steps to close the distance. I watch the handle turn and she steps inside. The detective doesn’t allow her to speak to me. He pushes past her and I stand, immediately.
“Detective?” I ask.
Now that I see him up close, he looks tired, exhausted even. “Your ex-wife has been found and arrested. She’s charged with kidnapping amongst other things,” he announces.
Shawn gasps from her place next to the door. I hiss out a curse, and sit down in my chair. “Thank you for telling me, Mr. Anderson,” I mutter, lifting my hand to run my fingers through my hair.
“She’ll probably attempt to contact you,” he explains.
I shake my head. “I’m done. I should have been done a long time ago. I have zero ties to her. I am done.”
He nods, turning to leave but stops right next to the door. “If you need anything, Liam, don’t hesitate.”
Lifting my hand, I thank him. He doesn’t say anything else as he walks away. Shawn lingers at my doorway for a few breaths but I don’t look up at her. I can’t. I’m so fucking embarrassed.
How the fuck could I have married a woman like Karen? A leech. A vulture. A gold-digging whore? How? I fucking chose the bitch.
SHAWN
I can tell that he doesn’t want to talk to anyone. Liam is quiet. Reserved. The epitome of calm, cool, and collected. Always under control.
He’s also the sexiest man I’ve ever met.
Turning away from him, I quietly close the door and head back toward my desk. I wish that I could comfort him.
That bitch, Karen has done so much to screw with him just in the short time I’ve worked here. I can’t imagine what she did behind closed doors when they were married. I wish I could punch her in the face. I mean, I wouldn’t do much damage because I know I’m totally weak, but still.
Sitting down at my desk, I let out a sigh. My phone buzzes, and I pick it up. It’s my mother. I roll my eyes and let out another sigh.
MOM: Call me. Big sale.
That’s my mom. She shops and spends my dad’s money. My dad, he works. I’m more like him. Shopping isn’t really a hobby for me, rather it’s a necessity. I really don’t even have to do it, other than for food. My mom usually supplies me with everything I need, plus some.
“Mom?”
“Hey honey. I’m at Barney’s. Huge sales, what do you need?” she asks. She sounds distracted, probably busy looking at size labels.
I shake my head before I answer her. “Nothing mom, I’m good.”
She makes a psshhh sound. “You’re working in a big fancy office, plus you’re the boss’s daughter, you need to look professional.”
I don’t remind her that she bought me an entire professional wardrobe before I started here. She rambles on about what’s hot this season, while I check my emails and reply to a few messages.
“I’ll drop these things by tomorrow,” she states. I open my mouth to respond but the line is already dead.
With a sigh, I lean back in my chair, tipping my head back to look at the ceiling. I should have told her no. I’m a pushover. A pushover in a rut. The fact is, having my mom stop by later is going to be the highlight of my day. Other than Liam smiling at me this morning, when I handed him his coffee. My cheeks get hot just thinking about Liam, about his smile, about—him.
I’ve never had a crush like this before. Never had a ton of interest in boys. I always wondered if there was something wrong with me, and as time has gone by I’ve wondered if I’m going to be a spinster. At twenty-four I’m nowhere near that yet, but the fact that I don’t date, that I’ve never dated, it has me fearing the worst.
“I’m heading out for the day, take messages if anyone calls. I’ll be back Monday,” Liam announces, startling me from my thoughts.
His head is down, he looks defeated and I watch him walk away. I want to reach for him, touch him, console him. Kiss him, lick him. I just plain want him.
CHAPTER ONE
ONE MONTH LATER
SHAWN
Shit.
I’m late.
Really late.
<
br /> I run down the street, tucking my handbag beneath my arm and pray that my heels don’t break as I attempt to weave through the people walking down the sidewalk. I’m never late. Well, hardly ever. Today is a different story.
My boss Liam Thomas has been on a rampage for weeks. He’s not the same man he was a month ago, he’s changed. He’s cold, angry, bitter, and downright frightening.
Unfortunately, his new demeanor doesn’t take away from his sex appeal. I actually find myself more attracted to the asshole than I ever was to the nice guy.
I reach the glass doors of the building’s entrance , letting out a sigh of relief that I’ve finally arrived. I broke a sweat on my way here, and I’m fairly positive my deodorant isn’t going to hold up the rest of the day.
I let out a groan, walking into the air conditioned building. I forego the elevators, knowing that they’re already jampacked with the morning crowd.
Quickly, I take the stairs, huffing and puffing with each floor I climb. If my deodorant didn’t fail me on the way here, it’s assuredly going to now.
With my head down, my breath is stolen when I run into something hard. I stumble backward only to have two strong hands grip my biceps.
Slowly, I lift my head up and if I were living in one of my romance novels it would be Liam whose eyes I meet. Unfortunately, I don’t live in a romance novel and it’s not Liam, its Mike the copy guy.
“Hey, Mike,” I mutter, wriggling from his grasp. I tuck my hair behind my ear and attempt to take a side step around him.
He grins, his yellow teeth making an appearance. His hair hangs limp and greasy, his cheeks unshaven and the whites of his eyes matching the color of the yellow in his teeth. Mike the copy guy is nice enough, but he gives me the creeps. Always has. Probably always will.
“Hey, Shawn,” he breathes, his breath smelling like stale coffee and death.
He steps to the side, blocking me from walking around him. I give him a smile and then look down at my phone, which is gripped tightly in my hand.
“I’m really late, Mike. Mr. Thomas is going to be so mad as it is, I need to hurry,” I say giving him my fakest smile.
He smirks. “You’re Shawn Jenkins, you won’t get in any trouble.”
I gulp, “He’s been in a bad mood for a month. I think at this point my last name won’t mean much,” I state.
Mike’s eyes drift over my body one more time, before he finally allows me to pass. I breathe out a sigh of relief and begin to climb the stairs once again. “See you around, Shawn,” he calls out.
He says it in a creepy sing-song voice that sends a shiver up my spine. Looking down at him, I attempt to give him a shaky smile, and a wave, before I practically sprint up the next few flights of stairs. I decide right here and now that I’ll never take the stairwell again, not ever.
LIAM
I growl as I look at the time on my computer screen. She’s late. I grind my teeth together. Where is she? My mind fills with a dozen scenarios of where she could be, what or who she could be doing. I slam my open palm against the desk to relieve some of my pent up aggression.
I’m fucked up. Completely fucked up. Since Karen’s been caught and awaiting trial, I am finally free to do almost anything I wish. What I wish to do is Shawn, which is the one thing I can’t.
Fuck.
I’m so goddamn frustrated.
Something catches the corner of my eye, and I glance over to see her walking toward her desk. It’s twenty past eight. She’s twenty minutes late and she looks frazzled as shit. I frown, watching her, waiting for my morning coffee.
Tracking her movements, I keep my gaze on her as she smooths down her tight as sin skirt, then she hurries over to the coffee cart and orders my drink. She tucks some hair behind her ear as she moves quickly toward my office. Leaning back in my chair, I lace my fingers behind my head and attempt to be as nonchalant as possible.
“I’m sorry I’m late, Mr. Thomas. I had a hectic morning,” she rambles as she keeps her eyes down and shuffles toward my desk.
I watch as she sets my drink down, then takes a step back, assuming I’m going to let her go at that. She’s wrong. “Tell me why you were late,” I demand.
Her eyes lift and my breath escapes at the sight of her light brown gaze. Fuck, those eyes are my downfall, those seemingly innocent eyes. Well, those eyes and her small perky tits. Just enough for my hand, just the right amount. Not to mention her round ass, okay, all of her is my fucking downfall.
“I overslept,” she says, her cheeks turning pink with embarrassment.
I cluck my tongue. “Now, Shawn…”
I shouldn’t be asking her this. I shouldn’t be demanding she tell me about her personal life, but I want to know if she’s fucking anyone. I need to know. If she is, I’ll ruin him, because I want to fuck her, nobody else.
She shrugs. “I stayed out late last night with some friends, honestly, I overslept,” she says. I can see the truth gleaming in her eyes, but now I’m curious about these friends.
I tip-toe the line of inappropriate. In reality I want to leap over it, but for now I tip-toe.
“Anything special?” I ask, taking a sip of my coffee.
She nods, then shrugs, her eyes downcasting to the floor. “My birthday,” she whispers.
My spine straightens. “Your what?” I demand, my tone much harsher than I intend.
“Birthday,” she whispers. I watch in surprise as she turns around and scurries off.
I feel like a heel, like an absolute piece of shit. Logging into my computer system, I pull up her file and sure enough, yesterday was Shawn Jenkins birthday.
Fucking shit.
CHAPTER TWO
SHAWN
I let out a heavy breath as I sit down in my chair. Yes, yesterday was my birthday. Yes, Liam forgot. Yes, I stayed out late and drowned my sorrows in tequila sunrises. This morning I woke up hung over, regretful of my decision and alone.
Twenty-five wasn’t starting off all that great, and I was beginning to lose hope that it would get any better. Logging into my computer, I quickly reply to the messages in my inbox, then start gathering paperwork to file.
Standing, I hear a throat clear behind me. Slowly, I turn around to see Liam leaning his shoulder against the jamb. He looks almost, regretful and guilty. I hate it. I didn’t want to tell him about my birthday, because I didn’t want him to look at me with pity that he forgot.
“Shawn,” his voice hums. It’s so low, so deep, so sexy that I almost let him lure me in.
Shaking my head, I lift my gaze to his. “It’s just a birthday, Mr. Thomas. It doesn’t matter,” I say taking a step to the side.
His feet and arm move faster than I expect. He’s in front of me, his warm firm grasp wrapped around my forearm, completely arresting me on the spot. I can’t control my face, it feels like it’s on fire as I look up, taking in his black gaze.
“It does matter. What kind of partner am I to your father if I’ve forgotten your birthday? What kind of boss does that make me?”
My heart races excitedly before he mentions the part about my father. Then it almost stops at his words, dipping into my stomach, and I feel nauseous.
“Please, it’s fine,” I say holding my palm up.
Liam shakes his head. “It’s not,” he mutters.
I shake out of his grasp, taking another step to the side. Annoyed with him, with the fact that he only sees me as Leonardo Jenkins daughter. I don’t care that he’s twice my age, just once, once I want him to see me as—me.
Shawn Jenkins.
Twenty-five year old woman.
Turning away from him, I ignore his call and rush to the filing room. I just want to be alone, to breathe. I regret him finding out about my birthday. I regret telling him that it was yesterday. I regret not being brave enough to tell him that I’m attracted to him.
I regret, regret, regret.
Letting out a sigh, I close the door behind me. I need to get my shit together. I need to let it go
. He will always see me as some kid. Just a girl. Just Leo’s daughter. Nothing more, nothing less.
LIAM
I watch her run away from me. “If you aren’t going to tap that, why don’t you let someone else in the office have a crack at it,” David, one of the junior associates asks.
I feel the rage build inside of me immediately. My blood boils and I wonder if my face is as red as it feels. Shifting my neck, I force it to crack. Letting out a breath, I ignore him and walk away.
Fuck him.
Fucking fuck him.
He will not touch Shawn.
Nobody will.
Nobody but me.
Standing on the other side of the filing room, I wrap my fingers around the knob. I should walk away, run. No, I should run away. No matter my attraction to her, Shawn is Leonardo Jenkins daughter. My business partners daughter. She is not mine to take, no matter how alluring, no matter how sexy.
She. Is. Not. Mine.
Even if I really fucking want her.
“What are you doing over here, slumming it near the filing room, Thomas?” Leonardo asks.
My hand drops from the door handle, and I turn to him. Only five years my senior, Leonardo is a nice looking man. He’s almost as tall as me, and almost as fit, though not quite. His hair has more gray than mine, too, thank fuck.
“Shawn is inside, I was going to ask her a question,” I lie, well partially lie anyway. She is inside, but my mouth wanted to do more than just ask a fucking question.