Alpha Boss

by Zoe Ray

  “But…”

  “Bye.” Lisa hung up. Sam just shook her head. If only I were more like Lisa, my life would be so much easier.

  She was suddenly startled by her cellphone ringing. “Hello.”

  “Hello beautiful.”

  It was Preston. Her heart started to beat rapidly. “Hi. How are you?” She tried to sound casual, but it got a little high pitched at the end. She was silently cursing herself.

  “Missing you, my sweet.” His voice was so velvety.

  “Really?” She sounded too excited once again. She was never going to admit it, but since Preston was out of the office all day with meetings she really missed him.

  “Still doubt me, do you? I wasn’t going to let the day go by without talking to my woman.”

  “I never said I was your woman.”

  “I know baby.”

  “You’re so cocky.”

  “You’ll find out soon enough.” Preston replied.

  Sam chuckled and looked around making sure no one was around. “Is that right?” She blushed.

  “I didn’t hear you say it.”

  “Say what?” Sam asked.

  “That you miss me too.”

  “Preston.” She exhaled.

  “Say it.” He commanded in the sexiest voice she’d ever heard.

  “Preston.” She repeated.

  “Say it.” He repeated. “Tell me you miss me, baby, and I’ll tell you how I miss the softness of your lips and my hands all over your body, pulling you close to me, and the smell your skin. You smell so sweet. I want to taste you Sam, kiss you down your neck to your breasts and take them in my mouth. Make my way down your stomach and spread your legs apart. I can’t wait to taste your sweet pussy.”

  Sam cleared her throat. “I umm. Preston.” She tried to reprimand him. She tried crossing her legs, but to no avail. Her panties were soaked. No one had ever talked to her this way before, and just the memory of his fingers inside her made her body ache for him.

  “Yeah, love. I’m going to make you say my name over and over and over and over.”

  “Yeah.” She let it slip out before she could stop herself. She froze.

  ‘Ummm hmmm. That’s what I like to hear.”

  “Why are you doing this to me?”

  “I know what you like. I can hear your heart beating through the phone.”

  Shit. Could he? “Preston. Stop it. I’m at work. At your company. I can’t deal with this right now. Anyone could walk in here.”

  “I know you’re smiling.” He said. He was right.

  “So, that doesn’t mean anything.”

  “Okay,” he said. “I’ll stop if you say it.”

  “Fine. I miss you. You happy.”

  “I am now. I’m taking you out tonight.”

  “Tonight. I can’t. I have plans.”

  “With who?”

  “Some friends if you must know.”

  “Well cancel.”

  “I can’t do that. I already said I would go.” She heard him huffing, but oh well. He had all week to ask her out if that’s what he was doing. Did Mr. Women Fall At My Feet And Obey My Command think he could just ask her out at the last minute. Maybe when she was in her twenties, but the new Sam wouldn’t go for that.

  “Fine then. Tomorrow night.” He said that as if it was a done deal.

  “Preston, I made plans for tomorrow night.”

  “With who?” He demanded.

  “I don’t have to answer that.” Sam challenged him. Partially she felt ridiculous, because he was making a big deal out of nothing. She was only having dinner with her best friend Lisa, but she didn’t have to tell him that.

  “I told you what the deal is. Let me find out you going out with another man…”

  Now she was getting mad. This possessive thing needs to be dealt with. “What if I was? Who the hell do you think you are talking to me like that? I am not a child. You can’t tell me what to do. If you wanted to go out you should have asked before now.” She yelled.

  “Keep your voice down. I just asked you a question.” He reprimanded her.

  “A question you don’t have the right to ask.”

  “I can ask what I damn well please, and I expect you to answer me.”

  Sam raised her voice even more. “You can expect all day and night. I’m not answering a damn thing. This has nothing to do with work. Everyone else around here may be scared of you, but I am not.”

  “Are you trying to piss me off?”

  “Yes. I’m trying to piss you off. I love it when you growl and stomp all over the office like a caveman. Please don’t stop.”

  “You didn’t mind it when I gave your ass a job.” He replied.

  “I knew this was too good to be true. Just because you gave me a job doesn’t mean you control every aspect of my life.”

  “This job is going to take up a lot of your time. This is your life now, and as your boss I won’t put up with insubordination.”

  “Okay. Fine. As my boss, you can ask all the questions you want, and that is all it’s going to be. I can’t believe I thought about being with an asshole like you. Our relationship is strictly professional. I never should have crossed that line. Got it.” She thought about quitting, but there was no way she was giving up the pay. Besides, maybe hating Preston Jacobs would be a lot easier than falling for him.

  Preston let out a cocky chuckle. “You think you’re going to be able to do that? Good luck, sweetheart.”

  “You have got some nerve. I don’t need to take this from you.” Then Sam stopped and collected her thoughts. She gritted her teeth. “Mr. Jacobs do you have anything work related to talk to me about?”

  “No.” He replied and hung up the phone.

  “Hello. Hello. Oh hell no. Did this bastard just hang up in my face?” Sam was angrier than she had ever been. If anyone should have been hanging up it was her. She wanted to call him back and give him a piece of her mind, but she was pretty sure she had said a bunch of fireable things already. Better not press her luck. Sam pushed her chair away from the desk and stood. She didn’t know what to do with her frustration. She wanted to scream. She wanted to cry and fight somebody. She paced back and forth shaking her hands rapidly.

  She tried to wrap her head around what just happened. “I can’t believe he talked to me like that. I can’t believe he hung up in my face. I can’t believe I was falling for him. Well it doesn’t even matter. All of that is over now.” Sam paced for about fifteen minutes until she felt calmer. She got back to work, sent out some emails, and confirmed some appointments. It felt like she checked her phone every thirty seconds looking for a call or a text. Before she knew it, she was ready to leave. She was a little sad that she hadn’t heard from Preston, but she guessed that was it. It was over before it began. All of his sweet talk and promises were too good to be true. She knew he wasn’t serious. She had almost fallen for it. That’s okay. The workday was over. TGIF. At least she had the weekend away from him. She was going to go out with her potential work friends and have many, many drinks.

  As she was gathering her things Paris and Persia came into her office.

  “Hey Sam.” Paris was her usual cheerful self.

  “Oh, hey girls. What’s going on?”

  “We came to give you a ride,” Persia said.

  “Oh, you don’t have to do that I can meet you there.”

  “No, we insist. I can just bring you back to get your car. It’ll be fun.”

  “Well okay I guess.” Sam did like the idea of going together instead of waiting for someone to show up, but these girls were kind of pushy.

  They headed to the garage, and Paris pointed to a sleek black Range Rover. “This is me right here.”

  “This is your car?” Sam asked.

  Paris laughed as they climbed in. “Yes. It was actually a birthday gift from my brother.”

  “Must be nice. Your brother is some guy.” Sam replied.

  “He is a good guy.” Persia said.

/>   They drove for about ten minutes and talked about work, and asked one another about their lives. Sam couldn’t help but think about Preston. She was a little preoccupied, but she smiled and kept the conversation going. She really wanted to complain about Preston, but she didn’t want to be unprofessional and bad mouth him to the people they worked with. When the subject of her boss came up she just smiled and said everything was fine. Clearly Persia could see right through her. As they pulled into the parking lot at PJ’s Persia said, “Oh Lord, what has he done?”

  “What do you mean? Everything is good.” Sam reassured her.

  “Girl it was written all over your face when his name was mentioned. You know what don’t worry about it. We can fix it. We will talk about it when you’re good and drunk.”

  Sam laughed. “Really there’s nothing to talk about. I’d much rather get to know you guys.”

  They climbed out of the SUV and headed inside towards the bar. The place was nice. The lights were dim, but she liked all the wooden decor. Everything was made of wood. The bar, the chairs, the stools, the tables the columns. There were some nice built in booths along the walls. It looked like a lot of love went into the place. “Wow,” she exclaimed as they approached the bar.

  “Daddy!” Both of the girls exclaimed in unison with big bright smiles on their faces. They rushed up to him and each kissed him on a cheek as he reached his neck across the bar.

  Sam stood there and smiled. They all looked genuinely happy to see one another. Their dad looked like a nice guy. He was older of course, but he didn’t look old. He was extremely handsome with skin like mahogany. Sam thought if she was thirty years older… and laughed to herself.

  “Hey baby girls.” He said with a big grin. You could tell he loved his daughters. He reached out to them. “How’s my babies doing?”

  “We’re good daddy. You’re looking good. How’s everything?” Persia said.

  “I’m doing good girls.”

  “Daddy. This is our friend Samantha.”

  “Well hello beautiful. Welcome to PJ’s.” He said.

  “Thank you so much sir. Is this your place?” Sam asked blushing.

  “It is young lady. My name is Percy, at your service.”

  “I see where your girls get their charm.” Sam said.

  “Speaking of, girls, your uncles are in the back. Ya’ll be sure to go say hi.”

  “We will.” Paris said. “Sam, we will be right back.”

  Sam sat down at a bar stool and waved.

  “What’ll you have?” Percy asked her.

  “Can you make me an old fashioned?”

  “Can I make you an old fashioned? Girl, what you know about an old fashioned?” Percy was going on as he gathered the ingredients.

  “I know a little something. I know my way around a cocktail. I could probably give you a run for your money behind the bar.” Sam joked. As he shook the bitters onto a sugar cube Sam rested her head in her hand and sighed. The smile began to slowly fade from her face.

  “Now I know that look. What’s wrong baby girl?”

  “Oh nothing,” Sam assured him. “I’m fine.”

  “I can tell you’re the type to hold back. It’s okay to let people in every once in a while. Come on now talk to Percy about it.” He handed her the old fashioned.

  Sam thought about it for a moment. Suddenly it seemed like everyone she encountered could see right through her. She needed to do something about that. He did seem like a wise old man, and she could use someone objective to talk to. She took a sip. “Good job. Almost as good as mine.” She attempted to change the subject.

  Percy wasn’t having it. “Young lady. Let’s hear it.”

  Sam took a big swallow and let the whiskey ease through her. “Okay. Can you keep it between us please?”

  “Of course. That’s part of the job.”

  “Okay. Well I started a new job this week, and I was very excited about it. I’ve been bartending for a while now and just wanted to change my life. You know?”

  Percy nodded.

  “I ended up at this company, and somehow, by some divine miracle, I land a dream job, but the boss is difficult. I mean I don’t know how to say it. He gave me a chance that I might not have deserved, and I’m grateful. He seemed like a good guy. Then he tells me he likes me and he wants to be with me, and against my better judgement I start to fall for him.” She finished her drink, and he handed her another. She took a long sip. “I don’t know what’s happening to me or why I can’t stop thinking about him. I have only known him for four days. You know? He’s authoritative, and his mere presence commands attention, but there’s more to him than that. He’s sweet and sensitive, or so I thought. He’s also demanding, possessive, controlling. Not too long before we got here, he and I had an argument about that, and it’s weighing on me. I tried to distance myself from him and remain strictly professional, and now I see why. This is exactly what I was afraid of. The crazy thing is, I don’t even know him that well.”

  “It may not be as bad as you think, Samantha. It sounds like you might have something special. Those kinds of feelings don’t come around often. Some may even say once in a lifetime. Some men are big dummies, and they get possessive when they really want to protect what they love. What kind of possessive are we talking about? Is he crazy?”

  “I sure hope not. I don’t think he is. I’ve just never met anyone who said all the things I wanted to hear. It freaks me out.”

  “Because he might actually mean them?”

  “You know how it is for women these days. Guys aren’t serious about relationships. They don’t put in any effort, and they’re not forthcoming with promises and declarations of their feelings.”

  “You don’t need all guys to do those things, Samantha. You just need one.”

  “Wow. I never thought about it that way. That’s profound. I just don’t want to get my hopes up.”

  “Baby girl if you don’t want to get your hopes up, how are you going to fall in love?”

  “Why do people keep encouraging me to have a relationship with my boss? Isn’t that taboo?”

  “You’ll learn that the heart wants what it wants, whoever that may be. Are you going to deny yourself love because he’s your boss? Besides he can’t be that bad. You work with my girls, don’t you?”

  “Yes sir.”

  “Most of the guys there are decent enough. I see them all the time.”

  “Yeah, but I work for the boss, the CEO. This is a whole different ball game. We’re not talking about the guy in the next cubicle.”

  “You work for Preston?”

  “You know Preston?”

  A knowing smile came from Percy’s lips. “Oh, Samantha dear, let me get you another drink.”

  “Wait. Do you know him?” She asked again.

  The old man smiled and looked up. She could sense he was looking at something or someone. Samantha turned around and looked but didn’t see anything. Then her mouth dropped. “Preston.” He came walking up to the door. Damn he looked good in a fitted black t-shirt and black jeans wearing a gold chain with a wolf medallion.

  Fourteen

  Preston was pissed off, but as he headed to the entrance of PJ’s he scented Sam. She was here. Who is she with, and why is she here? He wondered. He tried to block out all the chatter and noise and focus on her voice. He heard her saying his name. “You know Preston?” He heard her ask. He quickened his pace, entered the room, and spotted her immediately. He walked over. Her mouth was wide open, and her heart was beating fast.

  As he moved closer, her steely gaze followed his every movement. He leaned down close to her and whispered in her ear. “You know I love it when you say my name.”

  “Son.” Percy said to him grinning. “Look who your sisters brought in.”

  “I’ll have to thank them for that.” Preston replied looking Sam in the eyes. “Hi dad.” He said and he and his father shook hands and gave one another a hug with a pat on the back.

  Sam lo
oked confused. “Son? Sisters? What going on here?”

  “Samantha, Preston is my eldest son.”

  Sam turned beet red. Preston could tell she was embarrassed. “Are you serious?” She asked as she let out a huff. “Unbelievable.” She threw her hands up.

  “Preston sit down.” His dad ordered him. The alpha wolf in him was a little pissed off at being told what to do, but it was his father, and Preston respected his father, so he obeyed.

  Sam suddenly jumped up from her seat. “I’m out of here.” She said.

  “Samantha. You stay right there.” His dad said to her and he could tell that she too, out of respect, obeyed. Her back was turned to them and her leg bounced up and down nervously on the floor.

  “Turn around baby girl.” Her demeanor softened a bit and she did as he asked while avoiding looking at Preston.

  “Preston. Are you giving this pretty young lady a hard time?”

  “Absolutely not,” he said to his father. “I have been nothing but kind to her.”

  “Hmph.” Samantha grunted and started squirming.

  “Son.” His dad looked him in the eye. “This young lady is strong willed, but she’s also delicate.”

  “I’m not delicate,” Sam interjected, “and with all due respect sir, I can speak for myself.”

  Percy leaned his head back clearly impressed. “I can see why you like her.” He pointed at Sam, and Preston smiled. “Let me talk to my son for a moment baby girl.” He said calmly to Sam. He looked at Preston once again.

  “Look dad,” Preston said. “I have only been nice to Sam. I would never do anything to hurt her. You have to know that.”

  “I hope so,” his dad replied, “because I know I raised you to be a gentleman and a man of your word. Now, whether it was your intention or not, you made Samantha feel like you were trying to control her. Is that what you were trying to do?”

  “No sir.”

  “Then think about why she might feel that way.” He reprimanded his son.

  “I only asked her a question. Then she blew up at me. She yelled at me and cussed me out. I’m not the one with the problem here.”

  “He demanded I tell him who I was going out with, he told me I was his, without giving me much choice in the matter, I might add, and he hung up the phone in my face and didn’t call me back. Then he just comes waltzing in here like nothing happened.”