I Kissed The Boss

by Lindsey Hart

  But that was him in a nutshell. Acting like a fifteen year old boy with his first crush, first kiss, first taste of a woman.

  Matt slipped into his office. He set his bag down and waited. He’d been stealing glances at Callie all week, trying to figure out what was going on in her pretty little head. A few times, she caught him studying her.

  She’s going to find out this morning.

  He couldn’t let her go on not knowing who it was. That wasn’t fair. He’d own up to it and they would have a laugh about it and move on. Plain and simple. It was the only outcome, given that she was his damn admin assistant. He might want a repeat of that kiss. He might want a hell of a lot more, but it wasn’t happening anytime soon. As in, never. It wasn’t ever going to happen because there are lines and boundaries.

  Callie walked in, right on time, at fifteen minutes to eight. She sat down at her desk and eyed the coffee, as she’d done for the past three mornings. She often waited until just after eight before she picked up the cup, went somewhere, and returned with it. She’d sit and drink it after that. It was a strange routine, but then again, nothing about Callie was normal. Correction. Nothing about that kiss was normal.

  Matt waited. When Callie got up, taking the cup with her, he followed. She went into the break room, went straight to the sink, and dumped the coffee down the drain.

  “So that’s where all my five-dollar coffees are going.”

  She whirled when she heard his voice. Twin spots of red appeared on her cheekbones and she stared at him with guilt in her eyes. Those eyes. Those unbelievable eyes that I was too dense to notice before. He noticed them now. Big time.

  “I…” she turned the cup around. IT WAS ME was written in the name spot in black letters. All the other mornings, he’d had the barista leave it blank. “You?” She frowned and something changed in her eyes. The irises darkened, changing from a light blue to something that was nearly purple. It could have just been the lighting, but Matt didn’t think so.

  “Yeah. Me.” He stood back as the dregs of the coffee swirled down the drain.

  “I- uh- I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to throw it away. I appreciate the gesture. It’s very nice of you to get me coffee. It’s just that- there might have been a bit too much cream and sugar. I kind of tend to take it nearly black. Just a little bit of cream for color.”

  Right. Duh. I should have left it black. “I’m not just talking about the coffee.” He stood and waited and when she finally realized what he was talking about, her eyes flew back to the cup, back to those black letters in the name part.

  “Oh my god.” Her whole face turned a bright shade of red. “Oh. Oh no. No.” Her eyes flew around the lunchroom. There was no one else there. “Not here. Your office?”

  His stomach lurched and the breath rushed out of his lungs. Imagining her in his office, in a confined space, breathing in the same air, did something to him that it shouldn’t have. He knew he was reacting like a- a- well, he was definitely overreacting.

  She didn’t give him a chance to get his shit together and respond. She took off and he trailed in her wake. He tried very hard not to watch the sway of her hips or stare at her round ass, but her skirt was tight, not too tight, just- tight enough that he was able to do both. Her legs- god, her legs were incredible too. He tried very hard not to imagine those legs wrapped around his waist. Of course, he failed at that too. By the time he made it into his office, he had to dive behind his desk and pull his chair underneath to hide the fact that he had a damn dent in his pants.

  Callie sunk down in one of the chairs. She crossed her legs and clutched her hands nervously. Her eyes darted around frantically before she finally decided to make eye contact. He liked that about her. She always looked at him when she spoke to him.

  “Okay- that night- was a- I was a little drunk and I didn’t have my glasses or my contacts and I couldn’t actually see what was going on. I didn’t know it was you. I- the drinks- I would never have done that normally. It didn’t mean anything. You’re my boss and it’s not appropriate. I’m sorry. I-”

  He stopped the rambling with a soft chuckle. She stared at him, mouth hanging half-open, as though she couldn’t believe he’d actually have the nerve to laugh about it.

  “I could write you up for this.” Her face fell and it sucked the breath right out of him. He rushed on, half in disbelief himself when he heard the words pour out. They weren’t at all what he’d planned on saying. “But I won’t. If you go on a date with me.”

  “A- a date?” she said breathlessly. “That’s- the- it’s the worst…” she took a second to compose herself. “It’s the worst idea ever,” she finally huffed. “If I don’t want you to write something about me, then why would I agree to go on a date with you? That doesn’t even make sense.”

  “Why is it the worst idea?”

  “Besides what I just said?”

  “Yes, besides that.” He liked that she was rapidly losing her composure with every second that passed. She looked cute, damn cute when she was flustered. Stop. This is so damn wrong. But he couldn’t. He couldn’t make himself stop.

  “I- well, first of all, you’re my boss. Secondly, you’re- you’re rich. I can tell. Which means that we have nothing in common. I can tell we grew up different. We come from different lives. I’m an admin assistant and you’re a DM.”

  “So? What does that have to do with anything? And how can you be sure that I have money and grew up with it?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know,” she admitted. She was growing more confident by the minute and he liked that too. Everything she did was sexy. How the hell hadn’t he ever noticed before? “There’s something about you that tells me you did. Your parents were rich, I’ll bet. They probably sent you to the best school. And then you graduated, and they paid for your college. You got a degree in business and you got a good position here because you’re both smart and capable and you worked your way up from there. Which means that you have more money. How do I know? Your suits. They’re expensive. The fact that I’ve seen your car. It’s worth more than a house. You just walk- I don’t know. A certain way. Also, the fact that you didn’t thank anyone in your speech at the Christmas party when you won that award. That shows me that you’re rich.”

  “I- I didn’t thank anyone?”

  “Why are you phrasing that like a question?” Callie glared back at him. She’d picked up steam the whole time and now she was back to being fully confident.

  “I- I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to not thank people. I just wanted to get away from the front of the room. Some people don’t like being the center of attention.”

  “Oh.” That seemed to throw her off, as though she never would have considered it. “But you are rich. And I’m not.”

  “How is that any kind of reason not to take you out?”

  “I don’t know. But it’s not going to happen. Ever. You’re my boss and that’s completely out of line. It would be totally cliché. A boss. His admin assistant.”

  “But that kiss-”

  “Was ridiculous. It never should have happened. I’m sorry. I really overstepped.”

  She really didn’t remember what happened. He did. He’d taken the lead. Probably because he also had far too many drinks, but also because he realized, at that moment, that he really wanted to kiss her and if he didn’t he’d spend a significant amount of time regretting it. I might as well take advantage of it.

  “You did overstep. So, I’m going to demand you go out on a date with me or I’m going to file a complaint with HR.”

  “Are you kidding me?”

  “Not at all.” He barely managed to keep a straight face.

  “In that case, I’ll file a counter-complaint. For blackmail. For forcing me on a date. I’ll say you’ve been harassing me and that the kiss was you.”

  “Oh really?” He raised a brow and shot her what he hoped was an intimidating look. She didn’t back down, and damn, it was sexy to see her eyes blazing like they were. Her lips
were set in a determined line. One he very much wanted to kiss again. They’d soften under his mouth. He knew they would.

  “Really.”

  They remained like that, locked in a silent impasse, for the next few minutes. He knew he’d lost, but he had other tricks up his sleeve.

  “Fine,” he said casually. He could tell she was surprised at his easy capitulation. “Fine. You win. You called my bluff. I really wasn’t going to write you up. But I’ll admit that you have my attention now. I’m not going to harass you or act unprofessionally. That’s not who I am. I would never bother you if I thought the attention was unwanted. Just tell me to leave you alone and I will. Tell me honestly that you don’t want to go on a date with me and I’ll leave it at that. The kiss that happened but was never supposed to happen.”

  Callie stared at him, lips drawn into an even harder line. Her sweet jawline was clenched so hard he saw a muscle jump below, in the delicate column of her neck.

  “So that’s how this is going to be.”

  “No. I just want to know. Have you stopped thinking about it? Do you wish it didn’t happen? Now that you know it was me…”

  “It doesn’t matter if it was you or someone else. The result is the same. It was a mistake.”

  “It might have been but tell me honestly you don’t want to go out with me.” He could be charming when he wanted to be, and he flashed her a smile. He waited. And waited. And he knew the exact second she was going to give in.

  “I don’t want to go out with you,” she snapped. “You’re my boss. It’s wrong.”

  “Why?”

  “I’ve already given you a list of reasons.”

  “But the company doesn’t have a no dating policy. No one would have to know anyway. And as for the reasons about money- those aren’t reasons. At least not valid ones, in my books.”

  “It wouldn’t be an equal distribution of power. You’re my boss.”

  “I don’t care about that. I’m not your boss outside of work. And I’ve never once viewed people who work with me as being below me on any kind of level.”

  It was true. People always said he was a good manager and a good boss because he was fair and treated people with respect. He was charming and had a magnetic quality that got him far in business. Unfortunately, it hadn’t got him quite so far in his personal life. Friends and family yes, romance, not so much.

  “Still. It’s not right.”

  “Says who?”

  “Says me.”

  He crossed his arms slowly. “So, you’ve forgotten all about that kiss. It meant nothing.”

  “It meant-” She was too honest to lie, and he could tell, from the faint blush that crept back into her face, that he’d won.

  He shot her a triumphant smile and she scowled back. “So, you did like it.”

  “I’m- my god, this is so beyond inappropriate right now.”

  “It might be but let me take you out. Just once.”

  “Why? What’s the point if it’s just once. I know it’s not going to be just once.”

  Because I want to kiss you again. I want to see if I feel the same way, if it- whatever it was, happens again. He could hardly say that, so he shrugged. “Alright. I just thought it would make things less awkward.”

  “That would make everything worse.”

  He leveled her with a direct look, and he could have sworn she squirmed a little. “What’s so wrong with just going out for one night?” He suddenly had the feeling that Callie never went out. Not with him. Not with anyone. He took a chance. “What’s wrong with just living a little?”

  She stared at him from narrowed eyes. “Everything,” she huffed before she stood and stalked out of his office.

  CHAPTER 7

  Callie

  Callie knew she shouldn’t tell Chantara what happened since she’ll never hear the end of it, but she also couldn’t not tell her.

  “Oh my god!” Chantara exclaimed. She pulled a half-burnt pizza out of the oven. The thing was ancient and beat up. It cooked like it looked. “So, of all the people you could have kissed, it was Matt. Your boss.” She dissolved into a fit of giggles. It was a long time before she recovered.

  Callie didn’t laugh. “I don’t find that funny at all,” she hissed. “The guy had the nerve to ask me to go out with him.”

  “What?” Chantara swiped away a few tears. She grabbed a knife out of the knife block and hacked away at the pizza. It looked half-frozen on one side, burnt on the other.

  “We really should get a toaster oven. I think it would cook far better than that piece of shit oven.”

  “Nope. No way.” Her best friend shook her head. “You are not off the hook. You can’t just change the subject like that.”

  “I wasn’t,” Callie protested. “But we really should get a toaster oven. Maybe we can find a second hand one.” She liked thrift and vintage shopping. Most of her wardrobe was vintage and the rest was certainly unconventional. When she wasn’t at work, she was much more colorful than her black skirt, white blouse, black cardigan combo.

  “He asked you out?”

  “Yeah. Of course, I said no.”

  “Why!” Chantara hacked away at the frozen part of the pizza. “You know, I think you’re right. This is going to need to go in the microwave and that part isn’t even edible. But- but why would you turn Matt down?” She frowned then seemed to reconsider. “Never mind. I know why. It’s not even the fact that he’s your boss.”

  “Or that he wears a watch that cost more than my car like a hundred times over. Who even wears watches anymore?”

  “It’s not about the watch either.”

  “Okay, Miss Know It All, what’s it about then?”

  “It’s about the fact that you since you and Ben broke up, you’ve been determined to deny yourself any kind of life. You think that you have to punish yourself or live this barren lifestyle or- or be a saint or something. You’re afraid of ever being hurt again so you wall yourself up and you won’t let anyone in. You’re too scared to take a chance, even on just having a good time. No one said if you went out with him that you would have to date him. It was one night. One time.”

  “You don’t know that! I have no idea what he really wanted! I have no idea why he’d even ask me out. Me! I’m his admin assistant. That’s just wrong.”

  “Maybe that’s it. Maybe it’s a secret fantasy he’s always had, to take down his secretary. Maybe he wants to bring you to work after hours when no one else is there and bend you over his desk and-”

  “Chantara! Seriously!”

  Her best friend giggled. She stuffed the half of the pizza that was still frozen onto a napkin and threw it in the microwave. The thing didn’t work much better than the oven, but it still had enough life left in it to zap their dinner. She divided the food up onto two plates and passed one over. Callie set hers down on the table. She picked up a burned piece and nibbled away at the toppings. She was sure the crust wasn’t edible.

  “Well, really… Matt is hot. Would it be so bad to give him a chance?”

  “Yes! Yes, it would be bad. And I haven’t locked myself up in some ivory tower. I just…”

  “You have. You haven’t been out with anyone or even considered it for a year and a half. You can’t let Ben win. You can’t let him ruin your happiness. That guy was a pig. I’m glad he left before you married him. God, you dodged a real bullet. It’s great that he showed his true colors sooner than later. I never thought you should marry him anyway.”

  “Yes, I know. I remember how often you used to tell me to break up with him.”

  “That’s because I always knew he was a dick. I never thought he treated you well.”

  “He was nice enough. At first.”

  “That’s the problem. Everyone says Matt is a good guy. He seems nice. He’s smart and capable and has money. What could be so wrong with that? And he’s also tall, blonde, handsome, and probably has a big dick.”

  “That is waayyyyy too far!”

  Chanta
ra shrugged. She bit off a giant piece of burned pizza and chewed as though she didn’t mind the taste of char or the fact that it was hard as a steel band. “There are worse things in the world. Just saying.”

  “Than fucking my boss?”

  “Who said anything about fucking?” Chantara blinked innocently.

  “Damn it! You did. When you said he had a big dick and you talked about his desk and after hours.”

  “Well, I was just guessing at that. I didn’t say you had to do it. But really, would it be so bad to go out on a date? Let him treat you nice and spoil you a little? Don’t you think you deserve that? You’ve been through the worst of it, Cal. You’re my best friend. You’re a great person. I think you do deserve someone good in your life. You definitely deserve to have some fun once in a while. You’re not dead. You’re still under thirty. Please, live your life before you wind up one morning as an eighty year old woman and you have to look back on it and decide you did nothing with the best years of your life.”

  “I am doing good with them.”

  “Uh huh. Books and baths are all well and good, but they shouldn’t be all you do. Let him take you out, just once. Tell him once and that’s it. I bet he’ll do something nice, like the opera or symphony or something. Those are nice rich people places.”

  “Geez. He’ll probably take me for fast food and back to the office right to his desk. Just like you said. Guys like that, they want one thing only. He had me screening his calls, remember?”

  “That’s probably just because he went out with a few psycho chicks. Money attracts all kinds. Maybe it wasn’t even his fault.”

  “He looks like a god. I’m sure it was his fault.”

  “A god hey?” Chantara’s brow arched up. “So, you have been thinking about him?”

  “No, I haven’t been thinking about him. But just look at him. He is tall and jacked and he…” he probably does have a big dick. She cut that off right there. She couldn’t even believe she was considering her boss’ dick at the moment. Her entire body clenched. Her heart rate kicked up to a painful level, her pulse slammed at the side of her jawline and there was a distinct throbbing in a distinctly wrong spot.