“Close the door,” he says. I do as I’m told and he sits on his plush office sofa. “Grab a seat.” Again, I do as I’m told, sitting opposite him and trying to find a comfortable position with my legs. “Hope, I just want to reiterate that you’re here because of your talent. As I’m sure you know, promotions are only distributed internally. Are you working on any personal projects at the moment?”
Relief floods me, combined with a little bit of fear. I never talk about my projects, not with anyone. Not even my mom. “Actually, yes. There’s this virtual dating thing that’s been taking up all of my time. It’s like The Sims meets Tinder. Ideally, a user would log on, create an avatar and find love.” I nearly choke on that last word, feeling like a girly-girl idiot talking about love on my first day of work.
Rex’s eyes widen. “How has no one thought of this?” He says. “It’s like a safe way of dating.”
“It’s basically dating for introverts.” I agree. “Then, you can decide if you want to meet someone or keep it strictly virtual.”
“Genius.” He says, leaning forward on his knees. “What kinds of things do they do?”
“Oh everything that normal relationships would. They go out to eat, to the park, they can talk on the phone, they even have—”
Rex’s eyes soften. His tongue trails across his bottom lip. “Have what?”
Is he fucking with me? Do I have time to change such an obvious sentence? I think back to the professors in school and the entire semester I worked on pitching projects. The one thing I learned is once you’ve got their interest you have to keep it. I definitely have Rex’s interest.
“Sex. They even have sex.” I say, trying not to choke on my words. When I finally have the guts to lift my eyes back to my boss’s there’s a hunger in them that wasn’t there moments before. It nearly takes my breath away. I realize that this sofa in his office is the perfect size for a little bit of action. But I stop the thought at PG-13 before it gets to NC-17. “So, that’s the game.”
“It sounds like a billion dollar idea.”
“Well, you should know.” I laugh. “You’re like the most successful man in the tech industry.”And the dead sexiest, I want to add. Good thing every once and awhile I can stop my mouth before it destroys me.
“I’m very interested in seeing what you’ve done with it so far.”
“Oh,” I say. This is completely unexpected. “It’s all on my laptop at home.”
“Not a problem.” He says. “We can go to your place if you’d like.” My eyes bug out of my skull. Not only have I not had an opportunity to clean after hours of sitting in front of said computer, but if he saw the sheer amount of Chinese take-out containers lingering in my trash can, I’m pretty sure that would be enough to make him question hiring me. For a big girl, I can’t cook. I’ve tried—it’s a disaster.
“Sure.” I say. “But maybe not today.”
“Oh.” He says, a true smile finally crossing his big, sexy lips. “I didn’t mean today.”
“Of course you didn’t.” I say, laughing at my own mistake just to clear the air. In case you missed it, this isn’t going as well as I’d hoped.
“It’d be at your discretion and only when you’re ready to present something solid.”
“It’s solid, Rex. As a rock. But my place isn’t exactly boss-ready.”
“I understand.” He says, and stands. Something tells me that he actually doesn’t understand, though. I’m certain with his net worth he rarely lifts a finger around his place. Hell, he probably has rooms that he doesn’t even use—a far cry from my studio on the outskirts of Queens. “Hope I think you’ll fit in here quite well. I love this idea of yours and I’d like to see it as soon as possible. So, you let me know when you’re ready. In the mean time.” He turns to me, that gigantic paw of a hand of his rubs the scruff of his beard. With lowered eyes he bites his bottom lip and immediately my panties melt. I wouldn’t be surprised if they lay in a pool near my feet.
“Can you bring me a cup of coffee?” Rex says. The common request, not atypical of anyone’s assistant, throws me for a loop.
“Yes, of course.” I struggle to stand from the sofa. “How do you take it?”
“Light and sweet.”
“Skim milk?”
“No,” he says, and crosses his massive arms across his full chest. “I can’t resist full fat. It’s my vice.”
Now it’s my turn to lick my lips, imagining what it would feel like to have the entire weight of him pressing down on me, making me beg for mercy. “I’m coming.” I say. Rex’s brow furrows. “I meant…it’scoming. Right up.” I throw my pointer finger in the air and high tail it the hell out of his office, closing the door behind me. My chin flies to the ceiling and I press my back against the door.
What the hell is wrong with me?
I guess I can just chalk it up to nerves, but the truth is that Rex Jamison makes me nervous and he makes me hot. And when that combination is coming from my boss, there’s no way it can end well.
4
Rex