Page 33 of Hating the Boss

Part of me was enjoying this game I was playing, seeing my mild torture as some form of schoolyard flirting. Another part of me was curious to see how far I could push her before she quit and ran off.

If she did quit, then the little fantasy Anton had planted in my head about her posing as my girlfriend could no longer be a possibility. It was an intriguing idea. One I had been rolling around since he had suggested it. I had been so close to proposing the idea to Sarah yesterday, but I hadn’t. I was enjoying our time together on the long drive back, and didn’t want to ruin it with an outrageous business proposal.

It was probably better that I hadn’t. What if she had accepted? I couldn’t imagine pretending to be together for very long before my inner desires took over, especially when she wore a dress like that. I wondered if she had the same desires as me.

I shook my head at the thought. Office affairs were messy, which was why it was stupid of me to hire her in the first place. Maybe, subconsciously, I was pushing her away to protect myself from trouble.

If she did quit, I would have to find another woman to have a fake relationship with. Anyone else sounded unappealing. Or I would have to find a way to appease my father, while continuing on in the solitude I had grown used to. I would have to make him see past whatever path he had laid out for me in his head. I didn’t need to have a wife and a family to be successful. In fact, he should be happy that my sole focus was on the business.

Girlfriends were a pain anyway. Fiancées, too.

Real or fake.

I had learned that the hard way.

“Mr. Ashcroft?” asked the older woman sitting across from me, her brow furrowed, creating more lines in her aging face.

“Yes. So sorry. I would like a credit increase on this account for Sarah Atkinson,” I said, gathering my thoughts.

“Yes, sir.” She nodded, typing on her computer. I had seen sloths move faster than her fingers. She had worked here for years. My father insisted on keeping her on because she was loyal to the company, but I could have interviewed several accountants in the time this meeting was taking place.

“New assistant?” she asked curiously. I noted the slight smile she tried to hold back, as if amused by the fact I had gone through another one. I didn’t particularly like that my reputation preceded me in a poor way.

“The last one got knocked up,” I said curtly. I wanted her to know I hadn’t made this one run for the hills. She left because of her own problems.

“That’s lovely,” she said sappily.

I rolled my eyes and straightened my tie. It wasn’t lovely when it was my time being wasted, like right now. Here was another person who believed love and babies made the world go around. I wanted to get the hell out of there.

“It looks like I can raise the credit limit to $20,000. Will that be sufficient?” she asked, her fingers hovering over the keyboard as she squinted at the computer screen.

“Yes. That will do.”

I wanted Sarah to have more money to spend on the company card. When I handed her the cash bonus in the car yesterday, I could tell how much she needed it. I wanted to give her more. She could go shopping, maybe for that same sapphire dress in a different color.

Every color.

Or she could go to expensive lunches. Buy the latest phone. Whatever she needed.

It would all be tax write-offs anyway.

“I’ll just need a few more—” she started to say.

The trill of my phone interrupted her. Thank God I had an out.

“I give you full authorization to do whatever you need to. I must go now. Thank you.”

I glanced at the caller ID on my glowing phone screen. It was Anton. I thanked the accountant still looking up at me, and pushed myself to stand. I was eager to get out of her office that smelled like eau de grandma. Outside her office, I answered his call.

“Did you do it yet?” asked Anton without so much as a hello.

“Do what?” I asked, striding for the elevator and pressing the button.

“Ask that girl to be your girlfriend…well, kinda girlfriend?” he asked, as if I should know exactly what he was talking about.

I probably should have known with how much I had been thinking about it.

About her.