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Julie
“He’s such anass,” I whine into my sandwich, taking harsh bites to swallow my bitterness. “Have the notes from today’s meeting to me by noon, Julie,” I say, turning my voice nasally as I pretend to be Nicholas Armatti, the man who’s currently on ruling my life. “I know we just met an hour ago, but you can make it happen, can’t you?” Rolling my eyes, I shove another quarter of my sandwich in my mouth. “His expectations are unreal. He asks me to do so much!”
“Yeah, but,” my friend Lana breathes, eying the our unbelievably strict boss through the glass panel that separates my desk from his, “you get toseehis hard ass every day. Isn’t that a blessing?”
I throw my crumpled napkin at her and she laugh. “You’d feel differently if you had him breathing down your neck every day.”
“No, I wouldn’t,” she says, shaking her head. “The man’shot, babe. Like,godlyhot. Andsingle. You can’t tell me that you haven’t…” She slides her hand down the front of her body until she reaches her lap beneath the table and rolls her eyes back in a fake moan.
“Lana!” I hiss, frantically glancing over my shoulder to see if Nicholas is watching. Thankfully, he’s pacing around while on some Bluetooth conference call and not paying us any attention. “I don’t even have the time for that anymore. And it’s not like I’m thinking of him naked or anything—”
Well, that’s not exactly true. Idothink of him while I’m in the shower, but that’s only because he stresses me out so much. And thinking of himnakedstresses me out even more, because how could Ieverbe attracted to the man who expects me to be at his beck and call every single hour of every single day?
But truth be told, the man has invaded my dreams. Telling me how good of a girl I’ve been, working my ass off to please him…
Not that I’ll ever admit that dream Julie has a mind of her own.
Waking, conscious Julie has more dignity than that.
“That’s impossible, babes,” Lana chuckles, packing up her lunch now that our time is over. “I promise you, everyone in this building has pictured the man naked at least once. You have the rare opportunity to actually witness it, though.”
“When would I ever—”
The sliding door connecting my space with Nicholas’s opens, and the man himself steps through the doorway and takes two three steps straight to my desk. Likely coming to berate me for spending an extra minute chatting with my friend.
I snap my lunchbox closed and swivel my chair to face him. “I’m at lunch,” I clip, folding my hands in my lap. “Is there something urgent, or can it wait five minutes?” I try really, really hard not to feel his presence, but like always, his crisp cologne swirls in the air and makes my head go fuzzy. My eyes start drifting from his cool blue eyes to the manly stubble dusting his chin, to the firm set of his shoulders in his pinstripe, tailored suit, down his torso until we reach his waist.
That’s directly eye level with me.
Swallowing, I snap my eyes back up to his face, and the faint smirk on his lips sets my cheeks on fire.Dammit, I don’t want him to think that I like looking at him—
But it’s not a complete lie, is it?
His eyes travel from me and Lana, and he nods towards her in greeting. “Miss Morgan. I hear that Franco is pleased with your work.”
Lana sits up straighter and gives my boss her best smile. “Mr. Nolan’s easy to please,” she laughs, “but thank you. He rarely gives out compliments, so I had no idea.” Her boss, Franco Nolan, is another big-wig in the company who does something with PR.
I should assume that Nicholas knows everyone in the company, seeing as he handles a lot of the financials, but it surprises me that he engages in small talk with anyone.
Nicholas turns back to me and straightens one of his shirt cuffs in a way that’s decidedlyattractive, but that I’m determined not to let get to me. “I’ve got a new job for you this week,” he says smoothly, not meeting my eyes. “Our annual charity is starting tonight, and I’m in need of an assistant who fits certain requirements.”
“If you’ll provide me a list, I’ll recommend employees who fit the description.”
“I already know who I intend to hire. She’s perfect.”
Lana gasps behind me, and I want to throw a glare in her direction to remind her thatno, he’s not dreamy, andyes,lunch is over and she should leave before she drools all over the hardwood and I have to clean it up.
“Okay, who is she? I’ll call straight away.” It’s not like the woman has any choice. If Nicholas Armatti tells you he wants to hire you, there’s no way you can turn that down. Clicking my pen and grabbing my notepad, I set it in my lap and look back up at Nicholas.
He’s staring right back at me, an odd look settling on his features. “It’s you, Miss James,” he says, his blue eyes burning into mine. “You’re perfect for this.”
“I’m already your assistant,” I remind him, the color draining from my face. Spendingmoretime with Mr. Armatti? What’s next, sleeping with him?
I mentally smack my face against my palm, knowing that’s exactly what Lana would be thinking.
“Which is why you’re perfect for the job,” Nicholas concedes. “We’ll be spending our evenings together for the week, and I’d rather be with someone who knows how I think for the duration.”
