Millionaire Romance: In Love With My Boss - A Contemporary Romance (Millionaire Romance, Contemporary Romance, Comedy Romance Book 1)

by Tolhouse, Audrey

  They enjoyed the hot coffee in silence. Andrew took a step towards her and sat his cup down. It was half empty.

  “Last night you asked me if I date. Yes. I do date, but I haven’t in a while. Nothing serious at least.”

  Jennifer nodded, licking her lips. “Are you a serious kind of guy?” She feigned a type of disinterested tone, or attempted to at least. Around Melone, she was nothing but knots and butterflies. She had her moments when her heart seemed to race within her chest around Andrew, but for the most part, her mind stilled around him like a pool of tranquil water, with an under current of rushing thoughts about the hidden meanings of everything he said. Was that a contridiction? It didn’t matter.

  Andrew placed an elbow on the countertop. He played with the handle of his cup and considered Jennifer’s question thoughtfully.

  “I think so.” He smirked. “Ever feel like you’re just a bit too old to play games?”

  Jennifer smiled. “All the time.”

  Andrew looked over Jennifer’s face intently. He looked at her lips, chest, hair, and then full body. Jennifer didn’t blush. When he met her eyes again, they both grinned.

  “You look exceptionally beautiful today. Did I tell you that?”

  She smiled. “I think you said something like that at the door.” She took the moment to set her cup down.

  “Do you plan to work with Melone forever?”

  The question threw Jennifer off guard. “What?”

  “As his assistant. Is that what you want to do forever?”

  Jennifer’s eyes roamed the room. Of course, she didn’t want to be an assistant forever. She had wanted to be a designer.

  She stammered, searching for an answer. How long was forever? She had already worked dutifully for the man for five years. What exactly was she expecting from James? She had stayed out of sheer loyalty and the hope that he would one day find himself just as attracted to her as she was to him. Of course, having purchased her home recently at North Canal Street gave her an incentive to stay. That unit wasn’t cheap.

  “No, I don’t think so,” Jennifer answered at last.

  “What would you do?”

  Jennifer smiled weakly. “I’d make super expensive handbags.” Saying it out loud made her sound like a stupid kid with an equally stupid dream. She sighed and attempted to backtrack on the previous enthusiasm her voice had.

  “Designing was something I wanted to do but honestly,” she shrugged, “I don’t understand starting a product business too well.” She stared at Andrew but didn’t know what else to do other than shrug, so she kept talking. “I don’t think I have the capital to start something like that anyway.”

  Andrew considered her words carefully. “I could help you with that.”

  She couldn’t contain the smirk, and then the flat out rude laugh that followed. Andrew didn’t seem to take offense. Instead, he smiled back.

  “I could invest what you need to get started.”

  Jennifer’s face drained. It was pretty obvious from the look on his face that he was speaking from a purely professional standpoint…or maybe there was a bit of personal interest in there. She couldn’t really tell.

  “I’d probably fail.”

  Andrew’s smile grew. He inched towards her. The uneasiness was back. “We all lose some money sometimes. There might be an initial loss, but I’m sure we could get you yielding a profit of some sort within five years.”

  Jennifer felt something hopeful rise within her. “Are you serious?”

  “Absolutely.”

  Her head began to hurt with the different scenarios, thoughts, and possibilities. She could finally test her theory of making designer bags from scratch, her very own handbags from hand cut leathers and hand sewn with saddle stitch, glues, and staples. People loved Made in the U. S. A. brands, and if she created something unique, one of a kind and different, what a market!

  Then she remembered what he said. A profit within five years. Would she be capable of something like that? How much money was he talking about investing? She began to frown. Andrew reached for her arm, touching her at the elbow gently.

  “My niece, Ariella, just graduated college, her doctorates. She’s in residency right now. Wants to be a gynecologist.”

  Jennifer shrugged at the information and lifted her cup. “She sounds incredible.”

  “She is,” Andrew nodded eagerly.

  “Seems like you come from a long line of professionals. Like my family. Oldest brother is a family law attorney and my youngest brother is an actor.” She was just making small talk now; certain Andrew would need to leave at any minute.

  “So what about you?” He asked instead, leaning on the palm planted on the countertop.

  “Me?” Jennifer lowered her mug.

  “Sounds like everyone else has pursued their dream,” he chuckled lightly. “What about you?”

  Jennifer fought the urge to be defensive. She lost. “I am very busy right here, right where I am.”

  Taking a deep breath, Andrew took a small step back. “I just don’t see you as an assistant to Melone—or anyone—for much longer. You’re so smart. I know you could do whatever you dreamed of doing. You’re capable,” he nodded with assurance.

  She had never received such positive praise before. James complimented her, but somehow, it was entirely different than the way Andrew was talking to her right now. It wasn’t the same type of admiration. One was a type of “good job” and the other was a not-so-subtle “you rock, why don’t you believe it?” She was sure she liked the way the latter made her feel much better.

  “I don’t know anything,” she managed in a breath. It wasn’t everything she had wanted to say, but it was all she could force out her mouth. Andrew was grinning at her again. It was a cute, sexy grin this time. She was sure she had seen that same look the first night they had met.

  He stepped towards her and reached for her face, his grin spreading. “I would love to teach you,” he said, speaking softly. “It’s just a matter of whenever you’re ready.”

  Jennifer exhaled noisily. She was confused. He was looking at her lips like he wanted to kiss her, yet he was talking about the business, right? Or was it a combination of a business and a relationship at the same time? He took another step towards her, past her respective personal space. She didn’t stop him. Instead, when she opened her mouth, she spoke stupid, like it was a language.

  “You have an appointment with Melone.”

  Andrew nodded. He was still looking at her lips.

  “I do,” he answered carelessly. His phone started to buzz and ring. The ringing never stopped. It was a call.

  “That’s probably him now,” Jennifer squeaked.

  Andrew glanced at the phone gliding across the surface of the granite countertop as it buzzed and rang.

  “It is.” He looked at her lips, and then leaned in. When his lips touched her, she could have sworn she felt something electric shock her, something exciting and frightening at the same time. It shot throughout her body from the tip of her toes and out the ends of her fingers.

  She didn’t remember at what point the phone stopped ringing, but it was a while before Andrew pulled away. She was left breathless, speechless. Even her breath quivered on the edge of her lips, and her body trembled.

  Andrew pulled away just enough for a quick breath. Their eyes connected in a flash before he pressed his lips against hers again.

  Jennifer moved her hands to his arms, to his impressively large biceps, his shoulders and then to his neck. His hands were on her waist where he pulled her into his chest. She didn’t want the moment to stop, but abruptly, Andrew pulled back. He opened his mouth to say something, but the phone room began to ring.

  Staring at each other, baby smiles danced onto their faces. Andrew chuckled first and then ran a hand over his face.

  The phone was still ringing, loud and obnoxious like an incoming fax at the office.

  “It’s probably Melone,” Jennifer said. Her voice cracked
. Her throat was incredibly dry.

  Sighing, Andrew retreated to the phone. Jennifer straightened herself.

  “What are you doing? I said it’s probably Melone.”

  Andrew chuckled and nodded. “I know.” He answered the phone anyway. Jennifer held her breath. “Hello? It’s Wiles.” He met Jennifer’s eyes while he spoke. His face was unreadable. “I stopped by for some coffee. She has a French press, did you know that?” He winked at her. Jennifer pulled at her fingertips, running a thumb over her nails. What exactly were they talking about? Did James care that Andrew was in her room?

  “She’s ready. We can head over there now.” After a few more words, Andrew hung up the phone. “Ready?” He arched a brow at Jennifer.

  She chuckled nervously before heading towards the desk where files, her laptop, and other documents had been laid out.

  “Was he mad?” She asked, trying to mask her curiosity as she gathered the work documents.

  Andrew shrugged his shoulders after a thoughtful moment. “If he were, I couldn’t tell.” He paused for a moment, and then looked at Jennifer. “Why would he be mad? Let me help you with those,” he moved to her, taking the laptop in hand along with some folders.

  “I don’t know,” Jennifer answered at length. It was the truth. Did she really expect James to be upset with his partner arriving a little later? From what she could tell, they hadn’t even met officially as partners. “Guess I’m just a bit paranoid.”

  Andrew chuckled. “You can be a bit uptight.” His chortle grew into a deep belly laugh at the face Jennifer made. “We need to go though. He’d like to speak with us.”

  They exited the room calmly and in an orderly fashion. Andrew even held the door for Jennifer as she passed into the hallway. She glanced at him several times, but he was looking through his phone, scrolling through emails.

  She didn’t know what to think of the kiss. Was that to convince her she should let him invest in her future? She wasn’t exactly sure. One thing she did know was that he was an incredible kisser, so much better than Dick.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Not a Bad Way to Pass the Time

  JAMES GREETED ANDREW at the door to the conference room with a sincere handshake and a pat on the back. He offered Jennifer a smile as she squeezed behind Andrew to take a seat in one of the chairs around the long rectangular table. If he did a double take at her breathtaking getup for the day, she missed it. She wondered if he was able to get his ring out the drain. Did he really say it was fifty thousand dollars? A shiver ran through her body.

  Andrew sat on the opposite side of the table, two chairs to the right of Jennifer. He leaned against the chair and winked at her when he saw her watching him. She looked away quickly. Andrew chuckled.

  James was tinkering with a small pot of coffee. He used the hotel brand, their disgusting brand of creamer and dropped in several packets of sugar that were likely to be stale, crystalized, and just plain nasty. Jennifer grimaced as she watched. She generally bought his coffee from an upscale, classy shop somewhere downtown. On the mornings she was making great time, she’d often stop for a bit of Garret’s too, but those days were very rare.

  “Jennifer, can you run us down tomorrow’s schedule?” James asked; he picked up his cup, scowling when the coffee ran over the sides.

  “Sure thing.” She whipped out her phone and began. “You have a conference call with Rocket Panda at 11:30. Scheduled for a 30-minute debriefing of last month’s performance and then it’s game time with Seogen at the Four Seasons for dinner. Appointment time 5:30 pm.”

  “Tell me about Rocket Panda,” Andrew said leisurely. He was looking at Jennifer.

  She held Andrew’s eyes and swallowed. He was waiting. Looking to James, she saw that he was holding his mug over the countertop, sipping at the coffee. Was she expected to answer to both of them? James glanced over his shoulder at her.

  “Can you fill Andrew in please?”

  Jennifer took a deep breath. Apparently so.

  “Do you want the figures or the summary of the reports?”

  “Both,” he smiled at her.

  Jennifer frowned before reaching for the folders. She shifted through a couple of papers before she found what she needed. Finding the folder, she pushed it towards James, flashing him a curt smile. He chuckled and took the document.

  “How much were you able to get done on their last quarter information for Seogen?” James asked, still hovering over his mug. He shot Jennifer a cursory glance.

  “I’ve got a good fourth of the information pulled,” she stopped as she saw his face. He turned to her, confused.

  “That’s it?”

  “She had dinner with me last night,” Andrew said over the open folder. He didn’t bother looking up.

  Jennifer felt her stomach tighten. She really didn’t want James to know that. His face changed to something unreadable. He seemed perplexed and looked to Andrew.

  “Dinner? Where’d you go?”

  “Eddie Merlot’s,” Andrew put an arm on the table. He had marked on several sheets within the folder. Were the numbers wrong? Why was he scrutinizing her work?

  “Oh, they have one here?” James asked curiously.

  Andrew looked at him. “Yes. In Englewood. About 30 minutes away.”

  James smiled. “What’d you guys have?”

  Setting the folder down, Andrew glanced at Jennifer. “I had a fat juicy bloody steak and she had sesame tuna.”

  “I love their steaks,” James growled. He laughed and set down his mug. “So what was the occasion?” He looked to his assistant.

  Jennifer smiled. There wasn’t an ounce of jealousy, and why should there be? They weren’t together, not even remotely close.

  Andrew met Jennifer’s eyes and held the gaze strong. He looked her over thoughtfully before facing James. “I just wanted to take her out.”

  James smiled. “That was nice of you. Did you enjoy it?”

  “Every second,” Andrew answered without hesitation. The room grew quiet. James’s faced changed.

  He looked to Jennifer, searching her face. “Did you enjoy it too?”

  She could only give a weak nod. Something uneasy began to build in the room. “Yes, I did.” She decided to change the subject. “Almost as much as I enjoyed tossing your fifty thousand dollar ring into the drain.” She couldn’t say it with a straight face.

  Andrew sat up. “What?”

  James scoffed, squinting at Jennifer. “It’s nothing—and I got it back by the way. Had plumbing in here until two am taking those pipes apart.”

  “What?” Andrew asked again.

  Jennifer eyed James carefully. She didn’t want to make a mockery of the let down from Katie, but she had to deflect the heat. He didn’t seem too bothered about it. Or maybe it was that feigned indifference men could be known for, although Jennifer was certain James was pretty terrible at it.

  “It was a ring I bought. I let Jennifer see it, and it got stuck,” James paused and reached for his mug again. “It ended up going down the drain.” After a drink, he stood and stooped to pick up his briefcase.

  “Let’s plan for lunch at two. I’ve got a meeting right now with Carnal,” James looked to Jennifer. “We’ll need those reports with Seogen by three. We need to run it down, tweak it. Make it perfect. I want it all done tonight before eight.” Jennifer nodded.

  “Carnal Magnal?” Andrew asked.

  James looked to his new partner and nodded. “Yes. Turns out they were at the benefit and have started to reconsider the assessment we gave them several months ago, thanks to her,” James jerked his head towards Jennifer. “They absolutely loved your speech.”

  Andrew sat up. “They’re interested in you?”

  “Us,” James corrected with a large grin, “and yes. They are.”

  Andrew whistled. “I’d love to be a fly on that wall. When are you meeting with them?”

  “45 minutes. They’re above Fort Collins.”

  Jennifer tapped on h
er phone, trying to ignore their conversation, but she couldn’t help but key in. Was Andrew going to ditch her?

  “You should come with me,” James said as an afterthought. “Yes, you should be there.”

  Andrew leaned back in his chair. “I promised your assistant I’d work with her on the reports since I took her evening last night.”

  Jennifer exhaled. Andrew didn’t look her way, but James did briefly before looking back to Andrew.

  “Are you sure? She’s quite capable of handling the reports herself.”

  Normally, Jennifer would have smiled politely at that kind of statement. It was how James complimented her. This time, it just felt rude and insensitive. Then again, maybe her anger was unjustified. After all, this is what she got paid to do.

  Andrew stared thoughtfully at James. “I know she’s capable, but I’d like to help her, so she’s not working all day.”

  James nodded and then looked towards Jennifer. “I bet you’re glad we have him for a partner now, aren’t you?”

  She could only smile in response. James left them minutes later after finishing the rest of his coffee. She had never really pegged him for the type of man to drink anything caffeinated. That thought sickened her a bit. She would have thought even an order from a nearby shop would have been better than the hotel grounds he used for his coffee. Then again, if he wanted something of higher caliber, he would have probably asked her to get it.

  Jennifer sighed. Andrew had returned to the papers within the folder. He circled, marked and wrote notes. She was used to James checking her work, but for some reason, watching Andrew looking over the paperwork only made her anxious.

  After several minutes had passed, he lowered the folder with a sigh. When their eyes met, his face brightened.

  “Ready to get to work?”

  Jennifer shrugged. “I was born ready.”

  He chuckled and then stood. She watched as he walked the length of the table and moved into the seat closest to her. He motioned to her computer and asked to see the information she had been preparing for the detailed report the previous day. She did as he was told, holding her breath when he leaned towards her computer. He moved in from her left side and then tapped at her keyboard as if he were confiscating the entire thing for his purposes right then and there.