Who’s The Boss?

by McCarthy , Erin

  He gave me a smile that warmed me from the inside out.

  I made a point of walking past him without glancing in his direction.

  “Tonight or tomorrow night?” he murmured. “Ladies choice.”

  I paused just briefly. “For what?”

  “To be in my bed.”

  That made me smile but I started walking again. When I felt like I was far enough away, I texted him.

  Tomorrow. Bring your A game.

  There was only one thing that could take my mind off Sean and that was being stabbed in the back by Martin, formerly my favorite co-worker at Bone. Now a dirty rotten thief.

  “Look at this,” I said vehemently, passing my phone around the table to my girlfriends. Felicia had stayed home, but the rest of us had decided to go out for a drink after the baby shower. We were out at a dive bar because it was quiet and hadn’t been invaded by tourists. “That bastard.”

  “Who, Sean?” Leah asked, taking the phone from me. “Isla, you need to chill with him or you’re going to get fired.”

  That gave me pause. “Ironically, I’m not actually talking about Sean.” I gestured to my phone. “I’m actually talking about Martin, my former co-worker. One of the servers told me that he was already negotiating for a position at Woodstock, a rival restaurant, before Sean was hired. So when he quit, he already had another job. This is Woodstock’s menu for the Best of Brooklyn cook-off.” I was so furious I reached for my vodka soda and took a huge gulp, nearly choking on it.

  “Okay,” Savannah said. “Why is that important?”

  “This is my menu,” I said. “I floated these ideas past Chef Sucre before he left. Martin was there and he heard everything and now he’s stolen my menu.”

  “That bastard,” Savannah breathed.

  “Exactly.” I pointed to her. “That little bastard. Left out of anger and now he’s stolen my menu.”

  I was furious and felt betrayed on every level. “I worked with Martin for three years and he just stabbed me in the back. I didn’t even see it coming. That’s what really sucks. I can usually spot an asshole at fifty feet. I thought he was a decent guy.”

  “Is there anything you can do?” Leah asked. “Do you have work emails or anything to prove he stole your ideas?”

  “I can’t exactly go to Woodstock and storm in and claim he stole my menu. I’d just look nuts.” I ran my finger over the rim of my tumbler. “I can’t believe the turn my career has taken.” It had descended into soap opera territory. Ultimatums, threats, and secret sex. What was next, a parade, followed by a building burning down?

  “Can’t you sabotage him?” Dakota asked. “You still have time to plan something.”

  I looked at her in disbelief. “You want me to sabotage Martin after suggesting I also sabotage Sean? Do I look like I have a degree in espionage?”

  “No, but you’re a pretty tough cookie. You can’t let this guy rip you off and get away with it.”

  “You’re sabotaging Sean?” Savannah asked, setting her wineglass down. She was our group fashionista and for the baby shower she was wearing blue statement earrings and an emerald green cocktail dress in a color combination that I could never pull off. It went perfectly with her red hair and her porcelain skin.

  “That doesn’t seem very nice,” she added. “What did Sean ever do to you?”

  “Yes, what did he do to you?” Leah asked, looking more amused than concerned.

  “Uh, he stole the job I wanted,” I said. “Remember?” Not that I’d exactly stuck it to him. My flirting had just resulted in him sticking it to me. Not that I was angry about that. The workout room sex had been extra hot.

  “I think he just got the job you wanted, he didn’t steal it,” Leah pointed out.

  Everyone had to be so rational. It was really damn annoying. “Thanks for being so supportive.”

  “What on earth are you doing to sabotage him?” Savannah asked, sounding like she wanted to scoop Sean Kincaid up in her motherly arms and protect him from me and my machinations.

  “She’s being sexy,” Dakota said confidently, sipping her whiskey. “To distract him so he screws up and gets fired. Or he’s so hot for her he can’t stand it and has to quit so that he doesn’t give in to his lust and take her in the freezer.”

  That was quite the story. And not that far off the truth. “We never discussed that last part, Dakota. There is no freezer seduction going to happen ever. It’s really cold in there. My nipples would freeze.” Then I realized I might have admitted a non-freezer fuck was possible and we were supposed to be a secret. That was going to last about three more seconds. I sucked ass at lying to my friends. “Not that I would ever let Sean touch me.”

  The words barely ground out. I almost choked on the lie.

  I could feel the heat bloom in my cheeks as Leah gave a gleeful laugh. “Liar! You have the hots for him, don’t you?”

  “You do?” Dakota asked, looking astonished. “What’s up with that?”

  That was a good question.

  Leah was eyeing me knowingly. “There is a definite sexual tension between the two of you. Did you have sex in the elevator at Felicia’s engagement party?”

  “You had sex with Sean in an elevator?” Savannah’s jaw dropped. “Holy shit.”

  “No! I did not have sex with Sean in the elevator.” I sighed, because I couldn’t lie to my friends. “We just kissed that night. It was a long kiss though. And technically it was in the hallway after the elevator started working again.”

  “You kissed Sean four months ago and never told us?” Savannah pouted. “Isla, you can’t keep something like that from us.”

  That made me laugh. “I don’t have to report to you every time I kiss a guy. I’m sure you’ve kissed men and didn’t tell me.”

  “No. Never.”

  She was probably telling the truth. Savannah liked to share.

  They were really going to be shocked at what I said next. I couldn’t lie to my friends. Or lie by omission. Besides, Michael had seen us and he was going to tell Felicia, presumably, because they were married and wouldn’t keep secrets from each other. She would either ask me about it or mention to my other friends.

  “Well, I have kissed men and not shared. Sorry. Besides, it was just some weird response we had to being trapped in the elevator. It didn’t mean anything.” It had been sexy but it didn’t mean anything. That time. “Then it’s possible we might have had sex last week.” Plus earlier that afternoon, but that I could and would keep a secret.

  “Then getting him to want you at work should be easy,” Dakota said, waving her hand. “He’s as good as fired.”

  “I don’t know how kind it is to get someone fired,” Savannah said.

  Uh, had they not heard a single word I’d just said? They seemed to be missing the “had sex last week” part. “Of course he wants me at work. It resulted in us having sex. As in, actual hooking up.”

  “You had sex with Sean,” Leah said, picking up her cocktail. “Okay, details, please, since Felicia isn’t here. Was it hot? Tell me it was hot.”

  I sipped my drink. “It was very hot. I forgot my phone at work and he brought it to me.”

  “Sounds like he really brought it,” Dakota said, giving me an exaggerated wink.

  “None of you seem particularly surprised or scandalized,” I said. Frankly, I was disappointed. No one was as shocked that I was having sex with Sean as I was and I was the one who had done it. Twice.

  “Why would I be shocked? You set out to flirt all day, every day, with a guy you’re attracted to. My question is, what happens if Sean actually does get fired or quits?”

  She had a point. “He’s not going to get fired. If anything, I’m the one who is going to get fired. I feel like this strategy could totally backfire.” It already had. I’d never be able to look at mango or clotted cream the same way. “He won’t quit either. He’s not that type.”

  I wasn’t one hundred percent sure what type Sean was, but it didn’t seem like
he’d give up this position without a fight.

  “I don’t see how you being hot for each other could get you fired,” Dakota said. “That’s discrimination. It’s not your fault you’re sexy.”

  That made me laugh. “I think you’re missing the point.”

  “What is the point?”

  “Uh, how about the fact that Isla clearly has some kind of thing for Sean?” Leah asked.

  I’d rather talk about that never.

  “I can’t believe you like him and are still trying to get him fired,” Savannah said. She was pouting, like I was scheming on her, not him. Savannah sounded drunk and she was clearly a beat behind.

  “I’m not still trying to get him fired. Besides, I said I had sex with him, not that I like him. That’s putting it too strongly.” Now I sounded the way I had with Michael. The lady doth protest too much.

  I took a sip of my drink and glanced around the bar to buy time. I wasn’t sure how to put what I was feeling. It was the usual crowd, most of the customers in the service industry. It was a stripped down atmosphere. Old wood with only an attempt or two to pull off a modern vibe. I liked it that way. It felt grunge, like me. I wasn’t exactly a lady, but the meaning behind the saying still applied.

  “Well? We’re waiting,” Dakota demanded. “How do you actually feel about Sean then? Just friends with benefits? A one-time hookup?”

  I turned back. “I don’t know how I feel about Sean. I still want his job, but I don’t hate working with him. I can’t date him publicly, because Nico will freak out and our jobs will be at risk. I’m not sure I’d want to truly date him if it wasn’t an issue at work. What I do know for sure? I do absolutely want to have more sex with him. Hot, dirty, intense sex where the world is reduced to nothing but the two of us slamming into each other and dark, breathy moans.”

  That’s how I felt about Sean.

  Savannah’s mouth had fallen open.

  Leah’s eyebrow had shot up.

  Dakota was grinning and clapping. “I think this would be called an affair with a lover,” she said. “More than a hookup. Not dating with a future in mind. Just the here and now, enjoying each other.”

  I wasn’t sure I liked the sound of having a lover. It sounded weird. Or that I should ever be going to Dakota for relationship advice. Then again, she had basically saved Savannah from screwing up her relationship with Maddox.

  “So tell me exactly how I’m supposed to do that,” I said, because I felt hazy on these details. “I’ve never had a lover before.” Just saying it out loud made me snort.

  “I love this lover thing on you,” Savannah said. “It’s right up your alley, Isla.”

  “Can we all agree to stop saying lover?” I requested. “Can we just say hanging out? I like that a lot better.”

  “That’s because you want to downplay your feelings for him,” Leah said. “It makes him no different from a random stranger. But he is different. You care about a lover, even if there is no future.”

  Damn it. “Fine. Lover. He’s my lover. I have a lover, ladies.” Then I looked around the table and we all burst out laughing.

  “This is amazing,” Dakota said. “It’s the best of both worlds. You get some D and Sean will be driven to such distraction he’ll oversalt the salad. He’ll quit because he can’t deal with your hotness and you’ll be head chef.”

  “Why do you keep saying he’s going to oversalt the salad? Is that some kind of euphemism?” I asked, because who the hell salted a salad?

  “No. I just mean he’ll put too much salt on the salad. Why?” Dakota looked baffled.

  Apparently Dakota salted her salads. I was going to have to watch for that in the future.

  “More to the point, what am I going to do about Martin stealing my menu?” I had mixed feelings about Sean quitting. I definitely didn’t want him to get fired. I didn’t want to get fired. No one needed to be fired. But I did want to be executive chef myself sooner than later. And I wanted Martin to suck a bag of rocks for being a douche.

  “Can you sneak into the kitchen at his restaurant and oversalt his dishes?” Dakota asked. “Or flirt with him?”

  I started laughing. “Stop it with the salt. We’re done with the salt. I cannot sneak into Martin’s kitchen and sabotage him. And Martin is married. And I’m having a thing with Sean. So I can’t flirt with Martin.” But there had to be something I could do. Sean had initially done nothing wrong other than be annoying, dent my ego, and take a job he hadn’t known I’d wanted. Martin was a thief, plain and simple, and I wanted a way to blow the whistle on him. No one should be allowed to get away with stealing ideas.

  My friends were obviously on my side and were outraged on my behalf. But they didn’t really understand how powerless this made me feel and how much I hated that. The only one who would really understand my anger at having my menu nicked would be Sean.

  But did I trust Sean? I wasn’t sure. I wanted to. He hadn’t given me a reason not to.

  But that combined with the fact that I was definitely catching feelings for him, it scared me.

  I hated being vulnerable.

  Eleven

  “This is a matchmaking attempt,” Isla said, as we walked down the sidewalk to her friend Savannah’s apartment. “A blatant and obvious matchmaking attempt.”

  “I thought you said you already told her we’re seeing each other.” Mondays was our only mutual day off since Bone was closed, so I had readily agreed to go with Isla to Savannah’s to babysit. I wanted to spend as much time with her as possible.

  She pursed her lips and gave me an amused look. “I did. They want me to call you my lover. That something in between a hookup and a boyfriend.”

  “A lover?” I asked. “Sure. Call me whatever you want as long as you’re still calling me something.” I can’t say I had ever once been referred to as a woman’s lover but I didn’t object to it.

  After having spent all of Saturday night after work getting to know each other in bed, we most definitely were not a casual hookup. I wasn’t sure what we were but we were moving in a forward direction and I was just rolling with that for now.

  “Oh, I can call you a lot of things.”

  I bet she could. “So why is Savannah matchmaking if we’re already seeing each other? You haven’t explained that.” We stopped in front of a building and Isla pulled out her phone.

  “She has a thing for romantic comedies and she has decided we had a meet cute and are destined to be together.” Isla looked up from her phone. “She wants to rush things along.”

  In the past, that would have annoyed me. I didn’t like being pushed to make a commitment I wasn’t ready for, but in this case, it didn’t bother me. For the first time in a long time, I could see myself being in a relationship. But we were just feeling our way through and having fun. “I’m not proposing to you at the end of the night. So don’t get your hopes up.”

  Isla stuck her tongue out at me. “If you proposed to me tonight I would freak out and run away. I’d probably get hit by a car after running into the street in a blind panic, trying to get away from you.”

  “Then you would be in the hospital with amnesia and then I could enter the room and tell you that we were already engaged and you would have to believe me because of the amnesia. That’s how it works in movies, right?”

  “That is scarily accurate.” The door was buzzed open and Isla grabbed it.

  I held it for her and let her enter first. “I guess it could also be a horror film. Maybe I’m a crazy stalker and I take over the role of your fiancé after I’ve killed your real fiancé.”

  She gave me a look over her shoulder. “That’s not disturbing at all.”

  “Don’t worry. I’m not really the stalker type.”

  “I know. Your brother told me you don’t like to settle down.”

  Now that annoyed me. “That wasn’t his place to tell you something like that.”

  “I think he was feeling protective of me. Like you might destroy my ego or somethin
g.” Isla paused on the stairs. “God, I hate stairs. I can’t breathe.”

  “I think your ego is fine.” I reached out and cupped her ass and gave her a gentle push. “Your fitness could use some work though.”

  “Gee, thanks.”

  That had been misinterpreted. “No! I meant your lung capacity. Trust me, your body is amazing. Absolutely amazing.” It was. I wanted to repeatedly lick every single inch of it. “And now all I can think about is stripping you naked and tasting your pussy.”

  Right at that moment, Savannah opened the door. She clearly heard my words because her jaw dropped. Then she grinned and tried to hide her smile behind her hand.

  Isla shot me a dirty look. “Seriously?”

  I shrugged. “It’s true.”

  “Well. Hello, you two!” Savannah said. “Should I be worried that instead of watching my baby, you’ll be making a baby?”

  Awkward. “No, of course not. I was talking about later, Savannah. I swear to you we’ll watch your son appropriately. I enjoy hanging out with kids.”

  “Just ignore him,” Isla said, as we entered the apartment. “He’s obsessed with me.”

  Damn, she was good at turning things around on me. We could go back and forth, teasing and sparring, and she absolutely got my sense of humor. Isla always challenged me and that was so hot. “It’s true. Totally obsessed. I’m plotting her amnesia now so I can pretend to be her boyfriend.”

  Savannah looked confused. “Okay,” she said, a little uncertainly.

  “He’s kidding. He knows amnesia is the only way he could get me to marry him.”

  It was a joke, of course. But her words were a little too serious for my liking. No, I didn’t want to marry her. But was the idea of marrying me really so damn horrible that she had to put it like that?

  Maybe.

  We entered the small apartment and Maddox, who I had met briefly at the baby shower dinner, was holding a little boy. “Hey, man, what’s up?” he said, holding his hand out for me. “Thanks for helping out Isla tonight. Sully shouldn’t be too much trouble. He’ll be asleep in half an hour to an hour.”