The Boss(hole)

by Bloom, Penelope

  We ordered our drinks and eventually the food while the men talked about various aspects of the conference coming up. I gathered bits and pieces from their conversation, but a great deal of it went over my head when they delved too deep into company politics or jargon about business practice.

  Eventually, there was a lull in the conversation and Mr. White leaned over to me. He pulled up his phone and tapped in his code. “Let’s make sure you’re up to speed on my presentation. I need you to be on point.”

  I was watching his phone when it unlocked. He’d been in his camera roll and had a picture pulled up of a young boy and an older man who looked almost exactly like Mr. White. I realized it was Adrian as a boy a man who must’ve been his father. They both looked adorably happy. “Is that your-”

  Mr. White jerked his phone toward himself and tapped out of it. “Forget it,” he muttered.

  Travis and Noah shared a look with raised eyebrows but didn’t comment.

  “Before you get into details,” I said. “Can you explain what your goal is, exactly? Is this about selling more books, or is it something else?”

  “I’m not just a publishing executive, Miss Adams.”

  “Adrian, don’t you th-” Noah began to say.

  Mr. White held up his palm. “Relax. All I’m saying is I have bigger plans than helping Coleton’s publishing branch expand. I want to work at Coleton Central. There are company-wide issues I know I could be instrumental in fixing. That’s what I’ve put a team together to do.”

  I shook my head. “I don’t understand. People don’t usually… I don’t know, aspire to get promoted as a team?”

  “I get the promotions and I bring my people with me as a contingency of accepting the terms. It’s pretty simple. I like to work with the people I trust.”

  “Okay, but why do you care so much about moving up?”

  “Adrian has always wanted a yacht,” Travis said, jumping in before Mr. White could respond.

  Mr. White gave him a cold look, ignoring the comment. “All you need to understand is that I’m going to reach the top of Coleton, no matter the cost. This presentation is one step in that direction. A very important step, because Gerald Krause is in charge of acquisitions for Coleton Central. If we impress, he’s the one who might put in a word with Russ Coleton himself and get us fast tracked for a promotion. Understand?”

  The mention of my father’s name made a chill run through me, but I nodded my head. I wondered how differently Mr. White would treat me if he knew I could make a phone call to my father and probably get him the promotion he wanted so badly by simply promising to come home and “end this foolishness” as my father had put it. Because wanting to do more with my life than get married and breed was the height of foolery, of course.

  The other notable problem was that Gerald Krause was an old family friend who would recognize me in an instant. I wasn’t sure what sort of setting this was all going to take place in, but I was hoping it was a very large room with me at some nondescript tech booth in the back. That would be my only hope of not having my real identity broadcast to Mr. White.

  We were deep into the drudgery of the presentation when Jordan, his sister approached our table. She looked alarmed. “Bad news,” she said.

  “What is it?” Mr. White asked.

  “Krause just let his team know he’s going to miss the conference. Something came up and he’s catching a flight back to New York this afternoon.”

  Mr. White pounded the table. “Shit!” he said, clattering plates and drawing the eyes of nearby diners.

  “Anyone else we can target?” Travis asked. “There’s got to be someone else from Coleton Central at the conference.”

  “It had to be him,” Mr. White said. “Fuck. We need to think fast.”

  “What if you catch him at the airport?” I suggested. I almost immediately kicked my own leg for my stupidity. If he still expected me to help with the presentation, I’d just suggested putting my face right in front of Krause.

  Mr. White stroked his particularly well-formed chin in thought.

  “I think she’s got the right idea,” Travis said. “We just catch the bastard, and we all get to skip the mind-numbing ordeal of this conference.”

  Noah frowned. “I enjoy the conference.”

  “Then you’re welcome to attend,” Mr. White said. “But me and Jules are going to catch Krause at the airport.”

  My stomach sank. How the hell was I going to get out of this?

  14

  Adrian

  The airport was buzzing with activity. Jules was struggling to keep up with me while I checked my phone for the tenth time since we’d arrived. Krause wasn’t messaging back to let me know he was okay to meet, but thankfully, I knew where he was headed and which gate he’d be waiting at. There was only one flight leaving for New York within the next four hours, which meant there was only one gate he could be at. But I also pulled a few strings and got my hands on the passenger list to confirm.

  “This feels like less of a good idea now that we’re doing it,” Jules said.

  “The really good ideas never feel like they are guaranteed to succeed. If you’re worried your life is about to fall apart, it probably means you’re considering doing something worth doing.”

  Jules stared at me in disbelief. “That’s completely backwards. You can’t live your life with that sort of outlook.”

  I spread my palms. “Can and do.”

  She rolled her eyes but continued fast-walking to keep up with me. She was still wearing a simple pair of leggings and an “I Like Cats And The Feeling Is Mutual” shirt. Somehow, she made the messy look sexy. That was also exactly the sort of thing I needed to not be thinking. It was precisely this kind of situation where I needed to be completely on my game. I couldn’t afford distractions like my assistant and her messy hair or tight ass in those form fitting leggings.

  I tried to put it from my mind, focusing instead on how I’d spin this to Krause to make a good impression and not simply look like a lunatic. But after a few moments I found my mind wandering to how much I enjoyed having Jules around. If I ignored her tendency to completely disregard seniority and any kind of respect for authority, she was far more capable than any assistant I’d ever had.

  She never needed to be told how to do something twice. If I asked for my dry cleaning to be picked up every day and brought to the office by seven, she did it. She might give me dirty looks or find some other way to harass me in the process, but it always got done. She also managed to go above and beyond. She seemed to have charmed the dry cleaner, who was now willing to turn around my drop offs even more quickly for her sake. She’d also dramatically reduced the number of author complaints in her short time working for me with her strong communication skills.

  Frankly, she was perfect. At least, she would’ve been if she had a cock instead of the face of an angel, two distractingly perky tits, and an ass I couldn’t get out of my brain. The woman was practically hand-crafted to derail my thoughts at every moment. If she’d just been shit at the job my choice would’ve been a hell of a lot easier. I could’ve fired her for any bullshit reason I chose. But Jules Adams did her damn job so well that I didn’t want to lose her as a personal assistant.

  I had to buy two tickets to get me and Jules deep enough into the airport to find Krause. We also had to take off our shoes for the TSA. We didn’t have any luggage except Jules’ laptop, so I expected to breeze through security.

  We were watching a TSA agent inspect Jules’ laptop when I checked my watch and let out an annoyed sound.

  “What’s up your butt?” Jules asked. “His flight doesn’t leave for like half an hour. We’ll be fine.”

  The woman looked up as soon as Jules said, “what’s up your butt”.

  I stared at the TSA woman, my eyes going wider when I realized what was about to happen. She carefully set down the laptop and moved closer. She was a large woman who looked like she could single handedly put down a prison revolt, a
nd she was glaring at me like I’d just said as much to her face. “Is there something inside your anus, sir?”

  I couldn’t believe this.

  “It’s a figure of speech,” I said dryly.

  “Sir,” she said. “If you’re trying to smuggle something into my airport inside your rectum, it’s going to be a very bad day for you. And your rectum.”

  I blinked, then looked at Jules, who appeared to be trying to decide between dying of laughter or collapsing in a ball of horror at what she’d initiated.

  “You need to go to Krause and show him the presentation,” I said.

  “Wait, what?” she asked.

  The TSA woman took me by the arm. “Come on, pretty boy. I’m going to hand you off to Bill over there and he’s going to make sure you’re not hiding anything under that fancy suit. Or between-”

  I held up my hand. “I guarantee you that Bill will not be coming anywhere near my ass. That’s a promise.”

  Jules was holding her laptop with a hopeless look on her face. “You seriously expect me to do this by myself?”

  The TSA lady was urging me toward a little private room in the back. “Figure it out. I’m not sure how long this will take. Don’t fuck it up, or you’re fired. I hope that went without saying, but just in case.”

  She went white. “But-”

  “Figure it out,” I repeated, then I was taken toward a skinny kid who didn’t look much older than twenty. I was absolutely going to bribe my way out of this once that door closed. He wasn’t so much as going to take off my tie.

  I watched Jules hurry off toward the boarding gates and felt my stomach turn. I could’ve waited. Krause might show at another convention or even let me have a private meeting, but he was notoriously unavailable. This might literally be the only chance to get my name in his ear for the next several months, and I had a lot of climbing to do. I couldn’t afford to wait that long.

  Please, don’t fuck this up, Jules.

  15

  Jules

  As much as I wanted to be amused by the idea of Mr. White suffering the indignity of being strip-searched while I rushed off to do this impossible task, I couldn’t enjoy it. Not even Mr. White deserved that kind of indignity.

  So even if part of me wanted to screw this up on purpose to spite him, I felt like I owed it to him now because my careless comment was causing him so much humiliation. I also kind of didn’t want to get fired.

  And damn it. I thought I knew exactly how to make this work.

  I found Mr. Krause hunched over his phone right where we’d expected to be. He was waiting for a flight to New York and sitting in an empty row of seats by the window. Gerald Krause and my father went way back. He’d practically been an uncle to me growing up. I still remembered how he looked before he lost most of his hair and put on some extra weight in his later years. Now he was a grandfatherly man with liver spots on his head and sagging jowls, but he had kind blue eyes.

  I sat right next to him and cleared my throat. “Uh, hi,” I said.

  He looked up like he was ready to be annoyed, then recognition flashed in his eyes. “Juliette?” he breathed. “Your father has been scouring the globe for you. Where on Earth have you been?”

  “Mr. Krause, I need a really, really big favor. The first is that you don’t tell my father you saw me.”

  He started to shake his head. “I don’t know, Juliette. You have to understand just how hard he has been looking. He’s hired an entire team of private investigators. They’ve been searching in an expanding loop from New York and aren’t leaving any motel unturned. It’s borderline obsessive.”

  “Yeah,” I said. “But we both know it’s not about finding me because he’s worried. He can’t allow me to ‘win’. If I leave and he can’t find me, it will hurt his precious ego.”

  Mr. Krause chuckled. “You do know your father well. Yes. But if he even suspected I’d spoken to you without telling him-”

  “He’ll never find out. Not unless you tell him, because I definitely won’t.”

  Mr. Krause turned the watch on his wrist over a few times while he thought. “You said the first favor is not telling him I saw you. But you wouldn’t be revealing yourself to me if there wasn’t more. So, what else is it you need from me?”

  “Can you promise me you won’t let any of this get back to him?” I asked.

  He nodded. “Against my better judgment. Yes. You can trust me, Juliette. I can’t promise I’ll be able to help with whatever the other favor is, though.”

  “I’m working for this man who was hoping to meet you at the convention you missed today. He was going to show you this presentation because he was hoping you’d see his potential and consider bringing him in to work at Coleton Central.”

  “Where is this man?”

  “Well, he was with me, but he got stopped by the TSA and we didn’t want to risk missing you. He had me learn the presentation though for the conference, so I could show you…” I opened the laptop and started tapping through the slides, doing my best to rehearse the presentation the way I knew it was supposed to go.

  Mr. Krause listened patiently until I was done, then rubbed at his chin. “Coleton Central is a rather exclusive group, Juliette. Bringing someone in because of a presentation they put together… it would be unprecedented. Even if there was a spot for them,” he added.

  “Is there?” I asked. “A spot, I mean.”

  He grinned. “There happens to be, yes. But I can’t-”

  “Mr. Krause. How long have you known me?”

  “Since you were drinking milk from bottles.”

  “Can you please at least bring him in for an interview? Give him a chance to show you what kind of an asset he could be for you in person. For me.”

  He sighed. “This man must mean a great deal to you. This is quite the big ask, Juliette. Even for you.”

  “Can you do it?” I asked.

  He looked down at the laptop again, then back to me. “To be honest, even as a favor for you I don’t know that I could. But I’m impressed by someone who has the gall to track me down at the airport like this. More so, he had the foresight to have his assistant ready to give his presentation. I admire someone who goes the extra mile and comes prepared with contingency plans. So, yes. For you, I’ll have my people give him a call.”

  I hugged him. “Thank you so much.”

  “You’re welcome. But tell me this much. Why are you doing all this? Working for this man? Running yourself ragged for pennies? If you came home, you’d have access to more money than you could spend in a lifetime, Juliette. You know that.”

  “If I returned to my cage, you mean?”

  He chuckled, watery eyes turning down. “It’s a shame how it works out. Every parent wants their children to have more than they did. The ones who succeed beyond their wildest dreams give their children the world. But when the world is already in your palm, what’s left to dream for?”

  I nodded. “Leaving let me try to look for my purpose. Maybe when this is all over, I can tell him where I am and let him see that I was more than he realized. But for now, I’m enjoying living for me. If I prove him wrong, it’ll just be a bonus.”

  Mr. Krause smirked. “Somehow, I think you’ll wind up proving exactly that.” He gave me a one-armed hug, then pointed toward where a woman was calling for his flight to board. “That’s me. Good luck, Juliette.”

  16

  Juliette

  Mr. White had a driver waiting for us outside the airport. He was already in the car when I arrived. As usual, it was a luxury car with a pristine interior and more than enough leg room. Mr. White looked composed but pissed.

  “I’m really sorry,” I said as I got into the car. I took a seat beside him in the back. “I had no idea they were going to take what I said and use it as an excuse to strip search you.”

  “I bribed him. It was fine. He held me in the room for ten minutes so it would look legitimate and then let me go on my way.”

  I breathed o
ut in relief. “Thank God.”

  He grinned. “Were you really that worried about me getting embarrassed? I’d think you would want that for me given some of the things I ask of you.”

  I felt myself blushing. “Under normal circumstances, yes. I’d say you deserve to be brought down a peg. But I didn’t want to be the reason it happened to you.”

  “That’s a confusing sense of morality you have, Miss Adams.”

  “You know, you can just call me Jules.”

  “And you can call me Adrian.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “You’ve never corrected me before.”

  “And now I have.”

  “Okay,” I said, running my tongue over my lips.

  “How did the presentation with Krause go?”

  “Good. He seemed really impressed and said he’ll reach out.”

  Mr. White—Adrian—drew his eyebrows together. “You’re serious?”

  I tried to hold back my smile as I did a nonchalant little shrug of my shoulders. “It was nothing. You seemed like you really wanted me to be confident with the presentation, so I studied it last night until I could give it myself. That’s exactly what I did. He was impressed that your assistant was so prepared and that you were ballsy enough to send me after him at the airport. I kind of told him about the TSA thing, but not the butt stuff.”

  Adrian pulled me in with both arms and gave me a quick, very surprising hug. My eyes popped wide open at first, but then I decided to enjoy the few fleeting moments of contact. For once, it wasn’t turbulence or sleepy stumbling pushing our bodies together. It was his choice, and I had to admit it felt far, far too good.