by Lila Younger
“Hi Jenna,” she says cheerfully. “Welcome to your first day here at Buchanan Manufacturing. My name is Beth. I think your dad’s going to be on that call for a while, so why don’t I show you around instead?”
“It’s nice to meet you,” I tell her. “I’m excited to start.”
Beth shows me to my desk, which has nothing more than a computer and a pen holder. I’m going to be everyone’s assistant it seems, the person who picks up the slack when people are sick, or need extra hands to do the photocopying. In addition, I’m going to be covering for Lacy during her lunches. And I’ll also be taking over her job when she goes on maternity leave.
“And if it works out well, maybe you’ll want to apply for another position here in the company,” Beth chirps. “Buchanan is a wonderful place to work at. Mr. Buchanan really does care about each and every one of us.”
I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t say otherwise, considering I’m her boss’s daughter, but I smile back anyways. I just hope that Mr. Buchanan’s not one of those old guys who’s way too touchy and friendly. I always feel uncomfortable, but I never know what I should do in those situations. Beth brings me around to each desk, introducing me as I go. Everyone seems super friendly at least. I’m terrible with names, and as soon as she says one, it just slips out of my mind like sand between my fingers. I know I’ll do better in the coming weeks, when I actually work with them, so my mind sort of drifts off a little.
We’re about a third of the way through the office when I catch sight of a breathtaking man striding in from the door. He’s gorgeous, tall, the kind of eye candy that can give you a cavity in minutes. He’s got that dark hair and brooding eyes that draws me in and screams ‘watch out! Heartbreaker ahead’ at the same time. I watch him from the corner of my eye, taking in the long legs, trim waist, and impeccably broad shoulders, as he makes his way over to an office and disappears inside. Good. Not one of the ones we’ve hit yet. That means Beth will make introductions hopefully. I bet there’s a smashing body underneath that expensive suit too, I think, mentally running my hands up and down that defined body.
“You like what you see?” Beth asks, giving me a poke.
“Oh what? No, no way,” I say with a forceful shake of my head.
“Uh huh,” she says with a knowing look on her face that makes me flush. “Don’t worry. Every one of us have been dazzled by Mr. Buchanan when we first started. He’s a bit of a player though-I’d be careful if I were you.”
I swallow hard. That… That was the head boss? He looks so young.
“He’s only thirty-three,” she whispers conspiratorially. “Can you believe it?”
“Wow,” I say. “And he’s already done all this?”
“Well, he’s had a little help. His dad has always been in the recycling business, but he’s the one who really perfected the whole thing with plastics. I mean, I don’t know all the details, the science is way too complicated, but he got his dad to take a chance with him, and here we are six years later, about to expand up to almost ten locations. Isn’t he just amazing?”
I stare at through the gap between the door and the frame, where I can just see a glimpse of him working away at his desk, and commit that chiseled profile to memory. Where will I be in six years of my career? Probably not half as successful as he was. Mr. Buchanan definitely has ambition and drive. It’s definitely a little intimidating.
“I can’t believe it,” I murmur, just to say something.
“I heard that he’s dated one or two of the women in some of the other offices,” Beth goes on. “He is the boss after all. He gets to do whatever he wants. And really, why would anyone refuse someone as good looking as that?”
Just that moment, Mr. Buchanan lifts his eyes and looks straight at me. I quickly turn away, pretending I was doing just a casual sweep of the office and focus back on Beth’s face. A moment later, I glance back, and he’s still looking at me. Dark, mysterious eyes, a thoughtful gaze, and just a hint of smile tugging at those perfect lips. Crap. Now he’s caught me looking twice. I forcefully turn my whole body away from his office door, but I can’t help but feel his eyes still on me.
We go through the rest of the office, and now I’m definitely not remembering a name, even if I could have. All my thoughts are consumed by the fact that my body’s reacting in ways it really shouldn’t for the head boss. The one my dad’s always grumbled about. The one that’s so hot he really should belong in Hollywood, not in my boring, normal life. By the time we finally make it all the way to his door, my thoughts are in such a confusing swirl that I practically stumble over my own name as Beth makes the introductions.
Mr. Buchanan holds out his hand, and I feel a jolt of electricity pass through me as we touch and shake. His grip is solid, strong, making me feel tiny in comparison. He’s tall too, practically towering over me. The fact that I wore flats today definitely didn’t help.
“Good morning Jenna,” he says, in a deep rumble that has me weak in the knees. “You’re Frank’s daughter, aren’t you?”
I manage to nod, wishing that my dad hadn’t popped up in the conversation. The fact that he knows this probably means he’s going to set strict boundaries between us. Of course I would never sleep with my boss, even if my dad wasn’t here, I hastily add in my own head.
“I’m looking forward to working with you. I’ve got an exceptional team here. I owe my success entirely to them,” he says, flashing a smile that’s got me suddenly wet between my legs.
Maybe I shouldn’t have been so quick to say never. Because despite the fact that I’ve never been with a man, every nerve in my body is screaming at me to throw myself at him. It’s not a conscious thing, it’s just instinct. It’s like my body knows that he’s the perfect specimen of male. My breath is all shallow, and I’m hovering just above panic. I’ve never felt this way about anyone, ever, so I have no idea if this is normal or not.
I look over at Beth, and a tiny part of me is grateful that I’m not the only one who’s fallen under the spell of his smile. She’s saying something back, giggling all the while.
“I better get back to it,” he says regretfully, and the two of us straighten up a little. “There’s a lot of work to be done today.”
“Of course,” Beth says hurriedly. “I’m sure Jenna is eager to start.”
We head back out of his office, closing the door behind us.
“What did I tell you,” Beth says with a dreamy sigh. “He’s really something else, isn’t he? Too bad office dating’s not allowed, because I’d be happy to help relieve some of that stress in his shoulders any day of the week.”
She leads me back to my desk, and I sit, staring blankly at my computer. I’ve already got an email, probably asking me to photocopy something, but I can’t seem to focus on the words on the screen. I was so sure this morning that the hardest part of this job would be working under the eye of my father. That the only thing I would be worried about would be messing up and embarrassing him somehow. It turns out that I was right about it, with the wrong reason. It’s not misplacing office files I have to worry about, it’s my dad’s boss.
Get Daddy’s Boss here!
Other books by Lila Younger
What Her Dad Doesn’t Know
Boss of Me
Her Virgin Secret
Filthy Professor
Yes Sir
Bossing the Virgin
His Virgin Babysitter
Taking his Virgin
Buying his Virgin
His Virgin Ward
Loving My Best Friend’s Dad
Daddy’s Boss
About Lila Younger
Lila has spent her whole life in the PNW, where rainy days kept her inside with a book. A lover of the written word, she can’t believe that it’s taken her over twenty years to get around to writing a book. She’s always believed in love at first sight and happily ever afters. When she isn’t working on her stories, Lila likes to bake and hike in the mountains that make up her backyard.
