Her Hero Boss

by Jaymes, Holly

  “Hallie,” Allison plastered on a fake smile. “I’m so surprised to see you here.”

  “I was going to say the same thing to you, Allison. I mean, after what happened with Nate? It’s probably not very often you make a pass at a man, and he throws you out of his office.”

  The people around us stopped, and I heard a few snickers. I wanted to stop the rumors, but I didn’t necessarily want to embarrass Allison.

  “Sweetheart,” I said to Hallie. “We’re in public.”

  “He kissed me back,” Allison said her eyes filled with menace at Hallie.

  “Oh, honey,” Hallie said, rolling her eyes. “Come on. You know how Nate kisses. That wasn’t a kiss, at least on his part.”

  “That’s not true,” Allison’s eyes darted around, noting that people were watching.

  “You were right when you told me I couldn’t blame you for trying. I mean, Nate is a wonderful man,” Hallie looked up at me like she had stardust in her eyes. I almost believed her. She turned her attention back to Allison, “But if you ever throw yourself at him again, and then start spreading vicious rumors, I’ll ruin you.”

  There was a mixture of gasps, oh mys, and a few giggles.

  Hallie turned to me, “Now, baby, how about that dance you promised me?”

  I had to admit she did the job. By the end of the evening, the tide had turned making Hallie and me the victim of a scorned Allison, at least if the people I chatted with were to be believed.

  Now if only Hallie believed it. She’d done her part, but on the way home, it was clear that she didn’t believe a single word she’d said. Once home, she went to bed without a word to me.

  The rest of the weekend with her was awkward as was the drive to work on Monday morning. We were supposed to be newlyweds in love, but right now, we could barely stand to be around each other. This would work when it was time for a fake divorce, but right now, I needed to look like I had a happy marriage.

  As I pulled into my parking space, I said, “Are you still going to be able to do this?”

  “Yes, are you?”

  I looked at her, “Why wouldn’t I?”

  “Because you’re mad at me,” she had a tone that said ‘duh.’

  “I’m not mad, Hallie. I’m hurt,” Not wanting to share my grievances, I got out of the car.

  “Hurt?” Her tone wasn’t surprised. It was more like disbelieving as she exited the car on her side, “Why are you hurt? I’m the one you cheated on.”

  Fuck. Why was this so hard to understand? I said through clenched teeth, “The fact that you believe that is what hurts.” I smiled in case anyone was watching. They didn’t need to see that our marriage, fake as it was, was in trouble. I’m sure it looked more like a grimace.

  “You were kissing her,” she tried to smile too. At least she was still committed to this deal.

  “I wasn’t. She kissed me, and I pushed her away.”

  “How did you let her get so close that she could kiss you, Nate?”

  I gave a short, derisive laugh, “What does it matter? You’re not going to believe me no matter what I say.” I took her hand and started walking into the entrance. “So much for admiring me, eh?”

  Luckily, she didn’t respond. I walked her to her office, and then headed to mine, shutting myself in and focusing my morning on the trip to Chicago this week. This dog and pony show tour couldn’t be over fast enough.

  The Mile High Club

  Chapter Twelve: The Mile High Club

  Hallie

  I liked it better when Nate was pissed off at me. When he was pissy at me, I didn’t feel guilty about hurting his feelings. But did he really think I was overreacting at seeing him kissing Allison? Or, her kissing him? What was the difference? Their lips were touching. Yes, he pushed her away, but that was probably because he saw me in the doorway.

  And then to have to stand by my man at a fundraising event! I thought I was going to throw up. I was a strong independent woman who wasn’t going to put up with being made a fool. The only satisfaction I got from our impromptu fundraising event was being able to tell Allison off. It was petty, but I wasn’t going to let her make me into a sad sack of a wife, even if it was fake.

  I’ll build your house either way.

  Grrr, that man could be so infuriating. He was going to stick to our deal even if I backed out. Now I was the bad guy. After that, how could I not do my part? Fortunately, my Oscar-winning acting job seemed to have worked, as many people came up and commended me on standing up to her. Even a few wives made comments about how they didn’t like how Allison prowled around their men.

  It appeared the fix-Nate’s-image-plan was back on track. But it didn’t change my feelings about him. I should have never let him touch me. That had been my mistake. I’d have still grilled him on not messing around with other women but, I’d have had no basis for taking this too seriously. Our relationship was fake. But I had slept with him, and while I had no illusions of love and happily ever after with him, I did have an expectation of monogamy.

  What did I care, anyway? I tossed my pen down on my desk in frustration. This was a fake marriage. Yes, I didn’t want to have the appearance that I was a cuckquean wife. I wouldn’t put up with infidelity. But I would put up with a fake marriage to get my home rebuilt, so I needed to get my act together.

  Nate was right about two things - one, the potential to help millions of people was on the line and two, I’d made a deal to help him. I could overcome a little indiscretion if it helped people like my mother live fuller lives. Of course, he needed to stop kissing other women.

  I headed to Nate’s office to clear the air. I’d let him know that I would stick to our deal but that he had to keep his dick and his lips to himself. There would also be no more sex. I’d pretend to be his wife when needed, but at the office, I was his assistant first. We needed to focus on the work, starting with his request for a private charter to Chicago. Why did he need that? It would be expensive, and I’d already arranged commercial flight tickets.

  “He’s on the phone but should be off in a minute,” Clair said when I arrived outside his office.

  “I’ll wait,” I stood by her desk.

  “You two alright?” Clair asked.

  “Yeah, great,” I mustered a smile, but I doubt it was convincing.

  “Listen, you know he’s not into Allison Carter, right?”

  No, I didn’t know that since I caught them kissing, “Yes, of course.”

  “I know in the past, Nate liked to play the field, but he’d never cheat. He just wouldn’t, although I wouldn’t put it past Allison to try and get him to.” Clair’s face contorted into disgust, “I never liked her.”

  “Yes, well, Nate is hard to resist.”

  “He thinks the same about you,” Clair had a wistful smile as if she thought I lived in a fairy tale romance. “The way he looks at you…he never looked at his other lady-friends like that.”

  “What?” She must be looking at him through rose-colored glasses because there was no way Nate was looking at me with love in his eyes.

  “I can see he’s head over heels for you.” She narrowed her eyes at me, “I hope you feel the same for him. Lately, I’m not sure.”

  “Of course, I feel the same,” I said automatically. It came out a little terse, but I was annoyed that I was coming off as the bad guy in this situation. He was the one that was kissing Allison.

  She studied me, “I’ve worked with Nate since the beginning. When all this was just an idea and dream, so I’ve seen many women come and go. I’m certain he’s never been in love until you. As much as I like you, Hallie, if you break his heart, I’ll make your life miserable.”

  I gaped, “What if he breaks mine?”

  She waved my comment away with her hand, “He won’t. Nate is solid. When he makes a commitment, it sticks. Besides, I told you, he’s head over heels for you.” She frowned again. “You are upset about Allison, aren’t you?”

  “He was kissing her,”
I blurted out having met my limit. I wasn’t going to be scolded when he was the one misbehaving.

  “Skank,” Clair said.

  “Who’s a skank?” Jolene walked into Nate’s outer office with us.

  “Allison, that cow patent lawyer,” Clair made a face of disgust.

  Jolene rolled her eyes, “I heard she was here trying to put the moves on Nate.”

  I looked at them both, “He kissed her.”

  Jolene gaped, but again Clair dismissed it, “I’m sure she tried, but I’m certain he didn’t want it. He was done with her a long time ago after what she did.”

  “What she do?” I asked, although I didn’t know why I’d cared.

  “She was pissed that he wasn’t going to submit the patent on the Parkinson drug, so she did it anyway.”

  “Greedy bitch,” Jolene nodded her head.

  “What was in it for her?” I asked. Surely Nate paid her fee for the work even if it wasn’t submitted.

  “That girl took one look at Nate and saw dollar signs,” Clair pointed at me.

  “That’s right,” Jolene said. “Remember that day he had security toss her from his office? I’d never seen him so mad.”

  If that was true, why was he kissing her?

  “She has balls, I tell ya, for coming back here. Nate’s mama raised him well, so he was civil to her, but if I were him, I’d have tossed her out again,” Clair said.

  Jolene frowned at me, “You don’t think she and Nate are lovers again don’t you?” Her tone said that I’d be an idiot to believe it.

  “They were kissing,” I said again sounding like a broken record.

  “I don’t believe it,” Jolene said.

  “I saw them.”

  “Do you think when you’re done discussing whether or not I’m a lying cheat that I could have the update on the FDA’s approval for CP860?” Nate glared at all of us for a moment and then went back into his office.

  “I don’t think you’re a lying cheat,” Jolene called after him.

  I went back to my office to grab the latest information I had on the approval of CP860 and then went back to Nate’s.

  “Hallie?” Clair called me over to her as I walked by her desk. “Really, honey, Nate would never cheat. He may have dated a lot of women, but he never cheated. It’s not in his nature to do that.”

  Of all the things she said, that was the one that stopped me. I was judging Nate the same way everyone else was - based on his reputation. But in our short fake marriage, I’d learned there was more to him. He loved his family, as evidenced by his weekly dinners at his mom’s house. He cared deeply about treating suffering caused by chronic illness, to the point that he’d forfeited millions if not billions of dollars by not patenting one of his drug formulas. He donated millions more worth of drugs to populations that didn’t have access to medications or had difficulty affording them.

  And, if I was honest with myself, he was right in that he’d never done anything to suggest he was a liar. I still struggled with the image of him kissing Allison, but Clair and Jolene were right in that Allison clearly wanted him. Replaying the scene in my mind, he had been annoyed at Allison, not me. She’d been upset that he rebuffed her, and said to me that I couldn’t blame her for trying to seduce him. Trying but not succeeding. All the stuff I’d said to her face. Shit, I was the bad guy in this.

  “You’re right,” I admitted. “It’s just not easy seeing a woman like that make a pass at my man.”

  “No doubt. So, you gonna go talk to him? He’s clearly upset that you don’t believe him,” Clair asked.

  “Yes.”

  She smiled, “I’ll hold all calls and visitors while you two make up.” She waggled her brows. Did she really think I was going to have sex with Nate in his office? Actually, that sounded fun, but no. I’d make up with him, but this fake marriage would have to continue without any benefits.

  However, Clair couldn’t know that, so I gave her a naughty smile, “Thank you.”

  I walked into his office, shut the door, and clicked the lock so that Clair would think I was about to make up with my husband, which I sort of was.

  “I’m sorry,” I said as I stood in the middle of his office.

  He stared at me from behind his desk, “What about?”

  Was he really going to still be pissy? I pressed on, “For not believing you. For hurting your feelings.”

  His hard expression softened slightly. He stood, “I’m sorry too.”

  “About what?” Two could play this game.

  “About not realizing how far Allison was going to push things. She should have never gotten that close to me.” He went to his minifridge and pulled out two bottles of water.

  “So, you knew she wanted to seduce you?” I accepted the one he handed me and then sat at the table where we often worked together.

  He sat across from me, “I remember thinking she looked like she was prowling. I thought I’d just rebuke her and she’d give up. She got me off-kilter when she guessed that we had a fake marriage.”

  My brows shot up, “She did?”

  “She also called you a gold digger,” he rolled his eyes and took a drink of his water, and then gave me a pointed look. “I didn’t want to kiss her, Hallie. I didn’t like it. I’m sorry it happened.”

  He seemed sincere, but what the hell did I know?

  Nate continued, “I’m also sorry I underestimated her. I wouldn’t have thought she’d start spreading rumors.”

  “It wasn’t really a rumor, though.”

  He stiffened, “I didn’t kiss her.”

  “No, but she embellished it.”

  He leaned forward, “She lied, Hallie.” He blew out a breath, “I can put up with being called a womanizer, but I won’t be called a liar or a cheat. Not by Allison and not by you or may staff.”

  That was sincere, even as it was inaccurate. I pointed out, “You are a liar. I’m a liar too. This marriage is a lie.”

  “Fine. But I don’t cheat.” It was clear that his character and his honor were important to him.

  “Your staff doesn’t think you’re a liar or a cheat.”

  “What do you think?”

  I inhaled a breath knowing a lot was riding on my answer, “I believe you.”

  “Thank fuck,” he said with a long exhale. He sat back and looked at me. Most of the tension left his face. “I’m sorry it happened and made you look like a cheated on wife. I understand that her accusations didn’t just hurt me but hurt you too, and for that I’m sorry.”

  I nodded. While I knew I needed to be smarter around him, I did believe him, and was ready to move past this issue, “Listen, we need to stay in here for enough time that Clair thinks we’re having make-up sex.”

  He grinned, “That would be all day, honey.”

  I laughed, “Yes, well, perhaps we can keep it to thirty minutes.”

  He frowned, “Except for that first time on the table in the kitchen, I took much longer than thirty minutes.”

  The memory of all the ways he’d touched me the other night warmed my body, but we needed to put the kibosh on any more of that.

  “Listen, Nate, as much as I enjoyed the other night, I’m thinking we shouldn’t do that again.”

  He nodded in agreement, and disappointment and, if I was honest, a little bit of hurt pinched my heart. It would have been nice if he’d tried to fight me on it.

  “I enjoyed it too, but considering I’m your boss and this unusual situation I’ve put us in, you’re probably right.”

  “I agreed to it.”

  “Even so. More than anything, I value the work you do for me Hallie, as well as your friendship, and even your ass-kickings when I need them. I don’t want to fuck all that up.”

  I smiled, enjoying the feeling of being appreciated, “Thank you. Speaking of which, here is the report you asked for. Also, are you sure you want the charter to Chicago?”

  He took the report, “Thank you, and yes to the charter. Then we can arrive and leave
whenever we want.”

  After that, our fake marriage and working relationship went much smoother. The only challenge was dealing with sexual frustration. My mind constantly reminded me of the potential conflict and complications sleeping with him brought. But having had the pleasure of Nate’s touch, being around him and not being able to enjoy his body was like being around chocolate and not being able to eat it. It was torture.

  Mid-week we were on a charter plane to Chicago where Nate had two days of presentations. The good news was that we didn’t run into Allison or any other former conquests of Nate’s. There were a few remnants of the rumors Allison had started, but there was also gossip about how I’d put her in her place. Overall, the presentations went well, and it didn't appear that Nate’s reputation or rumors about him hurt him.

  The bad news was that acting like his wife, but not getting the benefits, was starting to take a toll. On the first night, we were in Chicago, we were at a restaurant with dancing, and he asked me to dance.

  Wanting to be a good wife, and yes, wanting to feel his arms around me, I agreed even though I knew it was a bad idea and I didn’t know how to dance.

  “I hope you’re as good at leading in dancing as you are in all other areas of your life because I suck at dancing,” I said as he took me in his arms.

  “Just move with music, Hallie.”

  Easy for him to say. He pulled me close, and every cell in my body heated and started to vibrate with need. I think I might have moaned.

  His lips brushed against my ear, sending sensations straight to my pussy. That time I did moan.

  “I figured this was the only way I’d be able to hold you close,” he whispered, “I miss your body, Hallie.”

  I gasped at his words. They rolled through me like a caress. I groaned, “Nate.”

  “I’m not trying to seduce you, and I’ll keep my promise not to touch you, but I had to hold you. You smell divine.”

  I couldn’t speak. I didn’t trust myself not to tell him to take me up to the suite and fuck my brains out. I pulled him closer, inhaled his scent, and let the feel of his hard body torment me.