Taming Her Boss

by C. M. Stunich

  “Stop freaking out, Lex,” she says, reaching out a hand and patting my back. I stand up straight and turn to face her, yanking the buttons on my shirt apart. She watches me and swallows hard before reaching down to grab her jeans. “I don't know why you're getting all weird after our one-night stand. Or … like day and a half stand, I guess it was.” I throw my button-down onto the floor and slip the feminist T-shirt over my head. It stretches across my muscles and Olivia's eyes get wide. I feel some of the anger start to slip away, and the smirk crawls back onto my lips.

  “I already explained this to you,” I begin and she sighs, waving her hand at me.

  “Yeah, I know. You want to be dominated, bleh, bleh, bleh. I get it. You want to know what it's like to give up control. I think this goes way beyond just a fetish for you, Lex. I don't think you even really care about the domination stuff – whips or chains or whatever the fuck it is you imagine when you think BDSM. Based on your behavior and the things you keep saying, I don't think you need a business deal, Lex, I think you want a partner.”

  Olivia yanks up her jeans, fastens the button and then grabs her heels in her hands before sweeping past me and out the bathroom door.

  I don't even have time to process what she's said before she disappears from sight.

  “Shit,” I groan, biting at my nails and glancing over my shoulder. Lex doesn't follow me out of the bathroom, but goddamn it. Why did I say that? Why the hell did that crap even spew from my mouth? Who cares what Lex wants? Even if what I said was true, I had no right to say it. “I am such a dumb shit,” I grind out, scooting out the back door and setting my heels on the brick pavers that make up the porch. Nobody else is wearing shoes, so why should I?

  “Oli, you made it!” It's Craig, jogging over and giving me a hug before he starts looking around for something to pick on me about. “Where's Lex?” he asks, and I ignore the question, ruffling his red hair with a sigh.

  “Don't you mean, where's your geoduck? The people at Whole Foods laughed at me.” Craig wrinkles up his nose. This whole penis clam hunt thing was not apparently designed to pull a fast one on me. I guess this shit is legit; we really are having geoduck avocado salad tonight.

  “If you really need some,” Lex oozes in that perfect fuck-me-right-now voice of his, “then I'd be happy to drive around and look at some other stores.” He slides his arm around my neck and pulls me close, like we're chums, like we're pals, like we're a … couple. I wrinkle my nose and step away from him, ignoring a bemused to look from Craig and a blatant co-stare from the moms.

  I look over at Lex and try not to drool. Seeing a dude that's that masculine wearing a shirt proclaiming to be a feminist gets me off in all the right ways. The black cotton stretches across his muscles, highlighting those perfect pecs, his toned abs, the swell of his biceps. Oh sweet baby geoducks, my boss is a fucking hottie. I cough into my fist and attempt to peel my eyes away from Lex's lower half. His legs are encased in form fitting designer jeans that are stuffed into some rugged black leather boots. It's literally the first time I've seen him wear shoes other than loafers and it gets the lady parts all up in a tizzy. Pair that with the visible bulge in his crotch region and the firm little ass highlighted by the pockets on the back of his jeans and you've got yourself some trouble. Lex doesn't look like a sophisticated but sexy corporate goon right now; he looks like a fucking badass. Please tell me he doesn't ride a motorcycle in his spare time. That would be overkill.

  “Nah, don't worry about it, but thanks anyway,” Craig says, reaching out and shaking Lex's hand. My brother clutches a beer bottle in the other – one with no label because y'know, he makes his own here at Maggie's house – and he uses it to gesture at his other lovers. “You guys got a chance to meet up with Maggie?”

  I grin big at him and pray that Maxi gets here soon. I'm going to need her support to survive the night.

  “We did, thanks. She looks like she's cookin' up a storm in there?” Craig smiles back at me and I just know he's getting a thrill out of making me uncomfortable. This will only get worse before it gets better.

  “Yeah, actually. We've got the geoduck avocado salad to start along with some roasted spicy root vegetables, crispy tofu macaroni salad, and locally caught salmon. It's going to be a feast fit for a king.” Craig winks at Lex as he scoots backyard, dragging his bare feet along the brick pavers. I flip him the bird and keep smiling, knowing how much he enjoys taunting me with his food choices. “So. Let me introduce everybody, so we can get past the awkwardness of first time meetings and onto the party.” Craig moves over to the long table set up in the white gravel that lines most of the backyard. It's a huge yard by San Francisco standards and although the neighbors have a pretty direct view down on our little gathering, it feels private in the last rays of sunshine. Already, there are tiki torches burning around the perimeter of the yard and several strings of white lights adorn the gazebo in the back and thread through the pickets of the fence.

  “Everybody!” Craig shouts, grabbing a fork off the table and tapping it against his bottle. “I'd like to introduce you to my sister, Olivia. This,” he points over at Lex, “is her billionaire boyfriend, Lex.” I purse my lips tight and exchange a look with the billionaire in question. He's smiling devilishly at me which is actually pretty frightening. I have no freaking clue what's going on inside that gorgeous skull of his. I don't bother to argue with the boyfriend comment – it will get me nowhere with this crowd. “Olivia, Lex, this is my life partner, Angie.” Craig points at the blonde with the weird half-smiles. “This is my life partner, Lisle.” A man with dark brown hair and a thick pair of glasses raises his own label free beer up to greet us. “My life partner, Marina.” That would be the lovely lady in the back with the shirt that says Big Beautiful Bay Area Black Woman – only she's actually Asian and in all reality, she's probably a size zero. “And last but not least, my life partner, Josh.” Josh is swinging in the wooden seat to my left, his arm around an older lady that must be family of some sort. He grins at me and gives a thumbs-up.

  “You know the moms, of course,” Craig says, moving over to our parents and putting his arms around their waists. “And then there's … ” I'm sorry, but I actually tune out the rest of Craig's introductions. There are fifteen other people here, none of whom I've ever met before, none of whom I'll probably ever see again. Each one is somehow related to one of the lover menagerie and only about half are pissed off. This group clumps in the corner and glares, generating buzzwords like unnatural, weirdos, homos, that sort of thing. They're promptly ignored and the party continues onward.

  “I am so fucking sorry I brought you here,” I grind out, scooting back over towards Lex. Believe it or not, but I actually feel like he's the lesser of two evils here. He eats Chinese food with me and doesn't drive a car fueled by used cooking oil – not that there's anything wrong with that, I'm just saying that in this strange instance, Lex seems more relatable to me. If my intention in bringing him here was to drive him off and get rid of him for good, it doesn't seem to be working. I can't stop ogling his body and he can't seem to stop noticing me ogling his body. Damn it.

  “Olivia, I'm scared.” I turn around and find Maxi, slinking into the backyard with two wineglasses. I snatch one from her before she even gets a chance to tell me what – out of the many choices here – it is that's frightening her. “That Maggie chick just asked me I liked gooey ducks. What the hell is a gooey duck?” I laugh my ass off and end up sloshing wine all over my fingers – and I'm not even buzzed yet. What a fun start to the evening. “Oh my crapping crap. Who the hell is that and how the fuck do I get him to go home with me tonight?” she asks, nodding her chin at a deliciously tight ass clad in denim.

  I purse my lips.

  “Maxi,” I begin, but she's already started on her rant.

  “He is to freaking die for. Do you see that butt?”

  “Maxi.”

  “And that back? The muscles? Oh my God, Olivia.”

  “Maxi.”
<
br />   “Forget Lex Lyndon. You can keep him. This guy is m-i-n-e.”

  “Maxi, that is Lex Lyndon,” I finally grind out and her face pales as he turns around and spots us, moving across the bricks in those sexy leather boots of his. “Don't embarrass me,” I warn her. I think I've said that same phrase to Lex, Maxi, both moms, and Craig sometime today. Or if I haven't, then I meant to and just haven't gotten to it yet. It's something they all need to hear.

  “Mr. Lyndon,” Maxi chirps, going pale. She's still scared of him, even if she won't admit it. “Fancy seeing you here.” She grins big at him and he pauses, looking unsure of himself for a moment. My guess is that he's not used to these types of social situations. Hell, when it comes to a gathering of liberal West Coast hippies (myself included), you never know what to expect. I can't exactly blame him. “You look … different when you're not wearing a suit,” she supplies lamely, gesturing at Lex with her wineglass. “Oh, and I'm Maxi, by the way. Maxi Heath. Head of your accounting department.”

  “Call me Lex, please,” he says, laying out the charm for my best friend, giving her a smile that I've never seen before. I feel my skin prickle with irritation. Maxi glances between Lex and me for a moment and then nods. I don't like that nod. I have seen that freaking nod before. “It's nice to finally meet you.”

  “Likewise,” Maxi chirps, steering me away with a faux smile stuck to her teeth. “Come chat me up later and we can talk about Olivia and all her eccentricities. Do you know why she keeps a stash of condoms in the living room?”

  “Maxi,” I snap, but she's already tugging me away from Lex's raised eyebrow and horribly delicious chest. It's so … wide. And hard. I want to lay my cheek against it and fall asleep all sweaty and sexed up like I was on Monday night. Argh! “Why are you talking to him like that? Do not tell him things. Do not tell him about the condom stash. Lex is our boss, Maxi.”

  “He's your boyfriend,” she states matter-of-factly. I wrinkle my nose.

  “Um, that's ridiculous on so many levels. Can we talk about something else for once? I'm sick of talking about Lex Lyndon.”

  “That's because you're falling in love with him. It frustrates you because you can't accept it. It's okay. I can see in his eyes that he's falling for you, too.” I smack my palms against my face and send wine sloshing onto the patio.

  “What happened to inviting him here to get rid of him? That was your idea.”

  “Actually, I was having you invite him because I knew you'd like having him here anyway, and it was a good way to test him and see if he was worthy. Anybody who can walk through the flames of your family unscathed is worth keeping. I know you didn't want a man right now, but you found one, so you might as well keep it. There's nothing wrong with that.”

  “I hate you so much right now.”

  “I love you, too, babe.” Maxi gives me an air kiss and spins away to mingle with the crowd.

  I stand there in silence for awhile, finishing my glass of wine before I brave the moms.

  “You brought Lex?” Carol asks, sweeping blonde bangs away from her forehead. I stare at her in her orange wrap dress and try to figure out how I should respond to that. “I think that's wonderful. This is the first time you've ever brought anyone to a family function, isn't it?”

  “No comment.” I set my wineglass down on the table and grab a label free beer. It tastes like crap, but I assume that it has alcohol in it and that it probably won't kill me, so it works.

  “What do you think of the crowd?” June asks, and I'm happy see that she, at least, looks as uncomfortable as I am. She leans in and whispers conspiratorially. “I'm not a big fan of any of Craig's lovers, to be honest with you.”

  I shrug.

  “Me neither, but what are you going to do? You raised him,” I say, raising an eyebrow at them. “Whose genes are to blame for this fiasco?” The moms exchange one of their famous silent looks and smile.

  “We're just happy to have a boring heterosexual couple in the family now.”

  “Wait, what?” I ask, touching two fingers to my temple. “Lex and I are not a couple. Why do you people keep saying that? Is there a conspiracy happening here or what?” The moms exchange another look, communicating telepathically as I down my beer and slam the glass down on the table. A second later, warm hands are gliding across my belly, and I have to bite my tongue hard to keep from groaning.

  “Good evening, June, Carol.” Lex lays his stupid act on thick for my parents, making my belly flip flop and sending my heart racing. With his firm, muscular form pressed up against me like that, it's hard to think straight. “Nice to see you again.”

  “Nice to see you, too, Alexander,” June says, putting a chip into her mouth with an inordinate amount of grace. Who eats chips gracefully? It's just not right. My moms are too perfect. How they ended up with Craig is another story altogether. “Olivia tells me you're off to the symphony next weekend? I'm excited to hear about it.”

  “I had no idea you were such a fan of the arts,” Lex says, and I roll my eyes, peeling his fingers off my belly and stepping away from the heat of his form. He gives me a look out of the corner of his eye and continues to smile like the fake little asshole he is. “Next time, I'll make sure to get you and your lovely wife tickets as well. We can go as a group.” June smiles back at him as I reach down and tangle my fingers through Lex's, dragging him away from the main group to the only private area of the garden, the section near the angry family members. They glare at us and continue to whisper and gossip, but I ignore them. I think one of them lifts a silver cross in my direction, but when I fail to burn, she gives up.

  “What the hell are you doing?” I ask, taking both of his hands in mine and hating how good that feels. Maybe everyone else's delusions are starting to get to me? I don't actually like Alexander Lyndon, do I? What the fuck? I stare into his gray eyes, noticing for the first time today that they're not steel and concrete right now, that they've melted into that pool of liquid silver. Crap. “Why do you keep touching me and acting so friendly to everyone? What's your deal, Lex?”

  “My deal, Olivia, is that I … ” He pauses, and I think he suddenly realizes that not even he knows the answer to that question. I drop my gaze to his shirt and try not to smirk at the writing on the front of it. I like him like this, casual, soft, messy. Not as sexy as when he had jizz in his hair, but close.

  “Do you know why I asked you to come here?” I tell him, hoping this will distract him from whatever strange motives he has. Whatever they are, they are not as pure as he's making them out to be. “Because I wanted to get rid of you. I though that if I surrounded you with all of this weirdness that you'd turn tail and run back to corporate headquarters. So why? Why aren't you running?”

  Lex stares down at me, and I can see he's having to physically hold himself back. From what, I'm not sure. Touching me? Kissing me? Punching me? Who the hell knows with this guy?

  “This,” Lex gestures at the crowd of people, “doesn't frighten me, Olivia. In fact, I find it fascinating. When I told you I wanted to let go, to feel that sense of responsibility slip away, you're right: it wasn't just about the sex. I don't mind the stuffy parties or the corporate functions, but getting a chance to experience a different world, that's monumental for me. I feel completely lost here, completely out of my element.” Lex leans forward and brushes a strand of red hair away from my face. “And I like it.”

  My pulse picks up as I lift my hand and cover Lex's fingers with my own, pressing his warm flesh against mine. I don't know why I do it, but I do. And it almost feels … good.

  “You're telling me you like these people?” I ask, nodding my chin towards the group milling around to our right. Lex stares into my face and I stare right back. We hold our eye contact for at least a full minute, right up until Maggie comes out and calls everyone in for dinner. The angry family members disperse and sidle around us, glaring and mumbling under their breath. Lex and I ignore them, while I wait for his answer.

  “Not these p
eople,” he tells me, and my inner oh-shit-ometer starts to go off. I sense an oddly romantic moment looming and find that my throat's suddenly gone dry. I don't do romantic. I don't even fucking like romantic. Fuck! But I find myself rooted to the spot, Lex's hand still pressed into the side of my face. “You,” he says, and I almost completely topple over. No. Oh no. No, no, no. Is Lex … is he falling for me? That's impossible though. He's an alpha male dickhead. Alpha male dickheads never fall for anybody ever. The contract he offered suddenly doesn't seem so bad when compared with this. Want me to beat your ass with a belt for a hundred million bucks? Fine. But don't say shit like that.

  Lex leans down towards me, and I don't move. By not moving, I make a conscious decision to accept that his lips will eventually touch mine. Close, closer, closest. Lex's mouth touches mine and a spark explodes in my belly, setting my body on fire. My hand releases his, letting it slide along my jaw and onto the back of my neck. I mimic the motion, tangling my fingers on the nape of his neck. Our lips brush and then our tongues, slowly sliding together as he drags me forward a few inches, raising me to the tips of my bare toes as he stands up straighter. Our front halves connect, and his erection stabs me in the belly.

  It's not our first kiss, but it feels like our first kiss.

  Shit.

  I pull away first, panting heavily, my skin fluttering, sensitive even to the touch of the wind as a slight breeze curls around us. I look at Lex and he stares right back at me. He looks just as shocked as I am by the moment.

  “Let's go eat. Don't fuck up this commitment celebration ceremony dinner for my brother,” I say, hoping to piss him off. It works, and Lex narrows his eyes on me. This, I can do. Anger, I can deal with. I will fight with Lex all day long, but I will never fall in love with him. It's just not in my personality. Love means giving up control, and while Lex might be desperate to do that, I'm not. I am in control, always in control.