“Last I checked, I was thirty-four years old and the CEO of this company. I will be the one to make the decisions in my own life. I appreciate your input, Allan, but your advice isn't required nor is it wanted. As long as you're making a healthy return on your investments, nothing else matters, right?” Lex puts on one of his dangerous shark grins. “After all, that's what you taught me in life.” He glances over at me for a split second, trying to take in my reaction to the situation. I give him a look back that says it's all cool, bro. Well, that's what Craig would say anyway.
“Lara Caliper could ruin us if she decided to spread your secret,” Allan growls out, getting close enough to his son that their height difference becomes immediately obvious. Lex is a good five inches taller than his father. “All she's asking for is an engagement, son, not your soul.”
“Well I've already pledged both to somebody else,” Lex snaps back at him.
My face pales as all three men turn to look at me.
No.
“No,” I say aloud, but Allan is already reacting to the implied statement in his son's words.
“You offer the girl an exorbitant amount of money to satisfy your perverted desires and now you're marrying her?”
I lift up my hands and try to interrupt.
“No, I'm sorry. There's been a miscommunication here.” I give Lex a look that could kill, but he returns it with a sultry stare that wets the panties and makes it hard to hate him as much as I'd like to. Four days ago, we admit that we're dating. The next morning, he practically confesses his love for me. Two days after that and we're suddenly engaged? I don't fucking think so.
“Welcome to the Lyndon family,” Art says cheerfully, and I groan. “Olivia Lyndon. It has a powerful ring to it, don't you think?”
“Actually, if I were getting married – which I'm not – I'd keep my last name. I don't believe in branding women as their husband's property.” Art reaches out and takes my hand, pulling me around the edge of the desk and enveloping me in a hug.
“You should be pleased, Allan,” Lex snarls out, and I hate that I'm getting used as a pawn in his and his father's game. “You said Olivia had the magic touch, that you'd never lost a cent on any of her properties.”
“She's a valuable employee, Lex, but hardly a suitable wife. You'll be the first idiot in this family to ever make that mistake, and believe me, if you do, you can kiss your money good bye.” Allan points a finger at me. “She's playing you for a fool, Lex.”
“Excuse me,” I interject as Allan and his son take their alpha male pissing match to a whole new level, “but this is a massive misunderstanding. Lex and I are dating. As in going on outings together and getting to know each other. I never said yes to marriage.”
“Trust me, son, I've had my fair share of attractive employees in the past, but you need to know where to draw the line. These women will take you for every penny you've got.”
“Then so be it. I'm willing to take the risk,” Lex snaps back, running his hands through his chocolate hair. I move up next to him and cross my arms over my chest, trying to get his attention. “Besides, Olivia's the only woman I've ever met that doesn't care about the money. In fact, I'd go so far as to say she despises it.” He's half-right on that one. While I wouldn't say not to an easier life, it's not something I feel is necessary or that I'm entitled to. To be honest, I think my life's fairly easy as it is. There are a hell of a lot of people that are worse off.
“You go ahead and play into her hand, Alexander, but you can kiss your job as CEO good bye. Expect a vote of no confidence today at the board meeting. I'm warning you.”
“So be it.” Lex lets his eyes flicker my way for a brief moment before turning back to his father. Art, meanwhile, watches all the drama from the background, a slight smile teasing his lips. I guess at this point in his life, he's dealt with enough of his son's and grandson's crap that he no longer has the same visceral reaction to it that I do. “I still own company shares, still have plenty of assets to live comfortably on for the rest of my life.”
“You'll give up the position you've groomed your entire life to become for this whore?”
Okay. That's it. Seriously not cool.
“Hey,” I snap, finally grabbing Allan's attention. “Do you have any idea what kind of lawsuit I could level on you for saying that? Keep your sexist comments to yourself, buddy.” Allan stares at me like I'm not even a person, like I'm even less than Claudia, the secretary/spy he just threw away like a piece of trash. He looks down his nose at me, clearly enraged.
“As soon as this story leaks out alongside word of your engagement to Alexander, I won't be the only one calling you a whore.” It takes everything the moms have taught me to keep myself from lunging at the man, from punching him right in the solar plexus and watching with glee as he doubles over in pain. I straighten out my suit jacket and look him right in the eye, refusing to break eye contact. This is nothing at all like the silent looks that Lex and I share. This is war.
“If your son wants to marry me, then that's his business. It's definitely not any of yours.” I feel Lex swell with pride beside me, and I hate that I'm going to have to burst his little bubble as soon as his family leaves. We are not getting married. One, I hardly believe in the institution of marriage let alone the act. A white dress? A crowd of people I barely know? Ech. I'd rather go fly-fishing. “And whore is a derogatory team with virtually no meaning. How many people a woman has slept with or how frequently is hardly a complete indication of her character. Select a better insult, you pompous asshole.”
“I see,” Allan says with a bitter laugh. “You've found yourself a left wing nut job, is that it, Lex? A little rebellion before you hit forty?”
“No,” Lex says, his voice dark and strangely calm. On the one hand, I want to wring his neck for drawing me into this shit, for getting me mixed up in his family drama and a power struggle that's probably been raging since Lex was a teenager. On the other, seeing him stand up for himself, committing to me against all the odds, kind of makes me want to kiss him. But just a little kiss. Like, on the cheek or something. God. Hearing Lex would give up his position in the company for me is … weird. We're what? Officially two and a half weeks past that fateful Friday in the lunch room? Not enough time to fall in love, definitely, but I can at least respect Lex's conviction. My mouth twitches as the words real estate development flicker through my brain. “I found myself a woman with character and backbone.”
A little thrill travels through me at the compliment.
That smell sense of joy fades pretty quickly though – right about the time Lara Caliper opens the door to my office and lets herself in. Her nostrils flare as she takes in the situation and our eyes meet from across the room. I get a really stupid urge to grab Lex and growl at her, like an animal. One alpha female to another, back the fuck off. I close my eyes and try to take a deep breath. This is stupid, just fucking stupid. I don't fight with other women about men. It's too misogynistic for my taste. I let Lex make his own decision and cross my arms over my chest.
“Mr. Lyndon,” Lara inclines her head to Allan. “Art.” She smiles at Lex's grandfather, further confirming Maxi's story that the Lyndons and the Calipers are pretty friendly with one another. Only, nobody from either side was willing to enter into a sham marriage until Lex came along. Apparently it's okay to throw him and Lara under the bus together. She doesn't seem to mind so much though. “Lex.”
Lex looks at her and shakes his head like he's disappointed, but her gaze doesn't stay on him for long, switching right back over to me. Her brown eyes are sparkling with strength, and her posture tells me she doesn't take shit from anyone. This is one scary lady. But I'm not intimidated. I examine her brown hair, coiffed at the back of her head in a fancy chignon, and her bright pink skirt suit, complete with five inch heels in black. The entire outfit is loud and confrontational, like a brightly colored frog warning of poison.
“Have I missed something?”
Lex digs arou
nd in his pocket, and I feel another oh shit! moment fast approaching. Please don't let it be a ring. Please, please, please.
It's a fucking ring.
“I was just announcing to my family that Olivia and I are engaged.” Lex pops the box opens and flashes a ring quite unlike what I was suspecting. If I'd been forced to guess, I would've said Lex would go with a flashy ridiculously expensive diamond something or other. What's sitting in that box definitely has diamonds on it but the center piece is a gorgeous, red ruby. I don't know dick about jewelry, but the gesture actually makes my heart … I don't … flutter? My throat gets dry and I can't help but compare the ruby to Lex's ties – a bright splotch of color against the plain perfection of his suit and white button-down. That's what the ruby is in reference to the diamonds. Goddamn it. I had a strange urge to stop by his place on Sunday, but I decided against, trying to take things nice and slow. Apparently Lex took that alone time to make some pretty big decisions.
“Engaged?” Lara asks, her mouth parted in an expression of disbelief. Her dark red lipstick enhances the slight curl of her lips as she looks between Lex and me, like it's a virtual impossibility that he'd ever be interested in someone like me. “Is this a joke?” I feel my lips tugging down into a frown. Lex looks over at me, almost apologetic in his expression.
“A joke?” I echo as Allan shakes his head and puts his hands on his hips. “Why? Is there something funny about that?”
“Do you two even know each other? I was told you just met. How is this even happening?” Lara stares right at me, like she's trying to dig her claws into my soul. I stare right back. “And if you're engaged, why isn't she wearing the ring? Has she even said yes yet?”
At least Lex has the good grace to look chagrined.
“I was going to ask her after our visit to the San Francisco Symphony for the corporate event on Friday. Unfortunately, between your and my father's scheming, I was forced to push up the question.” Lex turns to me and holds out the box. If I'm not mistaken, I think his hands might be trembling. I stare down at the ring and let my logical mind goes nut, laying out all the reasons that my answer should be hell no, no, no fucking way. But then I look up at Lex who, for once in his life, actually looks incredibly genuine and then over at his sneering father and Lara's skeptical expression and raised eyebrow.
I'm so going to regret this later.
“Of course,” I grind out, holding out my hand to Lex. He stands there for several seconds, completely frozen. It's not the answer either of us was expecting. The moms and Maxi are going to freak out. Oh well. Just because I'm going to be wearing this ring and doing Lex a favor by saving face in front of these assholes doesn't mean I have to actually marry him. I mean, even if we do keep dating, we could just stay 'engaged' for like five years.
Lex takes the ring from the box and slips it onto my left hand. We make eye contact and a thrill whispers through my body. Not at the engagement ring or a wedding or any of that – I don't really care about it to be honest with you – but at the look in Lex's eyes. He's … gorgeous, yes, but he's also … interested in me. Interested in getting to know me. I can see that burning there behind his steel gaze.
“This is just ridiculous,” Lara snorts, shaking her head and touching her fingers to her perfect hair. “I came all the way over here to be insulted.”
“The only person here who should be insulted is Lex,” I say, withdrawing my hand and crossing my arms over my chest again. The ring feels like it weights a million pounds, but I choose not to look down at it, keeping my attention on the crowd in front of me. At least Grandpa Art looks happy about the situation. “And maybe me considering the insults and the disdain that's being thrown my way.” I pause. “Okay, and also probably Claudia since you used her to get information. I think that about covers the range of insults being thrown here. You really weren't one of them.”
Lara looks at me like I'm scum, but I don't care. Her opinion really doesn't mean anything to me. She digs around in her purse and withdraws a pair of sunglasses that probably cost more than my car.
“Congratulations, Lex. I hope you realize the mistake you just made.” Lara spins on her heel and exits my office with a flourish, pink suit flashing as she storms away and heads directly for the elevators. Once again, I catch sight of Maxi mouthing something like is that an effing ring as her eyes bulge out of her head. The door swings shut, leaving me with the Lyndons. Right now, though, there's only one Lyndon I really want to talk to.
“Congratulations, Alexander,” his grandfather says, apparently satisfied that our pending nuptial solves the current problem just as well as a payoff. He gives me another hug which I return, trying my best to remain genuine when I feel like this whole thing's kind of a sham. The marriage part maybe, but not the way Lex looked at you. Art gives his grandson a hug which Lex awkwardly returns before leaving the room. I refuse to look at Maxi again.
Allan stares Lex down for an entire minute before shaking his head and leaving without another word.
Silence descends as I look up at Lex, my heart pounding in the awkward quiet.
“Lex, we need to talk.”
I feel nauseous, standing there in the suddenly silent office with Olivia's green eyes boring into my skull. My mouth is dry and my fingers won't stop twitching. Yes, I spent all of Sunday getting her dress for the symphony prepared, the shoes, my matching tie. But then I saw that ring. The richness of the ruby complimented the red soles of the Louboutin heels I picked out, the ones I'm absolutely desperate to feel against my skin while we're fucking. It matched the silk of the ties I had made, that even now are sitting in the trunk of my car.
I grind my teeth together and let my eyes shift to the side, giving up control of the situation to Olivia.
“Lex.” I stare at a photograph of her mothers that hangs in a gold frame next to her bookshelf. Olivia's office says everything about her while mine, mine says nothing at all about me. It still has my father's stamp on it. Something that I intend to change if I survive today's board meeting. “Lex.”
I take a deep breath and look back at Olivia. Since I stopped looking at her, she's changed her gaze to the ring, staring at it like it's a foreign object, something she's never seen before. She looks mildly uncomfortable, not at all as I'd intended. My initial plan had been to wait for Friday, present her with the dress and the shoes, the private box with the best view. Not that I expected any of these things to impress Olivia, but I thought they would at least add a sense of whimsy to the occasion. I was going to wait until after the music had started, but just barely, when the three French horns began to play the wolf's part in Peter's story. My fingers would curl around hers and hopefully she'd return the gesture. I'd pull away slowly and slide my hand up her thigh, using the slit in the dress to find her heat. In my mind's eye, she'd be hot and bothered. I'd touch her wet heat and maybe she'd return the favor, we'd fuck, and then I'd sweep her away and out the doors, before the mingling and the backstabbing and the business talk began.
I'd take her back to my place and we'd visit the rooftop garden again. I'd try my best to explain myself without comparing her to an investment property and maybe – just maybe – she'd accept the ring from me. That was the plan. I had a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon waiting, along with another princess cake. A little cheesy, much clichéd, hopelessly romantic. It's the best that I know how to do, given the circumstances. A little rushed, some might say, but I was serious when I told her that when I've spotted something I want, I go for it. Granted, Olivia isn't the type of woman to be bought with diamonds and romantic gestures, but I was hoping at the very least that she'd feel the honesty in my intentions.
My family has derailed everything.
Now my gesture really feels rushed, broken out of me in anger instead of … I think hard about the word I'm looking for. Love? Is that what this is?
“Lex.”
Olivia's staring at me again.
I swallow three times before my throat's moist enough that I can actually
speak.
“I apologize. This wasn't how I intended to ask.”
“But you did,” Olivia says, dropping her hands by her sides, “intend to ask, I mean. On Friday. Friday, Lex? Three weeks after meeting me?”
“Three weeks after discovering you.” I rephrase the statement and try to figure out how to best explain myself. “I'm thirty-four years old, Olivia. I know what I want.” She purses her lips at me and I almost smile.
“I'm not a prize, Lex, or a property that's up for sale. I'm a person. You can't just decide you want me and then bam, change your mind later. That's the point of dating. You get to know someone and you spend time with them and you decide if you want to create a partnership to tackle life with. The dating process occurs so that – hopefully – you figure out compatibility issues sooner rather than later.”
“I thought dating was about love,” I blurt and then have to pause and straighten my tie. The purple silk in my fingers makes me think of the black dress I had made custom, on a rush order of course, for Olivia. It's black silk, form fitting, with a plunging neckline that I intended to brighten up with the addition of a red tie – the same kind she tied around my face and slipped between my lips. I was going to wear the same one. We'd have been a matching pair of black and red. I suppose we still will, even if I get dethroned at the board meeting. I can still take Olivia to the symphony, provided she doesn't throw the ring back at me and disappear from this office forever. It sounds like something she might actually do.
Her face blanches and a moment later, the door opens and her blonde friend Maxi is standing there, mouth agape and pale green eyes twinkling.
“Ring. Lex. What the hell?” she asks, looking between the two of us. “I called the moms to ask if they knew anything about this, but they said they didn't, so I'm assuming this is kind of a spur of the moment thing?”
Taming Her Boss Page 27
