by Lexy Timms
She didn’t know what to say or do. She knew she shouldn’t open the door. She shouldn’t even be standing to it as closely as she was, but she wanted so badly to throw open the door and kiss him. She wanted to drag him inside the room and look into his sapphire eyes and strip his clothes off. They wouldn’t even make it to the couch. But she didn’t want to be used or manipulated. She wasn’t in the business of being a rebound. She’d never used anyone after Michael. She also wouldn’t treat Conrad like a tool to get over her dead husband. She moved to the door and pressed her forehead against it.
“I didn’t even get a chance to make love to you,” Conrad said through the door, clearly plagued by the silence that he was being forced to endure. She didn’t even feel the slightest amount of sympathy for him. It was nothing short of what he deserved after what he’d made her feel. “I didn’t get a chance to laugh again with you or watch our movies. I wanted to do so many things with you on the island. I know it might sound like I’m moving too fast. Or maybe it sounds a little desperate or clichéd, but I really liked you a lot, Leslie. I think I was completely smitten by you. You know? Like in the old movies and stuff? I’ve never felt like this before. It’s awesome and terrifying at the same time.” His fist gently hit the door. “Leslie, I want a chance. I want you to show me all the scars you hide. I want to be the one to pick up all your broken pieces.” There was a long pause before he sighed. “I just needed to have the chance to tell you that I feel this way before you decided I wasn’t worth your time. I’m sorry to have bothered you.”
It was passing.
It was all beginning to fade. The hurt, losing Michael, the fear.
Once again, she was on the threshold of one of those moments in her life that was going change everything. A moment in her life where she was going to look back and see it as a point of regret or as a stepping stone.
It was a risk.
She didn’t know if opening the door would be the point of regret or the stepping stone. She was just going to have to make a decision and live with it.
It didn’t guarantee that it was going to be all flowers and rainbows and puppies if she opened the door. Maybe this was going to be the decision that was going to cost her so much hurt and pain that it would change her life and her perception of the world because of what she experienced.
What if that was what was waiting for her on the other side of the door?
Relationships don’t always end well and they don’t always end with happily ever after. Maybe by keeping the door closed, she was saving herself from ending up in the same position in a few months or years, but she was saving part of her innocence and her soul in the process.
Leslie stared at the doorknob.
How much was she willing to risk?
Should she open the door or not?
What’s it going to be? she trembled as she asked herself.
THE END
Unpublished coming June 2016
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The BOSS
Book 1 of Managing the Bosses
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The Boss
Book 1
Managing the Bosses Series
By
Lexy Timms
Copyright 2015 by Lexy Timms
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to an actual person, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
All rights reserved.
Copyright 2015 by Lexy Timms
Cover by BOOKCOVER BY DESIGN
Description:
From Best Selling Author, Lexy Timms, comes a billionaire romance that'll make you swoon and fall in love all over again.
Jamie Connors has given up on men. Despite being smart, pretty, and just slightly overweight, she's a magnet for the kind of guys that don't stay around.
Her sister's wedding is at the foreground of the family's attention. Jamie would be find with it if her sister wasn't pressuring her to lose weight so she'll fit in the maid of honor dress, her mother would get off her case and her ex-boyfriend wasn't about to become her brother-in-law.
Determined to step out on her own, she accepts a PA position from billionaire Alex Reid. The job includes an apartment on his property and gets her out of living in her parent's basement.
Jamie has to balance her life and somehow figure out how to manage her billionaire boss, without falling in love with him.
** The Boss is book 1 in the Managing the Bosses series. All your questions won't be answered in the first book. It may end on a cliff hanger.
For mature audiences only. There are adult situations, but this is a love story, NOT erotica.
Chapter 1
One more hour and then you can leave. Just one more stupid hour.
Jamie resisted the urge to look at her phone for the fifth time in twenty minutes. She didn’t know what she was expecting to see on it. It wasn’t like time would move any faster. She turned her attention back to her sister’s engagement party, which she supposedly should be enjoying – in theory. However, it felt next to impossible with her fucking ex sitting right across from her with his arm around her sister.
Stephen caught Jamie staring and flashed a fake grin at her. Jamie looked away, down at the ice water she had opted for instead of the beer she really wanted. She might as well try to make an effort to show the family she wanted to lose weight.
“Have you chosen the venue yet, Christine?” Jamie’s mother asked. Her bony elbow jabbed Jamie in the side as she reached for her water glass.
Jamie made an effort to straighten from her slouched position, only to slide her shoulders forward a moment later.
“Not yet.” Christine smiled at her fiancé. “We were thinking about that cute little church a few blocks away from Stephen’s apartment.”
My apartment! At least it had been until Stephen refused to move out. With her savings dwindling, it had just ended up being easier letting him have it and tell the landlord to start charging him rent instead of her. She had not argued when the landlord also insisted Jamie keep her name on the lease when he added Stephen’s. She kept quiet even when it meant she had to move into her parent’s basement. Temporarily at least… I hope.
“Oh, that church’s so cute! You should definitely check it out. It is Methodist, right?” Her mother’s tone grated Jamie’s nerves. She knew her mother didn’t mean anything about the cuteness of the church, she only wanted confirmation of her question. That was exactly how her mother always worked.
“Of course,” Stephen said. “We wouldn’t consider any church that wasn’t Methodist.”
Her father grunted and checked his watch. He was the only one in the family who seemed to remember the fact that Stephen hadn’t bothered oozing charm when he had met them as Jamie’s boyfriend. Or, more likely, he simply didn’t think anyone was worthy of his precious little angel, Christine. Jamie couldn’t tell. She was never able to get her father’s attention long enough to ask him.
Just then their food arrived and Jamie’s mouth watered from the smell. She couldn’t take her eyes off the oversized burgers and chicken tenders with French fries served at the pub. The waiter balanced huge plates of delicious junk food on the tray. He smiled at everyone as he set the burger and fried chicken down in front of Christine and Stephen, the chicken alfredo and crab cakes in front of
her parents and then flashed her an almost sympathetic smile before putting a small, bland looking salad in front of Jamie, who vaguely realized it was only a side portion size.
“I took the liberty of ordering for you since you were late in coming,” Christine said over her heaping plate of fried food. “I know how much you want to lose weight, Jamie. After all, the maid of honor dress is very form fitting.” She glanced over at Stephen. “There’s no way I’m going to even make a dent into this pile.”
Jamie bit back her anger and forced a small smile at her little sister. “Thank you. It’s perfect.” For a rabbit. She reached for the croutons as Christine nodded and took a bite out of a large fry.
“Darling, are you sure you want the croutons?” Her mother reached over and slid them out of her grasp. “Your sister went to the trouble of ordering a very healthy meal for you and you’re about to undo all the benefits.”
“I don’t think croutons will keep me at a size twelve.” Jamie tried to keep her face unreadable. The Chinese food I’m ordering when I’m out of here might, though. She poured the entire packet of croutons onto the salad, ignoring the glance Stephen and Christine exchanged. That’s right. Plan your backup maid of honor all you want. I’m eating the fucking croutons! She wasn’t large, she knew it, but her family made her feel like she was massive compared to her size two sister. Her dear sister had probably said no dressing or hardly any. She took a bite and really wished the salad came automatically with dressing on the side. And maybe garlic bread. Cheesy garlic bread.
“What about your honeymoon?” her mother asked Christine. “Have you picked a location?”
“Not yet.” Christine beamed as she turned to gaze at the man beside her. “Stephen said he wanted to surprise me. All I ask is that it’s somewhere warm.” She dabbed a tiny ketchup spot from his lip. “Jamie said she would come with me bathing suit shopping, didn’t you, Jamie?”
Jamie nodded, unable to respond while chewing the near tasteless iceberg lettuce.
“I do wish you took smaller bites.” Her mother shook her head. “You’ll feel full a lot faster if you do. Maybe then you wouldn’t need all those croutons you used.”
Get off my bloody case, Ma! I’m not sixteen years old anymore. “Of course, Mom.” Jamie smiled and took a sip of water. Damn, why didn’t I order a beer? Or a six-pack?
“Anyway, I was hoping for somewhere in the Mediterranean or the Caribbean.” Christine sighed dramatically. “Just a quiet, intimate little resort in paradise.” She turned to Stephen and kissed him on the cheek. “Won’t that be fun, honey?”
“It’d be heaven.” He rubbed his nose against hers.
Jamie felt like throwing up the lousy salad in her stomach. She stood. “Excuse me, I’ll be right back.” She didn’t wait for her mother’s disapproving glance or some off-the-wall comment from one of them. She turned and walked toward the bathroom, her eyes cast on the floor just in front of her. She glanced up to make sure she went into the correct gendered washroom. As soon as she shut the stall door, she sighed. “Forty-five minutes, girl,” she muttered. “Then you can leave.” But the entrance is so close! All she had to do was slip out and never see any of them ever again… until after the damn wedding.
If only she didn’t live in her parents’ basement. If only she had enough saved up to skip town. If only… Then she truly could disappear.
She forced herself to calm down, knowing she wouldn’t go anywhere. She had the smarts, the common sense, the hard work ethic and even a friendly demeanor when her family wasn’t around. She just lacked the belief she could do it.
Enough! She went to the bathroom mirror to touch up her makeup. It was bad enough Stephen had left her for her younger, hotter sister, she didn’t need to look like the rejected one. It hadn’t been meant to be. She and Stephen would never have lasted. She knew that, but it didn’t lessen the hurt and humiliation.
To procrastinate more, she practiced her smile in the mirror, trying to make it look more sincere and confident. “That’s right, Stephen, son of Ass Hole,” she told her reflection and giggled. “I don’t need you. You can just kiss my derriere, you shallow son of a bitch.”
She froze when she heard Stephen’s voice clearly through the door. The bathroom wasn’t even close to being soundproof.
“Alex! How the hell are you doing?”
Oh, shit!
“It’s good to see you, Stephen.” There was the slapping sound that always followed when guys hugged. “How’s the life of the newly engaged?”
“Nearly fantastic! How’s the life of the eternal bachelor?”
“Even better.”
“I’m sure it is.” Stephen laughed, which only caused Jamie to roll her eyes inside the bathroom. “You’re looking a little gray around the edges. Has work gotten to you yet?”
There was a sigh and Jamie imagined a tall, dark and handsome dude running his fingers through his hair. The stranger would be gorgeous, of course. Stephen only hung out with insanely, beautiful people. Obviously a workaholic. Probably early thirties.
“I keep telling you to hire a personal assistant,” Stephen said. “One of these days you’re going to find yourself swimming way above your head in shark-infested waters.”
“I know.” Alex sighed again. “Actually, I’m looking for one. Do you know any?” He chuckled.
“Really?” Stephen laughed. “Actually, I know the perfect girl for you. She’s got secretary experience.” His laugh turned into a snicker. “And she’s looking for a job.”
Jamie rolled her eyes. She could just imagine the kind of secretary Stephen wanted to suggest. Barbie. Or some perfect ten, size-four model.
“Hold on, Stephen.” Alex chuckled, a delicious sound escaping his lips, which left Jamie dying to know what he actually looked like. “I’m sure you have the best intentions, but I don’t need distractions in the workplace. You might be all right with that, but I’ve got a lot more riding on my company.” Alex must have given Stephen a playful punch to the shoulder or something.
“You’ll like this one,” Stephen persisted.
“If she’s as pretty as your fiancé, then it would never work. I need someone efficient that can get the job done. Not a beautiful distraction.”
Stephen hooted. “As beautiful as Christine? That’s funny. No, she’s hardly attractive. Actually, she’s Christine’s slightly older sister, Jamie.”
Jamie flushed. Stephen wasn’t saying she was ‘hardly beautiful’ when he was begging her to have sex with him.
“I bet she’s gorgeous.” Alex paused, probably shaking his head or arching his neck to see where Christine was sitting in an attempt to get a glimpse of the ‘older sister’. “Is she here with you guys?”
“Yeah,” Stephen said. “But she’s in the bathroom right now. Are you serious about not wanting someone hot?” He clapped his hands and rubbed them together. Jamie imagined he shrugged when Alex nodded. “Hey! Why don’t you join us for dinner? When she comes out, I’ll introduce you.”
Jamie’s mouth went instantly dry. The last thing Jamie needed was Stephen’s gorgeous friend looking at her all through dinner to judge if she was ugly enough not to be a distraction for him. She glared at herself in the mirror before smoothing her clothes. Taking a deep breath, she sucked in her belly and tried to appear calm as she opened the door from the bathroom, surprising both Stephen and Alex.
She smiled coolly at her ex. “S-Stephen!” She nearly stuttered when she noticed the man beside her soon-to-be brother-in-law. She wouldn’t have been surprised if there had been a loud stomping sound from her jaw hitting the floor. The most gorgeous man she had ever laid eyes on stood in front of her. His eyes were a smoky blue that made her feel hot all over. They seemed to glow against his tan, which looked too good to be fake. Despite Stephen’s comment about him getting gray around the edges, there wasn’t a hint of it in his dark brown hair or goatee. And he’s judging other people about being distractions in the workplace?
“Jamie, w
e were just talking about you.” Stephen hesitated.
“I know,” Jamie said, cutting him off. “The bathroom walls here are lousy. I could hear everything.”
Stephen had the decency to look embarrassed before quickly recovering and making his face unreadable. “Good! Then you know what Alex is looking for.” He gestured to mister tall, dark and handsome. “This is a friend of mine, Alex Reid. Alex, this is Jamie, Christine’s sister. Alex is looking for a personal assistant. I was just telling him how perfect you are because of your secretary experience.”
“Among other things.” Jamie wished she could call him out on what he’d said. Except she needed this job. It meant she could move out in a month or two. She turned to Alex and smiled at him, sticking her hand out for him to shake. “Nice to meet you.” She hoped her hand wasn’t sweaty. “I’d be happy to submit my resume. I’m sure Stephen can give me your contact information.” His hand pressed against hers, sending a jolt of something new running through her veins. Probably the taste of freedom. “If you’ll excuse me, I should get back to my sister’s engagement party.” Before Alex could even say a word, Jamie spun on her heel and headed to their table, blinking back tears, and feeling this had to be the top on her list of most humiliating nights of her life – ever.
Chapter 2
“I can’t believe you just did that,” Alex hissed.
Jamie could still hear him as she walked away.
“I’m not sure who’s more embarrassed; me, or the girl.”
“How was I supposed to know she could hear me?” Stephen cleared his throat. “Besides, it shouldn’t come as any surprise to her. She already knows she needs to lose weight.”
