Chapter 5: My Hot Boss

Leslie's P.O.V.

So my morning had not started precisely how I'd thought it would. Apparently, when I'd set my new alarm for my new routine , I'd forgotten to set it for every day.

Yep

Typical Leslie. I'm so bad at adulting myself but actually the best at being the older person for my parents imagine I couldn't even set the alarm correctly.

Anyway. I'd woken up forty minutes late, meaning my hair that needed a wash was now pulled back into a sleek ponytail, and I'd dry shampooed the shit out of the pony in the hopes nobody would notice it .

Can't afford to be late on my second day, oops am already late.

All right, so it wasn't that dirty, but it probably wasn't that far off, either.

If it couldn't get any worse, there was no coffee thanks to my mom's horrific hangover I told her not too drink too much but she won't listen and on the way to work, I'd stopped off at my usual coffee shop, I need caffeine in my system to get through my day.

Completely forgetting that Mr Damien had asked me to grab his breakfast on my way in. Of course, that was something I just had to forget until I was already in the office and behind my desk, so I'd had to run back out again.

Sometimes I wonder if the universe hates me.

He was, just now, walking through the door, and I'd just got back from grabbing his breakfast five minutes ago

At least I'd been able to grab another coffee when I'd picked up his food."i sure as hell need it, call me addicted but who cares.

Silver linings and all that.

"Morning."

I smiled up at my new boss. He was wearing the same, hot as hell face with a dark-gray suit". "Good morning, Mr. Boyce... I mean Mr. Romano ."

He quirked a brow, his lips tugging to one side. "You can call me by my name Damien, Leslie. I'm not my father."He says with his lips moving in a sweet way, hell how I could kill just to have a tiny taste.

I blushed. "Okay."

"I have to make a quick phone call. Would you mind making me a coffee and bringing it in with my breakfast, please?"He says

"Not a problem." I got up, almost knocking the keyboard off the desk. I slid it back, not willing to make eye contact with him."Typical me , am such a kluzt.

It was too soon for him to know he'd hired a total klutz like me.

"Thank you," he said, amusement tingeing his tone. "I'll leave the door open for you."

I nodded, not looking up until I knew he'd disappeared. My cheeks were burning out of embarrassment-over a goddamn keyboard.

This wasn't going to end well, was it?

Making sure not to touch anything else, I edged my way into the kitchen and shut the door behind me. As the coffee machine whirred to life, I removed his bagel from the fridge and stared at it.

He'd need a plate right?

was I supposed to take it out of the paper bag?

Oh, crap. This was a nightmare.

Am overthinking everything and now am so damn confused!

I seriously can't afford to screw things up.

I stared at the bagel. Surely he didn't want me touching his food"its totally unhygienic.

I didn't want to touch his food.

Wait-why was this an issue, am making delivering a simple breakfast a big deal. It's a damn bagel, not his penis.

"Oh shit!

I just said penis didn't I?

I put the bag on a plate, shaking my head, and fixed his coffee. Why the hell was I so nervous? It was coffee and a bagel. Was it because of the whole almost running me over thing?

He was kind enough, from the few words we'd exchanged. With any luck, there would only be a few words right now, and those would be, "Hi, thank you."

I was never that lucky. My name literally meant 'unfortunate.'

Like a hurricane!

Like I said am a walking disaster"

I stirred the sweetener into his coffee and grabbed both the mug and the plate. Somehow, I managed to make it through the door and across the office hall to his open door without tripping over my own feet. God only knew my stomach was flipping uncomfortably with nerves, so that made it an even greater feat.

When I was in high school , I was on a date with one of the cutest guy in class, I'd been so nervous I'd tripped over nothing. Literally nothing.

Then,Boom!

I ruined the whole date!

The other time I tried to have my first kiss, the guy freaking sneezed on my face.

Unfortunate I tell ya!

Peeking around the door, I saw that my boss was no longer on the phone. "Knock knock."

He looked up, eyes brightening when he saw me. "Come in. Thank you. I'm starving." He moved a folder on his desk for me to put his things down. "Oh, good. You left the bagel in the bag."Just the way I want it.

I shuddered, taking a step back. "Phew!, Good"I say, mission accomplished.

He laughed, sipping his coffee. "How's the morning been?"

"rough," I replied, clasping my hands in front of me. "Five phone calls from Mr Stanis, One from a Mrs Winston also Mr. Shin Min young secretary called you, he called to ask when the Shanghai project will begin."

"Ok"He says .

He already faxed the proposal to you"I say , smiling a bit when I remember how the Chinese secretary sounded when speaking English.

"Yesterday." He paused. "Sage said you'd had a call from Katerina Charlton and you had managed to convince her to call today. She said you either had a toddler or demanding relatives. Something like that."

"Oh." Now, it was my turn to pause. "Katerina Charlton Shouts a lot, right? Lost the ability to use the word please after the first sentence?"

He winked at me. "That's the one."

It's seems Damien tries to avoid her but she's real insistent.

"Well, I can't wait for her to call back." I tried my best to keep the sarcasm out of my tone, but I didn't do a very good job if Damien's low chuckle was anything to go by.

As if on cue, the phone rang, and his chuckle became an all-out belly laugh. "Looks like you've tempted fate."

I pursed my lips, giving his handsome face my best unimpressed look, and went back to my desk to answer the phone. "Good morning, you've reached Mr Damien's office Leslie speaking, how can I help you?"

"Good morning, darling! This is Katerina Charlton. We spoke yesterday." Her nasally tone was utterly grating, and I had the urge to offer her a tissue to blow her damn nose.

"Oh, good morning, Mrs. Charlton!" Despite the fact I hadn't wanted to speak to her, Damien had forgotten one small point when he'd laughed when the phone had rung: she wasn't calling to speak to me.

"Wonderful!"

I won't lie that I don't have the hots for me Boss , cause hell yeah I do and talking to Katerina just seem to remind me that he's not mine , at least not yet.

I guess?

For now!

"Is darling Damien available? I'd love to discuss a viewing."Stalker much.

I bit my lip. "I can arrange that for you, Mrs. Charlton."

"Oh no, darling. He handles me personally."

Thank Heavens for small mercies , I sure as hell don't like you too"I sneered , at the back of my mind.

"Let me put you on hold for a moment, and I'll see if he's free." I pressed the button and put down the phone before she could say anything else.

Getting up, I made my way to Damien's office just in time to see him pick up his cell and put it to his ear, feigning a call.

I folded my arms over my chest, smirking. "I just saw you pick that up. I know you're not talking to anyone."

He groaned, putting it down. "It's her again, isn't it?"

I nodded. "Seems it's you she wants, but apparently, you deal with her 'personally.'" Besides she's single rich georgous and a perfect match. Have seen Katerina Charlton once and I just know she has the Hots for Damien.

Sighing, Damien meets my eyes. "send her through."

I grinned , seems I don't have to talk with that she-devil, turning around with a bounce in my step as I went back to my desk and picked up the phone, hitting the hold button again. "Mrs. Charlton? Mr. Boyce is available. I'm putting you through now."

I tapped the button to redirect her call to his line before I had to listen to her nasal tone again. There was only so many times you could hear a sound that felt like nails down a chalkboard before you wanted to rip out your own eyes, no?

*********

_______________*****__________________

Day Two:

Day two on the job, and I'm starting to wonder if I was cut out for this kinda job.

I wasn't exactly a people person, and u don't know how to interact with people . Am clumsy and most of the times slow.

I digress.

I put the phone down and sat back at my desk ,as I checked the email account. There were a few unread ones, so I worked my way through those, then moved to familiarize myself further with the properties on the books.

I worked quietly for an hour, answering the phone whenever it rang. It wasn't until the sensation of being watched crawled over my skin that I finally stopped and looked up.

Into the same perfect blue eyes of my boss.

Damn!

And he was grinning. A big, bright grin that made him ten times more handsome.

That sound? It's my ovaries shouting hallelujah.

"Sorry. I didn't want to interrupt you," he said in a low voice.

"Oh, um. It's okay." My traitorous cheeks flushed lightly. "I was just-" I paused to wave the documents I was reading "Catching up on some information."i say.

Damien walked over and took the paper from me, leaning on my desk.

"Yeah," I replied slowly. "I'm a little torn between imagining myself winning the lottery and buying this house or hating the people who can." I tilted my head to the side. "I'm in a relatively good mood right now, so I think I'm on the lottery side right now."

He laughed.

So you want to buy a house?"He asked with his lips pulled up.

Not really , just checking out some places , besides I will need to move out from my parents place very soon.

"Do you need anything?"i asked

He smiled at me. "Yes-I have a phone call in around ten minutes. Could you order lunch from this deli?" He handed me a small note I hadn't realized he was holding. "They do the best sandwiches, and they'll deliver them."

"Sure." I looked down at the flyer. "How do I pay them?"

"Tell them you're calling from my office and they'll add it to the tab. Ask them for my usual, and they'll sort it out and deliver it." Damien stood, then stopped, looking back over his shoulder.

"Hey, Leslie?"He called back

I held the phone in front of me. "Yes?"

"Do you have plans for lunch?"He asked , I couldn't help but stare in those dreamy eyes.

"yes" I replied. "Why?"

"Why don't you order yourself something and we'll eat lunch together?"

"You want to eat lunch with me?" I blinked at him.

"You seem to have the hang of this job," he said with a shrug. "And, hell-you've already lasted longer than the rest"

"It's my second day."

"Exactly." His lips twitched to one side. "Order yourself something, and when I'm done with my call, we'll take lunch."

He disappeared into his office and shut the door before I could argue with him.

Great.

Lunch with my boss.

My boss who was hotter than hell and had almost run me over less than a week ago.

I glanced at the listing for the multi-million-dollar house and snorted as I pushed it away.

I was definitely broaching on hating the people who lived there now.

Few minutes later...

Is it just me or isn't it a bit weird about having lunch with your boss, someone you've not really known more than two days especially with a boss as hot as hell like Mr. Damien Boyce.

Now look Don't judge me , I know that eyeing up my boss is quite frankly an obviously stupid idea, I mean there's even a damn clause in the contract I signed for this job that states no Dating between work colleagues.

The fucking problem now is am a woman and I've got this little thing called hormones!

Now , do you know the problem with this hormones?

They've got a mind of their own.

So today my hormones don't care that the walking talking hunk of hotness and the sex on a stick opposite me is my boss.

Nah!

It doesn't give a damn!

They just want me to crawl across the table and climb him riding him.

Devouring him bit by bit , Nom nom nom. Right up his abs that I imagined.

Climbing him like a ladder. Abs by ab.

Holy Moly!

I seriously need to get laid!

I really need to stop daydreaming about my boss.

"So, what happened with your last job?" Damien asked, wiping the corner of his mouth with a napkin. Those bright blue eyes focused wholly on me. "Sage called for a reference, and your boss was more than willing to give you one."

I sighed and sipped my water. "it went bankrupt although we all expected it and he gave us a lot of time to get new jobs, but I just wasn't lucky."

"How about your colleagues?"

Shit. Focus!

I need to eat this sandwich before my hormones took control of my brain. It was bad enough that my brain was in control of my brain.

I smiled behind my hand. "Well, not everyone likes me , especially at my former workplace.

I guess not everybody likes my breath of fresh air"I say.

"Fresh air is overrated." He smirked. "Tell me about your parents?"

"That's a rabbit hole you do not want to go down," I warned him. "Do you always talk this personally with your assistants?"

"No. But considering that I grew up with my only long-term assistant, I'm more than familiar with her weird family." He grinned.

"You make it sound like you're horribly picky with your assistants."

You won't believe how worse it can get.

I raised an eyebrow.

I wished celebrity gossip was all I was subjected to at my parents house like every other normal responsible parents. It was far preferable to knowing-and witnessing-the fact that your parents had a more active sex life than you'd ever have.

Not to mention how adventurous they can get.

I still wasn't over seeing them doggy-style it on the staircase the day I moved back in.

"I admit," Damien said, picking up his mug of coffee. "I am picky, but I have to be. I like my assistants to be... just so. And, honestly, Sage is a hard person to follow. She's worked here so She knows the business inside and out."

"What happened to the person who covered her maternity leave?"

"She was from an agency. She was only ever here temporary, and I know Sage hoped that I'd hire her, but she just didn't have that...something." He tapped his finger against his chin. "She couldn't handle the clients. This might sound strange and also she was too forward for my liking.

Besides at that time , I wasn't really Willing to let Sage go, she's just like my mom.

She quiet the hardworking mother"he says smiling witfully.

"You should meet mine," I muttered right back.

"She calls me every morning to see if I ironed my shirts correctly and makes me send her pictures," he drawled.

Man, you so so lucky I wish I only had to send my mother pictures of my shirts," I shot back. "I have to set an alarm or text so they know to stop having sex before I get home."

He froze. "Are you serious?" the look on his face made me laugh out loud.

"I have endless therapy sessions with a bottle of wine that says I am, sadly, deadly serious." I sighed and cradled my water, having pushed the leftovers of my delicious sandwich out of the way. "It's their... thing."

"I am far more thankful for my parents now," he said, lips twitching. "Is it better now that you're working?"

"Not really , just got to endure still I can pay for my own place," I replied.

I could help you look for a nice place , since your parents are such a pain in your arse"he says .

No need to worry , I can still endure a bit, I should clean this up and get back to my desk."i say

"I got it." He stood with a half-smile, gathering up the wrapping from his sandwich. "Get yourself a coffee and go back."

"Oh, but it's fine. I can-"

"Les, despite what Sage has told you I can clear up sandwich wrappers, especially when having lunch together was my idea.

My mother raised a gentleman, so she'd kill me if I don't behave like one"he says smirking.

My cheeks flushed. "I didn't mean-um, I wasn't trying to say that..."

He laughed, tossing the ball of the wrapper into the trashcan. "I'm teasing you. I'll clean up. You get back to work." He threw me a wide grin that held more than a hint of charm in it.

Still, I balled my wrapper up and threw it in the trash. "There. Now I don't have to feel so bad."

Another laugh escaped him, and he pushed my bottle of water across the table to me right as my phone rang.

He raised one eyebrow. "Looks like your lunch hour is up.

Think about my offer, I could get you your own place you might not even need to pay for it. The company has some properties which aren't being used"He says .

I wanted to give him a reply, but I had no time the phone kept on ringing so instead, I had to rush over to my desk in my heels, almost tripping on the way there.if it weren't for the desk being within reaching distance, I'd have fallen flat on my face.

Thank God for small mercies. Like desks. And closed doors, so the epitome of my daily fantasy had not seen me trip.

Hmm

Being in his presence gets me all jittery.

What's next?