Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 73663 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 368(@200wpm)___ 295(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73663 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 368(@200wpm)___ 295(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
But he’s a rich asshole, the kind of guy who never looks at me twice.
Unless he first gets a glimpse of my naked chest, apparently.
“I honestly think it might be,” Nicole says, clearly trying not to laugh. “What are you gonna do? I mean, if you go and record it, you could totally sue his ass for sexual harassment.”
I stare at her with my hands clasped to my chest. “That’s crazy.”
“He’s rich. He wouldn’t even notice.”
“Nicky, stop.”
“Hey, just saying, unless you’re actually interested?”
I suck in a deep breath and blow it out. “No. Definitely not.”
“Wow. That was one hell of a pause.”
“No, seriously, I’m not into it.”
She lifts her wine glass to her lips, takes a sip, then meets my gaze. “Mads, if you want to fuck your hot boss, you should absolutely go do it.”
I let out a wild laugh. “No, that’s crazy and risky and dumb, it’s absolutely not something that I’d ever do.”
“True, but come on, what else do you have going on?”
I gesture at the plants I bought from the grocery store. Half of them are dying. “My garden.”
Nicole makes a face. “That’s a collection of dry leaves. Not a garden.”
“I can’t have sex with Renzo Rossi. I just can’t.”
“Then go in there and tell him no.”
“I definitely can’t do that either. And if I refuse to show up, I’ll get fired, and I can’t lose my job.” I pace again, freaking out. “Oh, shit, I don’t know what to do.”
“Honey, listen. Go to the office. Hear the guy out. Maybe he just needs you to do some extra stuff and this isn’t sexual at all. Maybe you’ll see him in one of those sexy suits of his and you’ll decide to throw caution to the wind and toss your panties on the floor.”
“I wish I never described his suits to you,” I whisper, feeling miserable.
“Just go. I know you’re in a bad place right now, but I hate seeing you like this. You need something to jolt you back to your old self.”
“Sleeping with my boss is definitely not the right move here.”
“Probably not! But you can’t find out unless you give it a try.”
I cover my face with both hands, feeling miserable, but the wine in my stomach’s making my head a little bit loose, just enough that I can picture myself walking into that office, letting Renzo put his big, strong hands on my body, letting his lips gaze my throat as he nibbles down to my naked breasts—
“I’m going to regret this,” I say as I storm into my bedroom. “Seriously! This is awful!”
“Wear something slutty,” Nicole says with a grin as she follows me and perches on my bed. “But also, something professional.”
“Does that exist?”
“In someone’s closet,” she says, grinning. “But not here.”
I stare at the ceiling, hating myself for doing this, and end up wearing my normal work clothes.
Chapter 6
Maddie
My hands are shaking as I jab the elevator button.
I can’t believe I’m doing this.
The more I tell myself it’s totally innocent and not remotely a booty call, the more I’m convinced that it’s exactly the opposite.
It’s because of the way he looked at me back when he caught me mid-nude-pic. That stare, the desire in his expression, the pure animal lust like he wanted to charge across the room and take me roughly on his desk. He looked me up and down and he liked what he saw—liked it enough to call me a week later for some unspecified meeting.
I move across the empty reception area, into the cube farm, and across the building toward his corner office. I should turn around and run home—this isn’t me, I don’t do stuff like this—but the memory of that stare, the dream of his strong hands on my body, keep me moving forward.
And if I’m honest with myself, safety hasn’t gotten me anything.
I’m completely torn. I stand outside his door, trying to get myself together, gathering the courage to knock.
I’ve spent all my life since I was twelve years old running from risk, doing the right thing, sticking to the easy path. Comfort, routine, dependability. That’s all I really craved.
But it never got me anything. A crappy boyfriend, a mediocre job, a dumpy apartment, and now this. I couldn’t even hold on to the one person in my life that knew me the best. Even he ran off and left me wrecked, all because I wasn’t enough.
I want to try something new. I want to be more than the little mouse I’ve always been.
But whenever I take a step out of the narrow path I’ve defined for myself, bad things always happen.
Like I get caught by my hot-as-sin boss taking nude pictures of myself.
“I can hear you breathing out there, Madeline. Please come in.”
I jump and clap my hands over my mouth to keep a yelp from spilling out. Renzo’s voice is low and distant, but I must be a lot louder than I realized. There’s no turning back—I can’t run away now that he knows I’m here.