I Do The Boss: Billionaire Romance (Managing the Bosses Book 5) (4 page)

BOOK: I Do The Boss: Billionaire Romance (Managing the Bosses Book 5)
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"I was, kind of, I guess." He walked into her office and dropped down in the chair nearest the door. "I swear women are the biggest mystery in the universe. I'm glad I'm not married anymore, but dating is almost an equal hell. You guys say one thing and mean the other. We say what the hell we mean."

"Do you?" Jamie turned and put her hands on her hips. "If you told me that you thought I was beautiful... you'd mean it? Like you're totally, one-hundred-percent being honest that you think I'm beautiful."

"That or I'm trying to sleep with you." He shrugged. "What's your point?"

Jamie rolled her eyes and walked around to her chair, sitting down in it. "I don't have one, and if I did, you just proved it right. I’m a damn Cinderella. I need a drink."

Chapter 3

 

"What? Mark turned his attention to her. "Cinderella? I don't get it."

"Yeah, me either." She typed in her password and glanced over at him. "Can you grab me a copy of the paper from the bin downstairs? Would you mind? Alex mentioned something about the press being here causing our stock price to rise. I want to document the occasion for him. You know he'll want to reflect on it later."

Mark stood. "Yeah, sure, but tell me something... was Paul hitting on Kristen?"

Alex's handsome younger brother ran his fingers over his chin and watched her closely. He was such a great guy from all she had seen. Why he couldn't find someone to complement his personality and love him the way he needed to be loved was beyond her.

"I think so." Jamie let out a sigh. "Are you and she dating, or was it just a few times out to dinner and that's it?"

"We're not dating, or I don't think we are." He chuckled sardonically. "Hell, I don't know. Like I said, dating is the freaking pits. I have no clue how to do this anymore."

"You'll figure it out. I think Kristen isn’t the one you'll be figuring it out with, though."

"I guess you're right." He walked to the door and paused. "It's these pants. They make me look bloated, right?"

The smirk on his handsome face left her lip turning up.

"It's all those donuts you eat in the morning." She turned back to her computer. "You look great. She's just not the one. You'll find her."

"Maybe." He walked out as his voice softened, leaving Jamie to analyze his true feelings over the matter. If there were someone she knew that she could set him up with, she'd not hesitate to do it, but she really didn't have many friends.

Gina was about it, and the woman had sworn off men after the debacle with Nicholas. The asshole deserved to rot in jail for all he'd done. Not only for his attacks against Alex, but for breaking Gina's heart. To see hope die in the older woman was almost too much. Her new job wasn't what she'd hoped it would be, but there was no way around her willingness to commit fraud and steal from Alex.

Jamie had no doubt that her guy wanted to hire his long-term secretary back and get things back to the way they used to be, but it wasn't a possibility. Trust was broken, and in business there were no real second chances.

After plowing through her e-mail, Jamie picked up the phone to listen to her messages, finally finding a groove to settle in for the day. Sex with Alex was a great way to start the day, but having the press unnerve her and remind her of her unworthiness of his attention had worked to diminish any glow she might have felt before coming into the office.

"Hey." Mark's voice was deadpan, and his complexion washed out.

Panic raced through the center of Jamie as she stood. "What's wrong? Is Alex okay?"

"Yeah. It's nothing like that." He lifted the paper as he walked toward her desk. "It's this. I swear people have no sense of moral decency."

"Oh, good. You scared me." She picked up the paper and walked around to the small round table that sat in the middle of her office. Not having Paul and Mark in her office was great for getting more done, but truth be told it was a little lonely at times.

"Yeah, well, you haven't read it. Thank goodness it's just the National Enquirer, but still." He sat down in the chair beside her as she fingered through the various pages.

"What am I looking for?" Nothing seemed of interest. A cat with fifteen toes. A woman back from the dead. A super horny slut to marry a... "No fucking way."

"Right? Who is this Stephen guy, and what does he have against you?" Mark pulled out the chair beside him, and Jamie dropped down into it as she pulled the page up to her face. Sickness pulsed through her, and throwing up sounded like her next best move.

"Favored billionaire bachelor Alex Reid has once again proven himself a charitable, giving man to our great city. Only this time he's taking one for himself." She glanced up as sweat lined her forehead. "Is this shit for real?"

"I hate to say it, but keep going." Mark shook his head.

"It's a modern-day Pretty Woman story for the world to see. The woman who's captured his heart is not only his office maid, but just happens to be a sex-starved, uneducated, lady of the night." Jamie set the paper down and stood up as dizziness rolled over her.

"Jamie?" Mark stood up. "It's just the Enquirer. You know they do these facetious stories."

"I'm going to be sick. Who would write this, and why?" Her eyes filled with tears.

"It says that someone named Stephen Deming tells all in an interview. Was he an ex-boyfriend?" Mark reached out and touched her shoulder as she pressed her hands to the table in front of her.

This was supposed to be a great day. What the fuck happened?

"He's my brother-in-law."

"Christine's husband? Holy shit. Really?" Mark's voice rose before he turned and walked to the door, closing it. "This is way worse than I thought."

"No joke." Jamie glanced up and took a shaky breath. "What else does it say? I don't want to hear anything about me or Alex, but anything else about Stephen?"

She pushed the paper over toward him and sat back down, not trusting her legs to hold her up. Being made to feel like Cinderella was one thing, but a sex-starved slutty maid? Way worse.

"Just that he was with you before realizing the kind of woman you are. He calls you a mastermind of lust." Mark snorted. "This guy’s an idiot. He says you're a gold-digger and that you were once after his money. Alex was just next in line. He feels sorry for Alex, but the billionaire won't listen. He doesn't have time for the little people now that he's risen to the top of the world on false humility and other people's money."

"That bastard." Anger replaced illness inside of Jamie. She grabbed the paper and scanned the rest. "A sex tape? He does not have a sex tape."

"On you?" Mark snatched the paper back. "Why would he have a sex tape? Did he put up a camera in Alex's place?"

"Not of me and Alex." She got back up and walked over to her desk, pressing her hands to it and staring down at the small waste basket.

"Of who?" Mark turned his attention to her.

"Of me and him." She reached for the basket and released her breakfast into the small can.

Mark's hands rested on her shoulder as his voice softened significantly. "Hey. It's okay. Get it all out. I'm here. Alex is here. This guy’s a fucking idiot. We'll clean up the shit in this paper, okay?"

Jamie set the trash can on her desk and pressed her hands to her face as a sob left her.

Mark forced her to turn and wrapped his arms around her as she wept for a few minutes. Why things couldn't stay progressively positive was a mystery. Did the wealthy of the world always have someone on their trail trying to dismantle their success, their fame? It would seem so.

"Let me get Alex." Mark brushed the back of her head and released her.

Jamie walked over to the bookshelf by her window and grabbed a few Kleenex. "I need to get out of here for a while." There were more interviews, but she was bailing out. No way. She was done with the press. They were all monsters.

"We'll go to an early lunch. There's a park a few miles from here that I found the other day. We'll grab sandwiches and go hang out. It's a beautiful day." Mark tapped on the door between Jamie and Alex's office, getting nothing in return. He opened it and stuck his head in. "He's not in there."

"It's okay. I don't want to bother him with this right now. He's got enough to deal with." She blotted her eyes and picked up the trashcan. "I'm going to clean this up. I'll meet you out front."

"Okay. You want me to do it?" He tried to catch her attention as he stopped by the window.

"No, but that you would be willing to means a lot." She turned and walked out of the office, ready for the day to be over. It was turning into one of those days that belonged next to the worst she'd had. Funny how many more of those days she'd experienced after meeting Alex.

Luckily enough, the best days of her life were due to meeting him too.

 

*

 

"He doesn't have a sex tape. I would never let someone tape me." Jamie glanced over at Mark before taking a small bite of her sandwich. "He's making that up to get more attention."

"Do you think your sister knows about Stephen's interview and allegations?" Mark lifted his bag of chips in the air and tilted his head back to empty the contents into his mouth.

"I don't know, honestly. She's always been a thorn in my side, but over Christmas she was different. Remember how sweet she was?" Jamie set her sandwich down and picked up her Diet Coke, taking a quick sip and closing her eyes to enjoy the warmth of the sun on her skin. "Must have been because she and Stephen were fighting so much."

"Or because it was the holidays. Everyone is nicer around that time, or at least most people are." Mark got up, and Jamie opened her eyes to watch him stretch. He was good-looking and had a nice body. He was no Alex, but he didn't realize how many women did a double take when he walked by.

"I need to call Christine and see if she's aware of this shit." Jamie pulled out her phone. "Or maybe not. I mean, really, what good would it do?"

"Hey. No more tears." He reached down and pulled her up by her arms, cradling her in a warm hug. She sank into his hold, enjoying the feeling that she wasn't only gaining a lover in Alex, but a big brother in Mark.

The soft clicking of a camera caught her attention, and she jerked around to find three different reporters in the park with them.

"Really?" She called out to them. "Get a life and stop trying to ruin other people's."

"Don't pay them any attention." Mark sat back down and picked up her unopened bag of chips. "You gonna eat these?"

His calm, laid-back persona forced her to relax, and she was once against grateful for him.

"No, but you know chips make you feel bloated." She smirked, trying to force herself back into a good mood. Why the press would want pictures of her and Mark was silly. That would only solidify the rightness of her relationship with Alex. That she was in good with his family was a positive thing, right?

"So what do we do about Stephen? I think we need to at least figure out if he does have a tape. That's important, and Alex needs to know what's up too." Mark opened her chips and ate them in large handfuls.

"Yeah. I'll talk to him when we get back today." She leaned back and breathed in deeply. "I'll call my sister when we get back to the office too, or just go visit her. I'm not surprised by Stephen doing something like his. He's an asshole all the way, but he and my sister are struggling financially. They're living with my parents right now."

"That's no excuse for what he's done. You know that, right?" Mark glanced over at her, giving her a stern look.

"Oh, I know. I'm just trying to figure out why the asshole would want to destroy whatever good I have in my life." She picked up her sandwich and took another bite before offering it to Mark.

He took it and finished it before wiping his mouth and shaking his head. "He's jealous. If you were with him before, then obviously he's jealous. It's almost funny that he called you sex-starved. You don't seem like that kind of girl at all."

"I'm not." She picked up her purse and stood, not wanting to look him in the face. The article was filled with malicious lies, but the bits about her being horny and slutty were a little too close to home to dissect. There was nothing she enjoyed more than a good fuck, but it was a private matter. To have it splashed across the pages of a magazine, even one that people expected to be filled with ridiculousness, was painful. Embarrassing.

"We ready to head back?" Mark stood up and stretched.

"Yeah, now that you've eaten my lunch and yours." She poked at his stomach and smiled. Another camera flashed.

"Get the fuck out of here. What’re you guys doing?" Mark turned toward the reporters and started their way. They took off in various directions, still clicking their cameras behind them as they ran.

"Wow. How weird are you guys?" Jamie muttered to herself and dropped the rest of their trash in a trashcan by the sidewalk. Mark joined her moments later, his face red and contorted with anger.

"Why do we put up with that shit? I swear they only exist to ruin lives." He glanced over his shoulder as they walked back to the office.

"Ignore it; probably just trying to get more pictures of me being a sex-starved, loose woman." She shook her head and tried to let it all go. Having to talk with her sister shortly was going to take the day from bad to worse.

"I'm guessing it's a no-go with Kristen." Mark chuckled and pointed across the street. "She and Paul seem to be enjoying each other more than friends would."

Jamie followed his finger to see Paul and Kristen at an outdoor restaurant, laughing and sitting a little closer than work associates would.

"Do you like her?" Jamie pressed the button for them to cross the street.

"Yeah. I mean, she's beautiful. I've known her most of my life. Not as well as Alex did, but she was a bit of a crush for all of us boys back then." He shrugged. "Whatever."

BOOK: I Do The Boss: Billionaire Romance (Managing the Bosses Book 5)
9.94Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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