In the Boss's Bed (Harlequin Blaze) (6 page)

7

M
AYA
PUSHED
THE
heavy door open using her hip as she held two large coffee cups in her hands—a latte for herself and a red-eye for Jamie. She often worried about his caffeine intake as he would surely have at least three more before he went home for the evening.

He looked up at her with a broad smile.
Smiling at me? Or the coffee?
“Maya, you are a goddess. Thank you so much.”

“It was nothing,” she told him. “I know that if I came in holding only the one that you would just spend your day pouting.”

He stood and met her in the middle of the office. “I don’t pout,” he argued.

“No,” she laughed, passing him his coffee. “You scowl.”

He took his cup with a laugh of his own. She felt her stomach flutter whenever he flashed those pearly whites at her. Those smiles had become more common in the past few weeks. They had apparently reached some sort of unspoken truce. He was no longer as cold and distant as he had been when she’d been hired.

They were finally able to joke and laugh together and have actual conversations that had nothing to do with work. They were getting to know each other as people and she and Jamie had become friends. Friends with moderate—
okay, extreme
—amounts of sexual tension.

She watched intently as he brought the cup to his lips. They may have become friendly, but as she remembered the night she kissed him, she found herself jealous of the plastic coffee lid. She quickly turned away, lest he catch the flush that stained her cheeks. When she sat at her desk, Jamie approached her instead of returning to his own desk.

“Do you have plans on Saturday?” he asked her.

Plans?
she thought. “No, I don’t think I do.”

He sat on the corner of her desk and sipped from his cup. “I’m having a barbecue, well, a pool party I guess, at my place on Saturday afternoon. It’s something I do every year, to mark the beginning of summer. But it’s just a few friends. It’s going to be pretty laid-back. You should come.”

A pool party at Jamie’s?
Hanging out with Jamie outside of work, seeing him having fun...in swim trunks? It was an opportunity that Maya couldn’t possibly pass up... Except she had to. She smacked her forehead. “Oh, shoot! I can’t!”

Jamie frowned. “Really?”

“Yeah, I promised Abby that we would hang out. She’s been kind of depressed lately. She’s having trouble with the old job hunt.”

“Bring her along,” Jamie proposed. “She’s welcome.”

“I can’t impose—”

“It’s no imposition at all. It’s a party. The more, the merrier.”

Maya picked up her cell phone. “Great! I’ll text her now. Thanks!”

* * *

T
WO
DAYS
LATER
, Maya and Abby pulled up to Jamie’s condo building. She’d known it would be swanky and high-end, but she’d had no idea how luxurious it was. Prestige Towers rose more than twenty stories into the sky. A valet in a blue jacket approached Abby’s old car and opened the doors for them, and then got behind the wheel and drove it toward an underground parking lot.

“I hope he was actually a valet,” Abby quipped, watching her car drive out of sight. “And that he didn’t steal my car to strip it and sell the parts...”

Maya laughed. “If thieves were looking to steal a car from this building, I don’t think your fifteen-year-old Corolla would be the big score.”

“Hey, Carol’s been good to us!” Abby protested, in defense of the car they had named Carol the Corolla.

“You’re right, I apologize.” Maya smiled at the doorman, and they entered the lobby.

“Wow,” Maya muttered as they took in the large expanse of marble that constituted the floor, the walls, probably the ceiling and most definitely the large desk that was placed square in the middle. The art pieces on the wall all seemed to be original works of art that she recognized. “He lives here?”

“He’s a gazillionaire, of course he does,” was Abby’s quick response.

“I knew that he’s rich, but I didn’t realize he had this kind of money.” Maya looked around in disbelief at the sheer opulence of the place.

Abby looked over at her and turned to face her. “Maya. Chill. Close your mouth, play it cool, or they’ll know we don’t belong here and they’ll kick us out.” She laughed.

“Okay, I’m playing it cool,” Maya responded. They walked casually to the desk and the unhappy-looking man sitting behind it. “We’re here to see Jamie Sellers,” she told him.

“Is he expecting you?” he said with boredom, glancing at a list of names on the computer in front of him.

“Yes, he is. We’re Maya Connor and Abby Shaw.”

He sighed and checked the list again. He tapped the touch screen next to their names and they changed color from black to green. “All right, ladies.” He pushed himself up from his stool. It was apparent that he would rather be doing anything at all than escorting women to a rich, handsome man’s life-of-luxury pool party. “Follow me, please.” He led them to a smaller elevator located in an alcove off the main lobby. “This elevator will take you directly to Mr. Sellers’s penthouse suite.” They got inside and he inserted a key and pushed a series of buttons and the doors closed in front of them.

The elevator ride was surprisingly a quick one. Apparently, people who live in the penthouses don’t have time to take elevators that travel at a regular speed. And when the doors opened up into his foyer, she was shocked to see the huge, loft-style apartment before her. It was tastefully decorated, and very much a man’s space. Lots of dark leather and wood, clean and spacious. But the huge windows, which provided an incredible view of the city, made the place feel light. Maya inhaled deeply. It smelled like Jamie... She looked around, wondering how many times he had entertained women in his condo. Probably tons. A guy like Jamie. This place must be a regular panty-dropper for most women.

“Get a load of this place.” Abby’s voice broke into her thoughts. “I didn’t think people actually lived like this. It’s pretty crazy, hey?”

“It really is,” Maya agreed.

“Hey!” Jamie called out to them. “You made it.”

He walked into his kitchen through the sliding door that led outside, most likely to the pool area. He was wearing a loose-fitting white tank top over a pair of red board shorts, and completing the ensemble were the most worn pair of boat shoes she had ever seen. This was the most casual she had ever seen Jamie. He looked relaxed, for once, and he wore a huge smile on his face.

“I’m glad you came.”

Maya could barely speak. She was so taken aback by Jamie’s casual appearance that she stuttered slightly. “Uh, th-thanks. Thanks for the invitation.” Then she said nothing and just stared at him for a few seconds, until she felt Abby’s sharp elbow jab her ribs. She had completely forgotten that her friend was standing next to her, waiting for an introduction.

“Oh! Jamie, this is my friend Abby. Abby, Jamie.”

Jamie extended his hand to Abby. “Nice to meet you, Abby. Do I know you from somewhere?” He thought about it for a second. “Oh, of course, Dr. C.’s class. When I gave that talk. You were sitting next to Maya, right?”

“That’s right.” Abby smiled. “It was a great lecture.”

Jamie winced. “Ooh, I don’t like that word. Makes me sound all old and stodgy.” He laughed, and in a move completely uncharacteristic of Jamie Sellers, he turned and put an arm around the shoulders of both Maya and Abby. “Well, ladies, shall we hit the party?”

“Sounds good to me,” Abby answered.

Maya closed her eyes and relished in the feeling of Jamie’s arm around her. “Me, too,” she said as he led them outside.

8

J
AMIE
TOOK
A
beer from the fridge he’d had installed as part of a poolside bar and popped it open. He loved the outdoor oasis that he’d created on the terrace of his condo. He had meticulously planned the space for the pool, the hot tub, the bar, lounge area, even down to the plants and flowers adorning it, the foliage that afforded him and his guests all the privacy that they needed. Sure, it was June and it might have been a little chilly for an outdoor party, but with the warmth of the pool and carefully placed exterior heaters, nobody complained. He loved his outdoor area, but because of all the time he spent working, he rarely got to enjoy it, or any of the other luxuries he could now afford because of his hard work and success.
A sad irony.

He watched his guests mill about the poolside. They were all smiling, having fun. He really missed just spending time with his friends and the people he loved. He had no real family, but the dozen or so people who congregated around the pool, he considered them to be his true family.

His eyes were drawn to Maya as she pulled herself out of the water. She was wearing an orange bikini. When he invited her to a pool party, he knew that she would most definitely be wearing a bathing suit. But he couldn’t have imagined how she would look in that two-piece. From behind his dark aviators, he watched her pick up a towel and use it to dry herself off, as she made her way to the loungers that she and Abby had occupied. He could see the rivulets of water as they rolled down her olive skin—down her breasts, over her smooth, flat tummy, trailing the longest legs he’d ever seen on a woman. She leaned over and said something to Abby, and they both laughed.

Abby. The woman who had dared her to kiss him in the club.
I should really buy that woman a present.
He’d almost mentioned the night he’d watched them at Swerve when they’d been formally introduced earlier, and he’d had to bite his tongue. But he knew that it probably would have embarrassed Maya if he’d mentioned it. However, without Abby’s intervention that night in the club, Maya wouldn’t have stumbled into his life, and only after a month, he now couldn’t imagine his life without her in it.

“Hey, man, what’s occupying all of your attention?” Trevor came up behind Jamie and slapped him on the back. He figured out where Jamie’s gaze was fixed. On Maya. He smiled. “Ahh,” he said, understanding.

“What?”

“You’re checking out Maya.”

Busted.
Jamie shook his head in denial. “Nope.”

“Her cute, little, blonde friend, then.”

“Absolutely not.”

Trevor grinned. “Can I assume you’re going to ask both of them to stay after the party and help you
clean up
?”

“Oh, come on, Trevor,” Jamie reprimanded him.

Trevor put both hands up in protest. “Hey, it’s something that you would have done 10 years ago, I’m just saying.”

It was true. Partier Jamie wouldn’t have passed up the opportunity to try to get both of them into bed, separately or together, it wouldn’t have mattered to him. But now, he had little time or energy for the extracurricular activities he’d once so wholeheartedly enjoyed. But as he watched Maya lie down on the lounger enjoying the heat of the sun, he felt his interest rising. Her long, lean body was stretched out in repose, glistening with the sunscreen she had applied. His mouth watered at just the sight of her.

He wanted her. No doubt about that. But there was no way in hell that he could have her. She was his assistant. It would be terribly unprofessional, against his company rules. And if it didn’t work out, he would lose one of the best assistants he’d ever had. He dragged his fingers through his hair in frustration. He turned to Trevor who was also watching Maya and Abby as they lay by the pool, sunning their bodies.

“Think she’ll give me her number?” Trevor asked him.

Jamie scowled and turned to his friend. “Maya?”

“No. Do you think I’m crazy? I mean Abby. She’s cute, right?”

Jamie looked, but he could barely see Abby. His attention was riveted on Maya. “Yeah, I guess.”

* * *

M
AYA
SPREAD
OUT
on the lounger she had selected. She closed her eyes and let the sun warm her body. Behind her sunglasses, she cast a covert glance toward Jamie. He was standing by the bar, talking with Trevor. They were looking at her and Abby. They tried to hide their stares behind sunglasses, but she could tell.
Men are so obvious.
She smiled and turned her head toward Abby.

“I think you have an admirer,” she told her.

Abby took a sip of her frozen concoction that Trevor had whipped up for her. “Mmm, that’s good. What are you talking about?”

“Trevor, he’s looking right at you.”

“Really?” Abby full-on turned her head toward them and waved, wiggling her fingers at the men. Trevor raised a hand in return with a smile. “He is quite cute. But Jamie is the one who can’t keep his eyes off you.”

She took another quick look at Jamie. He had taken off his tank top and he stood there, his low-slung board shorts hanging just below his lean hips. She wondered when he had the time to work out, with the crazy hours he worked, but he clearly found the time. His broad shoulders led to a firm chest, and the fine hair that covered him spread over well-formed pecs down to defined abdominal muscles. He was a feast for the eyes, but somehow her attention was fastened to the pronounced diagonal lines of his pelvic bone, which disappeared under the red shorts.

Maya turned back to Abby and she shook her head. “No. He’s made it abundantly clear that he isn’t interested in me like that. Plus, he’s my boss. It just can’t happen.”

“You’re both adults. I don’t see why you both can’t mix a little business and pleasure. It’ll certainly make all of those long nights you’ve been working with him more interesting.”

“Never going to happen, Abby,” she muttered. No matter how much she wanted it to.

* * *

T
HE
SUN
STARTED
its descent in the sky and began to cast shadows over Jamie’s patio. People said their goodbyes and filtered out. Maya, Abby and Trevor remained. But when they started gathering their things, Jamie walked up to them. He was unfortunately once again shirted.

“Maya,” he called, looking reluctant. “Do you mind sticking around for a bit? I hate to do this but I got an email about Vegas and there’s something we need to hammer out with my presentation.” It seemed that casual Jamie couldn’t stick around for long. Jamie Sellers, mogul/boss, had made a reappearance.

She pulled her sundress over her head, and she nodded. “Yeah, sure. Do we have to head to the office?”

“No. We should be able to handle it from my home office.”

Maya turned to Abby. “Do you mind if I stay for a little while?”

“Not at all. I’m actually going to get a cab home and come back for my car tomorrow. I think I’ve had a few too many of Trevor’s margaritas.”

Maya nodded at her friend’s wobbly state. “That’s good. Okay, I’ll see you at home.”

Trevor came up behind the group, and Maya noticed when he put a hand on the small of Abby’s back. “I’ll walk you down.”

Abby smiled at him. “Thanks.”

Jamie and Maya watched Trevor and Abby walk out. When they said goodbye, Jamie extended an arm, ushering Maya down a hallway. “Shall we get to work?”