Sleeping With My Boss: A Standalone Novel (An Alpha Billionaire Romance Love Story) (A Dirty Office Romance) (4 page)

CHAPTER 4

Lilah

I sat at my desk and stared out through the wall of
glass, mesmerized by the Pacific Ocean rolling in the distance. I drew in a
deep breath and immediately felt calm. The sight of the ocean had always
soothed me, especially in times when I was stressed. It was the main reason I
had quickly requested an office with an ocean view. I knew this job wasn’t
going to be a walk in the park, and I was going to take whatever stress relief
options I could. An ocean view seemed like the perfect place to start.

As I sat there, I began to mull over all that had happened
in the last hour. Asher had just left my office after a very in-depth
explanation of exactly what would be expected of me in this position—which was
a
lot.
We had also discussed how to move forward with the Harry Winston
watch campaign.

This was easily going to be the most demanding job I’d
ever had. I'd always been comfortable under pressure, however intense it was. Rarely
had I faced a task I could not rise to and conquer. But this, this was more
pressure and more responsibility than anything I'd ever faced before. It was
going to take every ounce of my focus.

Still, I'd never been one to shy away from a challenge
or take the bull by the horns, as Eddie liked to say. And while this was the
biggest, fiercest bull I'd ever had to wrestle, I was confident I would fight him
to the ground.

If I was being honest with myself, I was more
intimidated by the way Asher had been looking at me, how he'd bristled—almost
palpably—when he'd first caught sight of the picture of me and Eddie on my
desk.

And, I couldn't deny that I'd caught myself staring a
bit too long at him a few times while we'd been talking. His perfectly
touchable hair, his strong square jaw, and those piercing, amber eyes were hard
not to stare at. Not to mention the hard muscles rippling ever so subtly
beneath his tailored suit.

I couldn't deny there was something between us. A
chemistry that seemed to lie just beneath the surface. But the fact was, Asher struck
me as cocky, almost arrogant, so self-assured in his wealth and power that it
felt as if he thought that he could use his status to get anyone to do practically
anything. And that set me on edge. I'm a strong-willed and often stubborn
person, myself. I could already see the possibility there would be occasions in
which we'd butt heads. It was going to be an interesting working relationship.

It certainly had been an interesting few days, that
much I couldn’t deny. I wasn't sure if interesting was quite what I needed in
my life at that particular point, but interesting was what I was about to get. All
I could do was roll with it.

***

I was two days into my first official project and it
was all I could do to maintain some semblance of focus. There I was, still in
my office at eight o' clock in the evening, and I had only completed two-thirds
of the day's work. I felt as if an out-of-control truck had been speeding
through my brain, wrecking everything in its path. To say I was exhausted was
an understatement.

Still, I'd signed on with full knowledge that this job
would be an incredible challenge and that it would mold me into a true force to
be reckoned with in the PR world. That was what I wanted, after all.

At least, that’s what I kept reminding myself.

Life was simpler that way, even if my stress levels
were at an all-time high. Work stress and emotional stress were two entirely
different beasts, and I felt as if I was far better equipped to deal with the
former…especially after Jacob and what I had been through with him.

Jacob. The name still sent ripples down my spine, only
not in the delightful, weak-at-the-knees way it once had. Those warm and fuzzy
ripples had morphed into chills of dread, of anger, of pain.

I shook the thought of him from my mind. I couldn't
allow his memory to snake its way into my world. I had to focus on work. And at
the rate it was going, it seemed as if I would be there until well after
midnight, only to have to start again at eight a.m. the next day. I tried to
force my thoughts back to something productive. Just as I was succeeding,
however, my phone rang.

I let out an exasperated sigh. “Who the hell is
calling me now? How am I going to get all this work done tonight?”

I picked up the phone with the intention of cutting
off the call and switching the device off so I wouldn't be bothered again, but
then I saw who was calling.

I smiled and answered.“Eddie! How’s my favorite
sibling?”

“Great, Peanut, just great. We just laid down an epic
track for the new album. I think it could be one of the singles.”

“That's awesome!”

“Yeah, I’m pretty stoked. That’s why I’m calling. I
was wondering if you wanted to come out with me and the guys to have a beer or
two to celebrate?”

“Aw, Ed, I'd love to, but there's no way I can make it
tonight.”

“Why is that?”

“I'm swamped with work. It's seriously looking like
I'm gonna be at the office until well after midnight.”

“Oh, bummer. So that's how it's been your first few
days of working for the big shot, huh?”

“Well, yeah, kinda.”

“You regretting that decision?”

I thought about this for a moment before answering.

“Actually, no. I wanted a challenge, and a challenge
is exactly what I am getting. It's tough, but I feel like eventually things
will start to fall into place and it'll feel more like a breeze than a
hurricane.”

“I hope so, sis. I know you’re used to stress and
pressure, and that you thrive under them, but like anything in life, too much
of 'em will kill ya in the end.”

“I know, I know. But I’ve got this. It’s just a
learning curve.”

“I know you do. You always do. All right, well, I
won't keep you any longer. Good luck with the rest of the night. We’ll talk
soon. Love ya.”

“Love you, too, Eddie.”

I hung up the call and turned the phone off. There was
no one else I’d have answered a call from at that time of night, so there was
no need to even give anyone the option to distract me.

I glared down at the papers strewn across my desk and
drew in a deep breath, then exhaled. I was already feeling like a bit of a
zombie, so I decided to go down the hall and make myself a strong cup of coffee
in the lounge. I was going to need a good caffeine boost to get myself through
the next few hours.

I left my office and headed down the hallway. As I
turned the corner at the end, I collided with what felt like a padded wall. I
almost lost my balance, but a pair of muscled arms quickly wrapped around me. I
immediately looked up and found myself staring into those mesmerizing eyes I’d
been trying to forget.

“Asher!” I exclaimed. “You scared the hell out of me!”

He chuckled. “The feeling's mutual! What are you doing
here at this hour?”

“I, uh, well…working. There's so much I have to finish
before tomorrow just to stay close to on schedule, and if I add tomorrow's
workload to this one, it just means I'm not going to be sleeping at all
tomorrow night and-”

“Hang on, hang on,” he said, holding up a finger to
silence me. “Mind if I take a look at what you've done so far?”

“Um, well, it's not quite finished yet, and-”

“That's perfectly fine. I just want to see what kind
of progress you've made.”

I realized I couldn't really say no. He was, after
all, the CEO of the company.

“All right, let me just make a cup of coffee, and then
I’ll meet you in my office to have a look at it.”

“Hold off on that coffee for now. It's not gonna do
you any favors when it comes to later tonight when you're lying in bed wired,
unable to sleep, and knowing you have to be back here in a few hours.”

“But, Asher, I need to finish-”

He cut me short again. “Just let me take a look first.
I'll be the judge of whether you need to keep going tonight, all right?”

“All right,” I conceded, turning around to lead him to
my office.

He sat down at my desk and skimmed over my work while
I stood behind him, feeling more and more nervous with each passing minute.
After what felt like an eternity, he swung the chair around and stood.

“I don't think you need to do anything else here
tonight, Lilah,” he said. “What you've already done is good—better than good,
really.” His eyes focused on mine and his expression softened. “Look, I realize
there's a lot of pressure on you right now, especially in these first few days
since you're just learning the ropes, and I know I've tossed you right into the
deep end without a life preserver.”

“I-” I began, but he held up a hand to silence me once
more.

“You don't need to say anything, Lilah. You're doing
an excellent job. I think the issue here is me. I've been a bit too demanding
with the deadlines on this campaign, so let me give you an extra day to get it
done. How does that sound?”

I hesitated before answering. Of course, with all the
stress and pressure, I was tempted to just say
yes
, but what if it was a test of some sort? What if he was testing
me to see how much resolve and grit I had, how badly I really
did
want
the job?

“I appreciate that, but no thanks,” I said, stiffening
my resolve. “I can handle this, and I can get it done within the specified
time.”

He smiled sympathetically. “This is not a test, Lilah.
I'm not trying to see how committed you are to Sinclair and your new position.
I really was too ambitious with the deadline. I didn't take into account that
you're still finding your footing here, that you're still learning the ropes
and getting a feel for our processes. Granted, I do expect an immense amount of
hard work and dedication from you, that much is true.

“I don't, however, expect you to work yourself into a
hospital bed or worse. I'm a strict man and I have high expectations, but I'm
no slave driver. So, as your boss, I'm telling you, for your own health and
wellbeing, that the deadline has been extended by a day. And that's the final
word on that.”

I nodded, quietly relieved that I'd been given the
extra time to complete my work.

“Thank you,” I responded. “I appreciate it.”

“Don’t mention it. I know how much of a killer stress
and working too much can be—it's what sent my grandfather to an early grave.”

“I'm sorry to hear that.”

His smile faded. “That’s kind of you. It's been many
years since he passed, but I do still miss him.” His gaze lowered to the floor.

There was a moment of somewhat uncomfortable silence
between us before Asher looked up at me. The somber look that had darkened his
face earlier was gone, replaced now by a warm, inviting smile.

“Say, have you eaten dinner yet?”

“I have not,” I replied. “In fact, I've been so
focused on this project that I haven't had a moment to even think about food.
Now that I am thinking about it, I realize I haven’t eaten since Jessica
brought those cookies around just before lunch.”

“Well, that won't do. Not that those cookies weren’t
amazing. They were. But, I'm a big believer in the power of nutrition, Lilah.
We can't afford to neglect our bodies as we obsess over work—and yes, doing
exactly that is something that I'm guilty of myself, so I know how you feel.
Listen, how about we get dinner? I was just about to head out to grab a bite to
eat myself. How do you feel about Greek food?”

I smiled. “I love it,” I exclaimed, feeling an
immediate flush of embarrassment at my bubbly enthusiasm.

He chuckled. “Excellent. That makes two of us. I just
have a few things to finish up in my office. I'll call my driver and arrange
for him to pick us up in half an hour downstairs. Sound good?”

“Sure, sounds like a plan,” I responded.

***

“That was some of the best hummus I've ever had,” I
said. “I can't believe I've never been to this place before.”

“It's great, isn't it? Hey, how about another glass of
wine?” Asher asked as he poured himself a bit more of the dry red he pulled
from the ice bucket next to our table.

I was definitely feeling the effects of the wine we'd
already had. He was pouring from the second bottle of the night and it was
almost empty. My head was starting to swim, and I sensed that it was affecting
Asher, as well. His speech was sounding a bit slurred and his eyes were looking
a tad glassy. He'd told me before we started dinner that he rarely drank
alcohol, for health reasons, although I suspected it had more to do with the
fact that he didn't like losing control and letting his defenses down. Aside
from the occasional beer with Eddie, or going out with my friends every now and
then, I wasn't much of a drinker myself—yet there we were, almost two bottles
in.

The wine had just flowed quickly and easily. We'd been
chatting non-stop since we'd arrived at the restaurant, and the conversation
had flowed as smoothly as the wine had. It had been hard to decline every offer
of a fresh glass, so when he offered me yet another refill, I took him up on
it.