Sleeping With My Boss: A Standalone Novel (An Alpha Billionaire Romance Love Story) (A Dirty Office Romance) (42 page)

Chapter
Forty-One

Austin

I
had tried to be a good host and give her a tour of the harbor, but the
conversation had turned personal and now I found myself holding her hand and
confessing all of the problems I was facing as I tried to run Marks
Enterprises. Emily looked up at me with eyes that made it incredibly difficult
for me to not touch her and the hand on my arm was pushing me close to the
edge. The funny thing was that I was okay with just sitting here feeling her
hand on mine and not rushing her off to the stateroom for wild sex. I wanted
her, to be sure, but there was something about her that made me want to do
things the right way and not screw it up like I had so many other times.

"So, yeah, I'm not sure what they're
up to, but it's definitely not good," I sighed.

"What are you going to do?" she
asked. I could feel her hand resting on my arm and as my fingers traced a light
path across the back of her hand, I could hear her breathing change ever so
slightly.

"I'm going to meet with the crew
leader again, and I'm going to try and figure out a way to make sure the crew
doesn't strike," I said. "But I don't know how to make that
happen."

"Why not just offer them a contract
that says you won't hire anyone else?" she offered. "I mean, that's
what happened with the flight attendants a few years ago and it seems to have
worked out pretty well, if you ask me."

"Holy moly, you're right!" I
cried as the words came out of her mouth. "We did do that, didn't
we?"

"Yes, and everyone benefitted from
it," she said. Then, she looked at me and tipped her head. "Where are
we headed?"

"Oh! I want to show you this really
cool beach and then we're going to head back up the coast to my house," I
said.

"Wait, you have a house in Sydney and
you stay at the hotel?" she asked confused.

"Yes, I do," I shrugged.
"Well, it's a little bit bigger than your average house, and it requires a
staff and all kinds of things, so sometimes it's just easier for me to stay at
the hotel than to try and get everything together to go to the house. Plus,
it's a little far away from the city if I have to be there for meetings in the
hotel, which is usually what I have to do,"

"Oh, I see," she said nodding
and looking away. She was thinking something, but I couldn't tell what that
something was and I didn't want to upset her by asking.

"We don't have to go to the
house," I quickly offered. "I just thought it would be a nice place
to have dinner together without all of the interference that happens at the
hotel."

"I see," she said moving back at
little bit. "Well, then do go on."

"Emily, what's wrong?" I asked.
"What just happened?"

"I just..." she stammered.

"You just what?"

"I just don't want you to get the
wrong idea about me," she said. "I mean, you planned a getaway in
your little private love nest, so that must mean you thought I'd be willing to
just drop everything and sleep with you."

"Wait, what?" I said suddenly
perplexed at the change from playful to serious.

"You were going to try and get me
into bed, even though you said you understood that I've got things to deal with
and that I can't just go hopping into bed with you!" she cried as she
stood up and stalked across the front of the boat. "God, you're all alike,
aren't you?"

"All who? All alike what?" I
countered.

"All you rich boys. You think you can
have whatever you want and whoever you want, whenever you want them, so you
completely disregard the rest of us on the bottom," she was pacing the
deck angrily and looking up at me with each turn.

"Emily! No! I didn't plan this with
the intention of just pushing you into bed," I said calmly, trying to
reassure her. "I really did just want to spend time with you and get to
know you better."

"Sure, sure, is that all part of the
story?" she asked defensively. "Oh my God, is it all part of the
ploy? Is this some kind of game you use with all women?"

"Emily, stop for a minute,
please," I said quietly as I walked over to her and gently put a hand on
her shoulder. "Just listen to me for a minute, okay?"

"Fine." She stopped pacing and
stood staring up at me. She looked both so vulnerable and so strong, and I
wanted to gather her up in my arms and kiss her, but I knew if I did, then
she'd feel as if she'd been proven right and I would feel like a jerk.

"I'm not trying to do anything,"
I told her, looking directly into her eyes. "I've got a trip to Depot
Beach planned for this afternoon and a dinner planned for this evening. That's
the extent of my planning. I just wanted to share this with you."

She relaxed a little bit as she looked at
me, and as she softened, a smile slowly began to spread across her lips. I
smiled back, but waited for her to move away first.

"So, what is this beach you're taking
me to?" she asked, moving back toward the couch and sitting down in one
corner to tuck her tan limbs underneath her and look up at me expectantly.

"Depot Beach is this awesome place
where there are kangaroos lounging around on the beach," I said as I
looked out over the sparkling water and watched the boat plow through the
swells. "There are also a whole bunch of interesting birds, but mostly,
the water is a beautiful shade of aqua and is incredibly clear, so I thought we
could do some snorkeling."

"I didn't know we were going to
swim," she said. "I didn't bring a bathing suit!"

"Well, lucky for you I called down to
the shops and had them bring over a variety of suits in all sizes, so you can
go find one you like and put it on," I smiled.

"Oh, you're good," she laughed.
"You're smart enough to know not to pick one suit and get the size
wrong!"

I laughed out loud at this because it was
true. "My mother taught me lots of things, but she always said that making
sure a woman didn't feel self-conscious about how she looked was one of the
most important lessons I'd ever learn. And she was right."

Emily laughed out loud and when she did,
she threw her head back and I caught a glimpse of what she'd look like in the
throes of passion. It took my breath away and I looked away as she hopped up
off the couch and asked, "So, where do I find this plethora of
suits?"

"In the state room, of course,"
I laughed with her as I pointed the way. She laughed all the way down the hall
and then went in and shut the door. I walked back out to the edge of the front
deck and looked out at the water, wondering what it was I thought I was doing
here. This was a dangerous game we were playing since we both knew where we
wanted it to head, but it seemed like we were both dancing as close to the fire
as we could get and then pulling back before either of us got burned.

I wanted to know more about Emily, but I
didn't know how to ask without sounding like I was trying to manipulate her. I
sighed as I realized that I was going to simply have to have patience and wait
for her to make up her mind. I only hoped that she was going to make it up in
my favor this time.

A few minutes later, Emily came bouncing
out of the stateroom wrapped in a towel and giggling like a little girl.

"What on earth is so funny?" I
asked, laughing with her even though I had no idea what I was laughing about.

"Oh my gosh, Austin!" she cried.
"That state room is unbelievable! How do you even imagine a room like
that? And how many bathing suits did you have them bring?"

"As many as they needed to," I
said confused. "Why? Was that too many?"

"It's more than what's in most of the
stores, Mr. Morning!" she laughed. "You're nuts!"

"Mr. Morning?" I said, even more
confused. "Who is Mr. Morning?"

"You are, silly," she laughed.
"It's your initials: AM. Morning!"

"Okay, now who's being the silly
one?" I laughed. "That's just weird."

"No, it's not," she said.
"Your initials are everywhere on this boat! It's like looking at
announcements all over the place. AM! AM! AM! And all I could think was, my
gosh it's like an announcement that it's morning...over and over and over!"

I burst into laughter because she was
right. My initials were all over the place and it did like they were announcing
daybreak.

"So, which suit did you choose?"
I asked casually.

"Oh no, you don't get to see it until
we hop into the water, Mr. Morning!" She laughed again. "Now, go
change into your suit!"

I laughed all the way back to the
stateroom where I pulled out a pair of swimming trunks and put them on. I
scanned the room trying to see it with Emily's eyes, and realized that she was
probably seeing it the same way I had five years ago when I'd first inherited
the money. It all looked so elegantly unbelievable, and even now, five years
later, I still sometimes stood looking at things I owned shaking my head in
disbelief.

As I emerged back out on to the deck, I
saw Emily standing at the rail with her face tipped into the breeze, her eyes
closed and her arms stretched wide as she felt the waves rocking beneath her.
It was a picture I wanted to keep, so I stood watching her until I heard the
captain announce that we were arriving at Depot Beach and to prepare to anchor
and go ashore.

At that moment, Emily opened her eyes and
turned to look at me, and I felt a shiver run down my spine.

"Are you ready to go ashore,
beautiful?" I asked. Emily giggled in response and dropped the towel that
had been covering her. Underneath was a black string bikini that seemed
impossibly small and yet covered way more than I wanted it to. I nodded my
approval and then let loose a low wolf whistle.

"Oh stop," she waved me off with
another giggle. "But thank you."

"My pleasure," I said bowing a
little. "Entirely."

"Alright," she smiled. "So,
how do we get to the beach?"

"What do you mean?" I asked as a
small smile played around the edges of my lips. "We're gonna swim for
it!"

"Austin!" she cried. "Why
didn't you tell me? I would have picked a more practical suit! Arrgh! You are
impossible!"

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding," I
laughed. "We've got a small skiff that will take us over for a picnic on
the beach. Grab your towel, missy!"

Emily laughed happily and then followed me
to the landing where the skiff waited to take us to shore.

Chapter
Forty-Two

Emily

When
Austin lifted me off of the ladder and set me in the skiff, I could feel his
large hands spanning my waist and the sensation of his fingers on my bare skin
caused me to inhale and hold my breath until he'd set me down. I hadn't wanted
him to let go, but he was doing his best to be a gentleman and I didn't want to
push it.

I turned my face toward shore and felt the
spray from the skiff hitting my face. We were headed to the coastal area where
full grown kangaroos lounged all day, and Austin was excited to show me where
they hung out and to share a picnic lunch on the white sand.

I used to my peripheral vision to watch
him as he guided the boat to shore and I couldn't help but notice his broad
shoulders and muscled arms now that he wasn't wearing a shirt. For a moment, I
let myself fantasize about what it would feel like to run my hands up and down
his chest, and then I shook my head to clear the thought and smiled as I felt
the skiff hit the sand.

"Are you hungry or should we look
around a bit first?" he asked as he hauled a basket out of the vessel and
set it on the shore.

"Let's look around, I'm okay for
now," I replied. I watched him stack the supplies and wondered who had
packed all that for us. We were only two people, but it looked like there was
enough lunch for a big group.

"Great, then follow me!" he
called as he began trudging across the sand. I quickly tied the large scarf I'd
brought with me around my waist and followed after him. My legs were shorter,
so I ended up running to match his stride. When he noticed, he laughed and
slowed down so he could walk beside me.

"Over there is where we can do some
bird watching," he said as he pointed to a shady spot near the edge of the
woods. "There are many different types of birds in this area, but I'm really
hoping that you'll get to see a Satin bowerbird."

"Oh really, why is that?" I
asked, curious as to why he would be so interested in showing me a particular
bird.

"No reason really, they're just
interesting little birds," he replied as his eyes followed something in
the sky. He excitedly called, "Oh look, there's a wedge-tailed
eagle!" I followed his finger and saw a majestic gray bird floating on the
wind current then swooping around to take another pass at lower ground.
"It's either scouting its territory or it's trying to keep cool,"
Austin explained.

"It's very big and it looks quite
intimidating," I said.

"They've been known to hunt red
kangaroo together with other eagles," he said with more than a bit of awe
in his voice. "They're rather formidable and quite vicious when they need
to be. I kind of admire that level of tenacity, don't you?"

"I think it's barbaric," I
replied. "But they're birds, so I don't take it personally."

"Nor should you," Austin said as
he burst into laughter. "You're hilarious, missy. A real comedian!"

"Why thank you, I think," I said
with a smile. I liked walking the beach with Austin. He knew so much about the
wildlife and the plants that it was fun and interesting. He showed me a cabbage
palm and noted that its flowers, which resembled huge white heads of cabbage,
inspired its name.

We'd walked quite a way away from our
lunch when suddenly we rounded a corner and came into viewing range of a group
of eastern grey kangaroos. They were stretched out under a shady tree near the
beach but off the sand. There were a few joeys hopping around their mothers and
playing rather half-heartedly in the mid-day sun. The male kangaroos looked
like human sunbathers as they reclined on their sides with their back legs
stretched out and their front legs spread on the ground in front of them. It
was an interesting tableaux and I was stunned by how close we were to them.

"Look at them," Austin whispered
as he bent close and slipped an arm around my waist. I shivered a bit, but I
leaned into it hoping that he would stay there a bit longer.

"I know, it seems there is a
commonality in all species," I whispered back.

"In what way?" he asked.

"It seems that in every species the
females are always working and looking after the offspring, and the men are
lazing around watching," I deadpanned in his ear.

Austin choked on the laughter that bubbled
up in his throat and then swallowed it down as he clung to me. I slid my arm
under his and wrapped it around his waist. He was still as we sat arm-in-arm
watching the lounging grey kangaroos. I didn't say a word because I didn't want
to break the spell or the contact. I liked the feeling of his warm body pressed
against mine and how his arm fit perfectly around my waist.

Suddenly, the kangaroos spotted something
in the trees and they all jumped up and hopped toward it, away from the beach.
Austin looked over at me. Our eyes locked as we held each other with one arm. I
looked up at him and wondered if I should lean over and kiss him, but thought
about how he'd promised to give me room to figure things out, so I simply held
his gaze and waited.

"Um, lunch?" he finally said as
he cleared his throat and withdrew his arm.

"Sure! I'm hungry now," I said
in a much too cheerful voice as I turned and headed back from where we came. I
could feel Austin close behind me. "What's for lunch?"

"I'm not sure, I didn't pack the
basket today," he replied.

"Do you normally pack a picnic basket
when you take a woman to the beach?" I asked playfully as I skipped down
the path.

"Only when I don't care about
impressing her," he shot back. I laughed out loud, and we raced back to
the beach where our lunch awaited us.

The chef had packed deliciously thick
turkey sandwiches on homemade bread that smelled like it had recently come out
of the oven. There were containers of tender potato salad seasoned with cumin
and vinegar, crisp bean salad with a mustard dressing, and pasta salad with
fresh peppers, tomatoes, and mozzarella cheese. There were bottles of ice-cold
pale ale and for dessert we stuffed ourselves with fresh melon and macaroons.
When I'd eaten as much as I could, I leaned back and lay in the sand groaning
about how full I was. Austin laughed and lay down next to me.

"So, I told you about my childhood,
tell me about yours," he said as he reached down and laced his fingers
through mine. I could feel the air leave my lungs as he gently held my hand as
he looked at me and waited to hear my reply.

"Well, I grew up in a poor part of
Las Vegas, the part where there were security gates across the front of the
apartment complex, but no locks on them to keep the dangerous people out,"
I said. "Is that what it was like in Bushwick?"

"No, this is your story. I'll answer
questions later," he smiled. "Tell me about it."

"My father died when I was small, he
was a Marine," I said softly. "My mother did the best she could with
what she had and I never felt unloved or unlucky, unless it was on Father/Daughter
Day at school, but even then my mother would get a friend to come with me, so I
didn't feel totally left out."

"Did you know your father at
all?" he asked.

"No, I was just a baby when he died.
I don't have any memories of him," I said. "Did you ever meet your
father?"

"No, I have no memories of him,
either," he said. "The first time I'd ever heard of him was during
the reading of the will when I found out that he'd left me practically his
entire fortune."

"It's odd, but I don't miss
him," I said. "You know what I mean? Like you can't miss what you
never even had."

"I know," Austin nodded. "I
know exactly what you mean. My mom did double duty and she did it pretty well,
I think."

"Yeah, my mother never made me feel
like there was anything wrong with our life," I nodded. "She made it
all seem like this big giant adventure, so I just hopped on and went with her
wherever she took me."

"My mom did that, too!" he
exclaimed. "She'd make even the most boring errand seem like this huge
mystery adventure and I'd always come back feeling like we led the most
interesting lives in the world. Even when we were so poor that we had to do
without, she still made it seem like it was fun."

"My mom always told me that our trips
to the food bank were actually to help out the poor people in our neighborhood,
and could I please pick up an extra box of Mac and Cheese for Mr. Burton on the
third floor?" I laughed. "She made me feel like we were doing
everyone else's shopping and errands!"

"Why did you marry Tommy?" Austin
blurted out as he looked at me with a serious expression on his face.

"It's complicated," I said.

"I find that most everything
is," he smiled. "Now, why did you marry him?"

"I loved him. I still do, if I'm
honest," I said. "He was headed places, and I was too, and we were so
incredibly young. I mean, I still am really young, but back then we were even
younger, you know?"

Austin listened carefully as I told him
the whole story of how Tommy and I wound up married and what had happened after
he'd gotten injured. I explained what our life looked like now, and then I
sighed and looked up at the sky.

"I'm sorry that things are so tough,
Emily," he said.

"Don't you dare pity me," I said
fiercely as I gripped his hand tighter and held on.

"I would never insult you that
way," he assured me. "I'm just saying that I'm sorry that things are
difficult, and I'm sorry if I'm making them more difficult."

"You really are, you know?" I
said as I turned my head sideways to look at him. "You're complicating
everything."

"Again, I'm sorry," he said.

"Well, I'm not." I smiled as I
leaned over and lightly kissed his cheek. "I'm not sorry at all."