Boss I Love to Hate: An Office Romance(63)

His words shot me in the chest. The last thing I wanted to do was ruin my relationship with Sonia. To never talk again? I couldn’t imagine not hearing her smart mouth or seeing her stunning face every morning.

I hung my head, staring at the lines in our hardwood floor that seemed so suddenly interesting. “I don’t know.”

His hand rested on my shoulder. “You know I’m right, Brad. Deep down, you know I am.”





Brad

The next morning, before I walked through my office doors, my chest tightened. I recognized the feeling—anxiety. The same feeling before I walked into a meeting to seal the deal and acquire another company.

This time, the anxious feeling was intensified, a rattling in my chest, my palms sweaty.

I inhaled deeply. The best thing to do was to face my fears head-on, so I walked through the doors, my eyes already searching for her because she was always there before me. Always. When my stare was met with the vacancy of her chair, the tightening in my chest rose to my throat.

What if she quit on me, all because of what happened at the wedding?

I flipped around, my eyes wide, and the tension instantly eased out of me. I took in all five feet two of Sonia Vanducci. Her brown hair was pulled back into a sleek ponytail, exposing the span of creamy white skin that I had kissed a few days ago. Her yellow silk shirt was tucked into a fitted skirt, one that hugged her slim figure, the same slim figure that I’d had beneath me.

Shit! Get it together, Brad.

I swallowed and croaked out, “Good morning.” I sounded like a teenage boy who’d just hit puberty.

Real smooth.

She quirked an eyebrow and held out a cup of coffee. “You okay?”

“Sure. Why wouldn’t I be?” I schooled my features, but my pulse ticked up.

“Okay.” She sounded unsure. “Anyway, you have a meeting at nine with the McCarthys and then a meeting with that China supplier at ten.”

I nodded, keeping it casual. “Aren’t you going to come into my office for my morning brief?”

Flashes of papers scattered on my office floor and Sonia on her back on my desk, naked from the waist down, pushed through.

Normal? We were far from normal.

My voice was hoarse and horny. “Come into my office.”

She blinked up at me. She wanted normal, and that was our normal routine. Is she avoiding me now?

“Oh. Yeah. Of course.” She fidgeted in her spot, pulling at the edge of her shirt. “I’ll be in, in a bit.”

She let out a shaky breath, and I was a bit relieved that it wasn’t just me who was anxious.

“Okay.”

I walked into my office, sat behind my desk, and powered up my computer. I swung my chair around to take in the Chicago skyline at my feet.

Challenge. Sonia is simply a challenge, as Mason put it.

And what male didn’t love a good challenge, right? This man sure did. Wasn’t that why I ran faster on the treadmill, sprinting, upping my incline and speed? Wasn’t that why I always tried to increase the weight that I benched? Wasn’t that why I volunteered on every deal Mason and Charles thought was too farfetched to win?

I was the epitome of a conqueror.

Maybe Mason was right.

A small knock came at the door, and I tucked away any emotion from my face, plastering on a nonchalant smile. “Hey.”

“Hey.” She stood by the door for a bit, not her usual style, before I tipped my chin toward the chair in front of me.

“Don’t be shy. I’m not going to bite.” I smirked. “Unless you want me to.” And then I was back to flirting, which never happened between us. I cleared my throat. “Sit down, Sonia. We’re going to go over my schedule for the day because I have that nine o’clock.”

“Yeah. Okay. Sure.” She sat down and rattled off my boring meetings of the day. Then, she reminded me to send Sarah’s and Mary’s teachers a teacher-appreciation present that Mason had tasked me to do. Teacher appreciation was tomorrow, and Charles was back at the end of the week.

As her eyes focused on her iPad, my gaze zoned in on her delectable lips. I could still taste the sweetness, feel her smooth, silky tongue against mine. I pictured me on top of her, grinding against her, my hardness against her softness. I shifted in my seat as my cock slowly came to life.

When she was done, she stood. “Anything else you want to make note of?” She held the iPad against her chest, as though using it as a barrier between us.

I smiled casually. “Nope. I’ll let you know if I do.”

She nodded and then turned to walk to the door. My eyes dropped to her tight ass, and I swallowed.

She was just about out of eyesight when she flipped toward me. “Does this …” She motioned between us. “… feel weird? Because it totally feels weird. Sometimes, I regret taking you, but then again, I don’t because Ava said everyone was talking about us and how hot you were, and so …” She raised one hand in the air. “… yay!” She gritted her teeth. “Go, team, go, right?”

“Do you think I’m hot?” I asked, carefully watching her and wondering why her opinion was so fucking important to me.

I usually didn’t care what women thought of me. Well, that wasn’t true. I usually knew what women thought of me. With Sonia … I wasn’t sure about anything really. What she thought, felt. She was a mystery, which was partly terrifying and mostly exciting as hell.