Coldhearted Boss(73)

“I don’t know,” she says, her attention sliding up to my mouth. “I could probably come up with another fifty things but I’d really like to kiss you right now, and would you please stop doing that?”

She’s talking about how my hands are working up the bottom of her shirt so I can slide my palms up around her waist.

“I listened to your demands,” I taunt, leaning down so my lips barely hover over hers. “Now I think you should listen to mine.”





“So you probably saw what happened last week when I asked Taylor out to dinner.”

I’m at my desk, trying to catch up on work. I have a million emails to read and respond to and I’m supposed to have a conference call with my partners in fifteen minutes.

“Hudson, I have work to do.”

“I know, I was just wondering, since you talked to Taylor right after I left…do you think she’s interested in me but just doesn’t want to make things complicated at work?”

Jesus Christ. If Taylor didn’t want to make things complicated at work, she’d let me tell everyone she’s off the market.

“You know what? I think you’re better off just focusing on the project. How’s that?”

He groans and turns back to his computer, temporarily silenced.

A few minutes later, Taylor comes in with my coffee and aims a warm smile at Hudson. “Hey Hudson! Did you have a good weekend?”

His eyes widen as he takes her in. She’s wearing jeans and her work boots. Her t-shirt shouldn’t be all that sexy, but it is. She has her hair pulled up in a wavy ponytail, making her feminine features shine. The guy has L-O-V-E written across his forehead in fat Sharpie.

“It was good. Yeah. Okay…well, honestly not all that exciting. Did you have a good weekend?”

A sweet little blush creeps up as her gaze sweeps over to me. “Yeah, it was really great.”

I arch a brow and accept my coffee, more than happy to listen to her describe her weekend to Hudson.

“Why don’t you tell him your favorite part?” I goad.

Sure, I have shit to do, but this beats the hell out of checking emails.

“Oh, well, I really liked swimming,” she says with a shy smile.

“Swimming?”

“Yes, swimming at night,” she continues, eyes on me.

“That’s dangerous,” Hudson says with a frown.

“I was careful,” she teases.

“Probably not careful enough,” I respond.

Jesus, my voice is husky, and I’m seconds away from sweeping everything off my desk and dragging her down onto it.

Hudson is completely oblivious. “Ethan’s right. I hope you don’t do that often. Truly, it’s much safer to swim during the day.”

After assuring Hudson she’ll be much more careful in the future, she turns to leave without any more private smiles in my direction. I’m left…wanting.

It gets worse at lunch, when I walk into the mess hall with Robert and find her sitting at a table with some of the crew. Her little puppy Max is in the seat beside her.

I remember what Hudson said about them—that they used to date way back when—and it has me tempted to make a fool of myself. I’ve never been a jealous monster, but then I’ve also never had to keep a secret like this. The fact is when the crew left on Friday, Taylor was fair game. Now, she’s not, and I’d prefer they all know that.

I feel her gaze on me as I walk across the cafeteria, but I keep my attention on Robert and the story he’s telling. If Taylor wants me to hide our relationship, it’s probably better I keep a safe distance in a room with so many spectators.

In the afternoon, she comes into the trailer to do some work. I’m on the phone with our client, discussing the progress of the project.

“The concrete pour went well. Did you get the photos we sent?”

Taylor finds the papers I left for her on Hudson’s desk and starts flipping through them. I move my gaze down her slowly as the client asks about the next steps.

“We’ll begin framing this week, so you’ll be able to see the progress during your site visit in two weeks. Soon after, we’ll install the air barriers.”

Taylor frowns at a piece of paper and then carries it over, mouthing her question.

“Does this need to be filed?”

I nod and she turns to leave, but I catch her wrist, keeping her there beside me. My thumb brushes her pulse point and I lean back in my chair, looking up at her, appreciating this quiet moment after a hectic morning.

The client asks more about the site check and I confirm that my partners will be here as well. “Steven will walk you through the framed building so you and your team can confirm everything has been placed in accordance with the blueprints, even if it’s still in progress.”

Taylor smiles down at me and I tug her closer, bringing her down onto my lap.

She protests, but I shake my head, knowing she’ll do as I say while I’m on the phone. She’s nothing if not a dutiful employee.

I wrap my arm around her waist. She sits perfectly quiet with her head against my chest. A sudden warmth takes hold of me and I realize I’d want her to stay here like this all day if it were possible.

“While I’ve got you here, I got a call from our interiors coordinator in Austin and she mentioned that your team was still wavering on window selections for the patio on the west elevation. We’ll need to put in that order soon if you don’t want delays.”