Misadventures with the Boss (Misadventures #12)(12)

I was independent and totally badass.

With these mantras running through my head, I stepped inside the building and beelined for the elevators. Straightening my Buddy Holly glasses, I pressed the button and forced a smiled as the set of doors in front of me slid open.

With quick strides, I boarded the elevator and then closed my eyes and waited for the doors to clang shut again and carry me off to my fresh new start. Before they did, however, I heard the soft thump of feet against the floor, so I opened my eyes to greet the stranger who joined me.

When I opened my mouth, though, I found my throat had completely gone dry. Blood rushed to my head.

This could not be happening.

After all the good work I’d done to get him out of my head, there he was, standing right in front of me.

Jackson, my “date” from the other night, selected his floor with the same cool confidence I’d felt only moments before. That, however, was long gone. In fact, it was so far gone I couldn’t seem to remember what it felt like anymore. My knees were rubber, and I wobbled where I stood, overcome by the powerful memory of exactly what had happened the last time this man had entered my life…and my vagina.

Hysterical laughter threatened to bubble from my lips, and I bit my bottom one, hard. Maybe if I didn’t make eye contact and just kept my trap shut, he wouldn’t notice me. After all, with my business suit and glasses, who knew? Superman seemed to get by playing Clark Kent without a problem.

He turned, though, and met my gaze with instant recognition. For a split second, I thought his face might have betrayed that same shock I knew had to be plainly displayed on mine, but then his features smoothed and he said coolly, “Piper, nice to see you. I didn’t realize you worked here.”

I shook my head. “I don’t. Or, you know, I didn’t. I’m just…” I swallowed, trying to regain my bearings. What was it about this guy that made all my words come out in fluent Idiot?

“Today is my first day,” I added lamely.

“Congratulations.” He nodded. “I’m sure you’ll like it here.”

“I’m sure,” I agreed.

For a long moment, neither of us said a word. Instead, we stared at each other, both apparently at a loss for what to say. In truth, I didn’t know if I ought to have apologized for leaving the way I had after our night together. And, if I was being even more painfully honest, deep, deep down, I was harboring a pathetic and ill-advised hope that he might want to ask me out again.

But no. He stood there, looking at me. Seeing through me and making me feel just as raw and exposed as he had that night in the bar…and later.

My cheeks burned, and I glanced at the floor as the elevator dinged and slowed to a stop. Five. I was going to fifteen. But then, if I got off here, I could catch the next elevator and be free of him.

“This is me,” I muttered and then clutched my purse a little tighter and scurried from the car as another woman took my place and nodded to Jackson.

“Mr. Dane,” she murmured, and my ears pricked up.

Eyes wide, I spun around, but the elevator doors were closing as my breath caught in my chest.

Mr. Dane?

As in the Mr. Dane?

The CEO and owner of this company?

Mr. Dane, who also happened to be my new boss?

There had to be some mistake. Maybe it was a family-run business and Jackson had a brother or father who was in charge. Yes, that had to be it.

Heart beating out of my chest, I pressed the elevator button again. When the next one arrived, I climbed in, joining a group of weary-eyed workers. Nobody bothered to greet me as I stepped on, and I followed their lead, too tied up into knots to speak anyway.

Still, as the elevator climbed floors and people stepped off to start their day, my knees weakened. I tried to convince myself that surely karma couldn’t be this cruel. Besides, a guy like Jackson couldn’t be the CEO of this company.

He had the cockiness for the job, for sure, but he wasn’t old enough. Guys like Mr. Dane—my boss—would have spent their entire lives building up an empire like this. A thirty-something guy could never manage such a feat. Not on this scale. No matter how cocky or good-looking he was.

The doors dinged, and I glanced at the numbers before stepping off and glancing around. The floor was filled with cubicles as far as the eye could see, and at the very end of the room was a huge office with wide, glass walls. The blinds of the room were closed, and I hitched my purse a little higher on my shoulder before starting for my destination.

As I walked, nobody in their cubicles turned to look at me. I focused on my mission, all the while doing my damnedest to convince myself that when I did knock on that door, Jackson would not be the man to answer it.

I inhaled deeply, lifted my hand, and knocked carefully, holding my breath as heavy footfalls sounded on the carpet. And then the door swung open to reveal him. My new boss. And the hottest fuck of my life.

Jackson Dane.

Just kill me now.

And he was staring at me in a way that left no doubt he was remembering every second of our night together.

Heat rose to my cheeks, and I glanced around him, hoping against hope that he’d merely been in the office talking to his superior. But I knew that wasn’t the case. Because in this office?

Jackson was the superior.

“I think there’s been a mistake,” I spluttered. “The HR department hired me and told me I’d be Mr. Dane’s new assistant, but I think they gave me the wrong person. Should I go to the office and—”