I Do the Boss (Managing the Bosses Series, #5)(18)

"I'm so close," he breathed out, and held her in place as she looked up and locked gazes with him. Her tongue swirled around the top of him, teasing as he clenched his teeth together and gave her a warning look. "Not yet. I want more."

A knock at the door caused her to pull back.

"Alex. We need you. It's an emergency!" Kristen's voice was high-pitched and full of panic.

"Shit." Jamie got up and walked to the door, pausing as Alex pulled himself together and buttoned his jacket.

"Damn it! This had better be good. The building better be burning down." Alex let out an angry huff and moved past Jamie out into the hall. The sound of yelling was enough to cause her chest to fill with anxiety. The fact that it sounded like Paul and Mark made it worse.

Alex walked into their office and slammed the door behind him, leaving Jamie to stand at the closed door to try to figure out if she should go in or not. She glanced over her shoulder at Kristen. "What the hell happened?"

"I honestly don't know. Everything was fine a minute ago, and then Mark came up to the front and asked Paul if he could have word with him. Paul followed him back here, and that's when the yelling started. Something about a project they were working on together, but both of them just seem so much more upset about it than they should." She crossed her arms over her chest and gave a confused look.

"They're both interested in you. It's causing issues here at the office. Surely you know that." Jamie turned to face Kristen, trying to keep her voice even and not at all accusatory. Maybe the girl was as innocent as she looked.

"What? No way." She shook her head. "Mark told me a few weeks ago that he wasn't looking for anything serious. We've just been friends after that."

"And Paul? Not that it's honestly any of my business." Jamie pressed her hand to her forehead and rubbed softly. It wasn't her business, and her pushing some unfounded agenda onto Kristen as if the girl were trying to play two men was as bad as the press calling her a horny maid.

"No, it's okay." Kristen jumped as someone hit the wall. "Paul's interested, but I'm not sure how I feel. We're just friends for now. I keep telling him to stop hanging around my desk so much. I know it has to look bad. Maybe you or Alex could say something to him. He's a nice guy, and I like him, but I honestly don't want to be causing any trouble. That's the last thing I want. I'm just filling in until you guys can find someone else."

"We'll talk to him." Jamie reached out and squeezed the shorter woman's arm. "I'm sorry you have to deal with all of this. I'm sure you know that men can be idiots."

"Far more than I care to discuss." She gave a sad smile, and the brief history that Alex had shared about Kristen moved through Jamie's memory. The poor girl had been through hell in her younger years.

The door opened in front of them, and Kristen and Jamie took a step back.

"Paul. With me, please." Alex walked out and gave Jamie a quick look before turning and walking to his office. Paul didn't look at anyone as he followed Alex down the hall.

"We'll talk more about it later. Just get back to work, and everything’ll be fine." Jamie smiled.

"Okay. You know we have about ten women who've sent in unsolicited resumes for the secretary job. Some of them have dropped them off. How do you want to handle those?" She took a step back as if ready to get back to her desk.

"I'll grab them from you in a few minutes and review them. After I weed through them, we'll have Alex review them, and then you can call the candidates and invite them to come in for a first round of interviews."

"Perfect, and Jamie, I'm sorry if I caused any trouble. I honestly didn't mean to. I try to run far from drama. I promise." She shrugged and turned around to walk back to the front. Jamie couldn't help but notice the slight downward curve of her shoulders.

"Hey." Jamie walked into Mark's office and shut the door. "That didn't go too well."

"Hell no, it didn't! I don't know what came over me." He growled and ran his hands through his hair. " Paul and I have been working on this project for a few days now, but it's just not coming together. I've done my part, and instead of finishing up his part, his ass is up front, dicking around with Kristen. It's getting old."

"And this has nothing to do with the—"

"Yes," he barked. "It has everything to do with it."

"Okay. Well, calm down and we'll figure it out." She walked toward him as he grabbed his keys.

"I need some air. I'm going to walk around outside for a bit.”

“Alex tell you to cool down?”

He moved past her and paused at the door. "Yeah. You wanna come?"

She glanced at her office. She had a million things to do. What would Alex want her to do? Not as a boyfriend but as a boss? “Let me grab my coat and I'll meet you at the front."

"I’ll be outside. I'm not hanging out in the lobby and watching that shit anymore." He walked out and left her standing there. It was the first time she'd seen Mark put any real emotion on display other than sadness.

"Wow." She walked to the front and stopped by Kristen's desk. "If Alex asks where I am, I've gone to lunch with his brother. Okay?"