I Do the Boss (Managing the Bosses Series, #5)(19)

"You bet. I'll put these resumes on your desk too." She nodded and got up to walk down the hall. The chalkiness of her skin left Jamie's heart aching for the situation between her, Mark, and Paul. All of them were good people, and yet they were getting wound up in something that would wreck them all if they weren't careful.

She got downstairs to find Mark pacing back and forth in front of the building.

"You ready?" She touched his shoulder as he jerked around.

"Yeah. I'm sorry." He glanced up at the tall building or Alex’s office. "I swear I'm turning into my father."

"It's alright. We all have a breaking point. You just found yours." She walked out onto the busy sidewalk with him, wishing she could talk with Alex for a minute or two. Paul was a great guy too. She prayed like hell that Alex wasn’t lighting into him too badly.

Mark stopped in front of the entrance to the city mall and slid his hands into his pockets. "You know what? I’m think I’m calling in today for a personal day. I'm not in the mood for company and I’ll be useless to work now. Are you going to be pissed if I just head home? I need to go for a run or something."

"No, not at all." She turned to face him and tried to ignore the multitudes of people trying to move past them.

"Thanks. I just need some time to myself." The look on his face broke her heart.

"No problem. I'm going to shop around during my lunch break. You go ahead, but call me later tonight and let me know you're okay."

"I will, and tell Alex not to be too rough on Paul. He's a great guy. Things just got out of control, which is probably my fault." He shrugged, and walked away before she could get a chance to reply.

It was a tough situation and everyone involved deserved a free pass on their part in it. She would talk to Alex later, but for the next little bit she planned on finding something sexy to wear for him. She'd force him to go out of town with her sooner or later. Teasing him with a lacy and rather translucent nightie might just help the cause.

Maybe it was a good thing that Mark needed some time to himself. She did too.





Chapter 8


Alex didn’t make it home that night but it was getting to be the norm, and after the craziness of the day, she didn’t blame him. Jamie fell asleep on the couch, watching reruns with Jake tucked against her chest. He’d sent her a text somewhere around midnight to say he needed to find additional help at the firm or talk about Mark taking a bigger position at the company. Something had to give. She didn’t argue. Where she wasn't overly concerned with Alex spending time with anyone other than her, the fact remained that he was only human. He was going to run himself completely into the ground if he wasn't careful.

She spent the early morning hours thinking about his business and toll it was taking on him. He’d made his millions, and his billions. What more did he need? It was fair to want to continue to have a successful company, but if he didn’t slow down he wasn’t going to be able to enjoy it.

He’d mentioned yesterday that he was having chest pains, and it worried her. Hopefully it was indigestion, but anxiety could cause it as well.

She tried to think through how she was going to talk him into stepping back or even down a little. It seemed like climbing a mountain backwards in the snow would be easier. She chuckled at the thought.

Jake jumped around her feet as she worked to get him a bowl of food before heading into the office. The paper was just outside the front door, and whereas she would usually ignore it, the picture on the front caught her attention.

Billionaire's fiancée playing the field?

"What the hell?" She knelt down and picked it up as nausea raced through the center of her chest. A picture of her and Mark at the park having what looked like a lover’s rendezvous was front page news. "No f*cking way."

She tucked the paper under her arm and got in the car as she tried to talk herself out of going back into the house and crawling into bed. Could nothing go right?

Her phone buzzed and she answered it, knowing that it would be Mark or Alex.

Mark.

Good.

"Hey." She pressed the button to put him on speaker. No reason to almost crash her car again.

"Oh f*ck, Jamie. I told you they were going do this shit. Unbelievable. Alex has his door shut, and Kristen said that he's not talking with anyone until he talks with you."

"Really?" She let out a soft huff. "I swear I'm not going to survive this life. I just want simplicity."

"We all do." Mark chuckled. "Well, one good thing about it is that they got my good side in the picture. You... uhh... they could have photo-shopped it a little."

She laughed, unable to help herself. "Alright. I'm headed into the office now. Just steer clear of Alex so that I can explain myself what happened first."

"Not a problem. I'm headed into a meeting that should last most of the morning. Good luck."

"Thanks. I think I’m going to need it."

She valeted the car, though it wouldn't have taken her more than fifteen minutes to park and walk into the building. It seemed like time was of the essence, and having Alex believe for one more minute than necessary that she and Mark were seeing him behind his back was not an option.

She jogged to the elevator and tapped her foot as it moved up to her floor incredibly slowly. It had to have stopped on every floor before getting to hers. She walked out to catch Kristen's eye, and held up her hand. "I know. I've already been told. Thanks." She knocked once and opened his door, slipping in and pressing her back to the closed door behind her. "It's not what you think."