Like a Boss - Annabelle Costa Page 0,14

for the evening. In case anyone asks me about it, I went to a bachelorette party in a bar. My gift to the bride was a red thong.

I stop off for a takeout order of pad thai from the restaurant down the block from my building. I try to slip by Sadie’s apartment unnoticed with my piping hot bag of noodles, but as usual, she catches me in the act.

“Ellie!” she exclaims when she sees me.

I halt guiltily. “Hi, Sadie.”

She stares at the brown paper bag. “Is that Chinese takeout?”

“No…” I say. “It’s Thai.”

Sadie sighs. “Oh, Ellie, how do you expect to find a beau if you don’t cook?”

“I cook,” I say defensively. I do! Mostly stuff in the microwave. That counts though. I mean, I have to press a button that says “cook” so that means it’s cooking.

Sadie squints up at my face. “Are you wearing makeup, dear?”

I touch my face self-consciously. “No… well, just a little.”

A slow smile spreads across Sadie’s wrinkled face. “There’s a man you like, isn’t there?”

“No,” I say quickly. Maybe too quickly.

“Don’t worry,” Sadie says. “I’ll give you a cooking lesson this weekend and you’ll have him wrapped around your little finger in no time.”

Before I can tell her not to bother, Sadie rushes off into her apartment, probably to look up sexy recipes.

She is absolutely wrong about this one. I don’t like Luke. Yes, I did put on make-up, which I don’t usually do, but that was just to look respectable for my boss. It was an innocent gesture.

I swear.

Chapter 7

From Facebook:

Luke Thayer should be put in prison for his crimes against the small businesses he acquires and destroys. The man has no humanity. Like this post if you agree.

(This post was liked by 749 people.)

Just to prove a point, I’m not wearing a scrap of make-up to work the next day, even though Luke emails me to show up at his office at eleven. Our relationship is strictly business—that’s abundantly clear. Whatever happened in the past is in the past.

Jenna comes into my office just as I’m printing out my data for Luke. She’s got an issue with her code, which isn’t atypical, but I don’t have time. “I’ll help you in the afternoon,” I tell her. “I’ve got a meeting with Luke Thayer now.”

“Oh!” She looks me up and down, noting that I’m wearing my usual slacks and dress shirt. “You know, I saw him coming back from lunch yesterday.”

I know where this is going, and I don’t have time for it. “Mmm.”

“I didn’t realize he’s… you know…” She lowers her voice. “Disabled.”

“Yeah,” I mumble.

“He’s in bad shape.” She shakes her head. “No wonder he’s so bitter and cold.”

I narrow my eyes at her. “Bitter and cold?”

“Well, I don’t know.” She shrugs. “That’s what people say about him. I mean, he’s definitely not a good guy. That’s why everyone here is so freaked out.”

“I don’t think he’s as bad as people think,” I say. “Anybody famous is going to get internet hate these days. I mean, you can’t even post a picture of your kids without somebody saying that you’re committing child abuse.”

Jenna snorts. “Well, people on the internet really hate Luke Thayer.”

I can’t disagree with her.

“I heard he was in an accident of some sort when he was in his twenties,” she says. “He’s, like, a quadriplegic or something. You know those guys can’t even feel their dicks?”

I suck in a breath. No, I didn’t know that. Luke can’t feel his dick? That seems like such a crime. For a moment, I allow myself to think back to that night so many years ago, the way he leaned forward and…

“So he has to exert his power in other ways, I guess,” she says, “since he can’t get it up anymore.”

I can’t listen to this anymore. “I’ve got to go, Jenna,” I choke out.

She nods. “Good luck.”

I show up at Luke’s office at exactly eleven. Well, it’s more like 10:59AM, as I’m unable to squash my anal-retentive desire to be early. As I pass his gorgeous secretary Michelle, she’s bending down to pick something up, and I get a glimpse of her smokin’ ass. For a moment, I am overcome with emotion I can’t identify.

Jealousy? No, definitely not. I don’t care if Luke’s secretary is gorgeous—the same sort of gorgeous blond sorority Barbie he used to date all through college. Anyway, it looks like his taste hasn’t changed much.

When I enter Luke’s office, he’s hard at work on his computer. I