Boss I Love to Hate An Office Romance - Mia Kayla Page 0,116

clenched and then unclenched.

Was it my fault that I was in love and addicted to every part of her body?

I’d deny all the sex. We’d be fine. Sonia and I would simply keep it to after-work hours. It was hard, hard being around her and not wanting to be inside her, but I’d make sure things were strictly professional at work, going forward.

“If this is about Sonia, there’s nothing to talk about. I’ll meet you at work.” I reached for my briefcase and turned to leave.

“Brad.” One word. Loud. Authoritative. It was the tone he used on the girls, the tone that meant business.

“Yes, Brad, we need to talk. This isn’t working out,” Mason added. “Everyone at work is talking.”

Mason’s even tone was my cue to leave. He grated on my nerves. And, to think, we had been getting along.

“I don’t care.” I was already walking, but he blocked my direct path to the door leading to the garage. I was now sandwiched between both of them.

“Did you really have sex on the copier?” Mason’s tone was condescending, and his face scrunched up, disgusted, as though he’d never, ever had sex in the office. “That’s crossing the line.”

Yes. “No, and if I did, it’s my fucking copier. My company. My life.” The muscles in my neck tensed, and my hand tightened around my briefcase.

“Your company?” Mason chuckled without humor. “That’s funny. I think we all have one-third equity share.”

I tilted my head from side to side, releasing the tension from my neck. “You’d better stop, Mason. You’re pissing me off.”

“I’ll stop when you fire her,” Mason spat out.

That turned a switch in me. I stepped into him, pressing a finger into his chest, eyes narrowed. “Sonia is my concern. Not yours. So, you don’t get to decide what happens to her, what she has for lunch, where I take her on dates, and most definitely, if she’s still working for me, which she still is, by the way.”

He glared. “It’s too late. You’re outnumbered, and we’ve already decided. We’ve already hired her replacement.”

The air knocked out of my lungs, and I stepped back.

I flipped around and narrowed my eyes at Charles. He never went above me—ever. He’d have discussed it with me first, but decision was written on his features.

My mouth went lax. “Don’t I have a say in this, Charles?” There was no bite in my tone, no strength in my voice. Once Charles made a decision, it was as good as done.

Charles sighed. “Brad, you’re not thinking straight. People are talking. This is as much for her as it is for you. Women talk and can get nasty. They’re already starting to say she only got where she was by sleeping with the boss.”

I cringed. Maybe I’d fire all of them then.

I threw up a hand. “She’s been working for me for two years, and she has had the same damn position.” I walked to the kitchen and dropped to the chair, already tired. “Who? I want names.” No one could talk about Sonia like that. “Names. Because they’re fired.”

“See? See how stupid you’re being?” Mason shook his head, as if he was exasperated with me.

“Mason,” Charles scolded in his fatherly tone, “stop.”

Then, Charles’s attention was thrown back my way. “You know this isn’t going to work. How are you going to give the woman you love her annual review?”

“Based on how many times she gives him head,” Mason muttered, and I wanted to fucking throw him through a window.

“Mason, just get out.” Charles pointed sternly to the door. “If you can’t be an adult about this, just get the hell out and go to work.”

“I can be civil,” Mason said quietly like a chastised child. He dropped to the seat opposite me at the kitchen table.

He was here for the show. Damn bastard.

“Brad, listen … this is for the best. Deep down, you know it is.” Charles placed a heavy hand on my shoulder, but it wasn’t the strength of his arm that weighed me down; it was the enormity of the truth.

When Sonia was around, all I could think about was being near her, inside her. With her, my normal work ethics were thrown out the door.

“I promised I wouldn’t fire her. I promised her nothing between us would change.” I begged him with my eyes.

“But it has, little brother. It has changed. It changed the moment you fell in love with her.” Charles was always the one to tell it how it was, straightforward and