The Boss Upstairs - Roya Carmen Page 0,29
new gig, a jingle for a vacation company. He keeps playing the same tune over and over, and it’s driving me crazy.”
I hand her a glass. “Trouble in paradise?”
She smiles. “No… not at all. I just need to get out once in a while. Or sometimes I just put my noise cancelling headphones on. Or I’ll watch TV or listen to music on my headphones. And closed doors are a godsend.”
I settle in next to her. “The perils of being engaged to a musician, I guess.”
She laughs. “He’s so worth it though.”
“I’m so happy for you,” I tell her. “You deserve it.”
She smiles and blows me a kiss. “Enough about me. What’s going on, Gretch? Why did you want me to come over?”
I’m excited. I’m scared. I don’t know where to start.
“Well… you know how I almost kissed my boss last week—”
“I knew it was about him,” she squeals. “Keep going.”
“Wow, I’m glad to be entertaining you so, my friend.”
She giggles. “You are… now stop being a tease, and tell me everything.”
I trace circles around the rim of my wineglass. “Well, I thought I might get fired or something after what happened, because he didn’t seem very happy about it all. But I could tell that he really wanted to…”
“To bang you?”
I shake my head, embarrassed. “Yes. Anyway, I show up at work this morning, and he immediately calls me into his office.”
“Uh-oh.”
I smile. “So I get in there, and I’m scared out of my mind. And then he hands me this four page agreement.”
“An agreement? What kind of agreement?”
“It’s basically an agreement to ensure that I won’t accuse him of sexual harassment if we go ahead and sleep together.”
She tilts her head, pondering my words. “Makes sense. He’s just covering his ass. I would too if I were him.”
“Yeah… I guess so.”
“What’s in the agreement?”
“Well, I can’t really tell you because there’s actually a Confidentiality clause in the agreement.”
“Oh, you big tease. You can tell me a little, can’t you?”
I laugh. “Well, maybe a little.”
I don’t mention my second thoughts about certain requests Boss Man has made, but I do confide in her about my doubts about getting emotionally involved with him.
“I feel guilty,” I confess.
“Oh, Gretchen.” She strokes my hair. “It’s been over two years.”
“I know, but I still love Donovan. I can’t love anyone else.”
“Of course you do. You always will,” she tells me. “But who said anything about love. From what you’ve told me so far, this sounds a lot like sex.”
“It is,” I admit. “It’s all sex. There’s even a clause about not getting emotionally invested.”
“Well, there you go.”
My glass of wine is almost empty. I’ll need another.
“The question is… do you want him?” she asks. “Do you want him to fuck you, to do all the things he wants to do?”
I blush crimson. I do. I desperately want it. “It’s all I can think about.”
She smiles. “Then don’t deny yourself. You haven’t been laid in almost three years, Gretch. I think it’s time.”
“I know. I’ll still feel guilty though.”
She worries her lip. “Well… just keep telling yourself that it’s just sex, and maybe, don’t kiss him on the mouth.”
“Really?”
“Yes, kissing is the most intimate act of all. You take that out of the equation, and it’s just sex.”
I mull over her advice for a long beat. “How very Pretty Woman, but you do make a good point.”
“Maybe you could include that in the agreement… no kissing.”
“He probably won’t like that.”
She smiles. “Who cares? You’re in charge too. You need to be comfortable with this agreement.”
“Do you think I’m a weirdo? Be honest.”
She laughs out loud. “No… I think he might be a bit of a weirdo, but I think you just might be the luckiest little bitch on earth.”
I bite my lip, and drain the last of my Pinot.
God, I love this woman.
12
It’s Tuesday morning, and I can’t eat a thing for breakfast because I’m just too nervous. I force down a clementine because I don’t want a completely empty stomach. Ethan, on the other hand, has a great appetite this morning. He scarfs down his cereal and eggs, all smiles.
Patricia cheerfully takes over as I head off upstairs. If only she knew what I was up to. She’s basically looking after Ethan so I can engage in sexual shenanigans with the beautiful man in the penthouse. I’m not exactly getting much work done.
I shake my head and press the P button. I can’t think like that. I haven’t been laid in almost three