Capsizing Her Billionaire Boss - Sarah Gay Page 0,23
said, taking a few steps back. She pulled out her phone and typed something. “An Uber is on its way. I’m going to go back to my hotel, and then we’re only going to see each other once a week—at a designated office location.” She pushed her hair back from her forehead and stared up at the sky. “I’m messing this up for everyone.”
“How are you messing this up?” he said, cursing himself for having taken things too far with her.
She paced in a circle. “I shouldn’t have kissed you. It’s a universal rule of friendship: don’t kiss.”
“But I was the one…” Fear of losing her took hold of his chest. “I’m so sorry, Poppy. What can I do?”
“Read the proposal,” she said, stepping to the curb as the Uber driver pulled up.
She climbed into the bright blue Prius and drove away.
Eli came to his side. “I think by read it she means get to work.”
“Work,” Damian repeated, tapping his chin. “You’re right. She wants me to get this project finished so we can finally be together, just like I do.”
“No,” Eli drew out with a shake of his head. “I don’t think that’s what she meant.”
Damian pounded his heart with his fist. “I feel so much better now. Time to get to work, little brother. Show me what ya got.”
“Doesn’t she have a boyfriend?” asked Eli.
“Trivial bump in the road. Let’s not forget, she almost kissed you over a mere few lines of code. That kiss we shared was…well…it was nothing short of amazing. Think what she’ll do when she sees my mad programming skills.”
“I was thinking the same thing,” said Eli with a wiggle of his brow. “Wait till she sees what else I got.”
“No,” said Damian flatly.
“Why not? I’ve been told I’m as handsome as you, but younger.”
The heavens clouded over. “I said no.”
Chapter Seven
Poppy plopped onto her bed and stretched out like a crime scene chalk outline.
She felt Damian’s lips part hers again. She allowed herself to bask in the sweet memory much too long. “I’m falling for a player,” she said, kicking her legs. “Correction, I’ve fallen for a player.”
She dug her face into the soft pillow. If she started dating Damian, what were the chances of it working out between them? Zero, she answered herself. That world-altering kiss they’d shared had told her that Damian was a heartbreaker. Any man who could make a girl go weak in the knees while stirring every passionate feeling inside her, that man was trouble. When—not if—he walked away from her, she’d be shattered, destroyed, which would leave Kai’s entire project in jeopardy.
Charlie jumped up onto the bed and snuggled in at her side. “I love you, Charlie, but I need a girlfriend to talk to right now.”
It had been years since she’d confided in another woman. Kent popped into her mind. She shot up into a seated position and blinked with the realization that Kent had been more of a girlfriend to her than a boyfriend. At least that’s how she’d treated him, poor man. She smacked her forehead. “How could I do that?”
Poppy’s phone rang from the desk across the room. Kai’s ringtone. She jumped up and answered it. “Did you hear?”
“No.”
She sighed out her relief.
“Unless you mean how you were lip locked with Damian Jones and a saucy tabloid journalist got it all on film.”
She closed her eyes and whimpered. “I’m mortified, Kai. I don’t know what to do.”
“Don’t worry,” he said in his calming voice, the one he used with his kids when they broke something. “My brother Zee is in between documentaries. He agreed to hop over to Dallas and shoot a story on the new company and its origins. He’ll be in and out over the next several months.”
“You think we can clean this up?”
“Are you kidding? Zee’s a miracle worker. These paparazzi clowns are doing us a favor. They’re giving us the hype we need. When we’re ready to take this product to market, the public will be on their toes waiting to know what it’s all about. We’ll be ready with a documentary that sells it for us. Just don’t forget to smile. A lot.”
“I can do that. And Kai, you won’t need to worry about Damian and me kissing again.”
“That’s a relief.”
Her heart sank a little deeper into her chest. “Yeah. I know.”
“Poppy,” he said, then paused.
“Yes, Kai?”
“I want what’s best for you.”
And that confirmed it. Kai knew Damian was a player too. “Thanks Kai.”
“You’ve got a bright future.