Page 9 of Enemy Boss

“She needs a job and she’s struggling to find anything. That’s where you come in,” my mom says. “Can you give this woman a job at your firm?”

My heart sinks. It’s the one thing I can’t do. My company, ITSafe, is a professional company that helps other companies with cyber protection and it’s not something where I can just employ anyone. They have to have an idea of what they are doing.

“I’m sorry Mom,” I say. “I can’t just hand jobs out like that. My clients rely on the company to deliver a certain level of service and if I have people around me that don’t know their jobs properly, the whole thing can fall apart in mere minutes. What about if I cut her a check that will see her through the next three or four months so she’s in a more comfortable place to find a job.”

“No, she wouldn’t accept charity,” my mom says. “She doesn’t want to be a freeloader. She just wants a chance. And I thought you said your secretary was going off on maternity leave. soon”

“She is,” I say.

“And you haven’t found a replacement for her yet, right?” my mom goes on.

“No,” I say, not wanting to get her hopes up but not wanting to lie to her either. “But I need to get someone from the employment agency I use because I need someone who can hit the ground running. The crossover period for training is too short to put a pity hire there.”

“No, I get that. And she wouldn’t be a pity hire. She has plenty of administration experience. She was the PA to the CEO of the company in her last job,” my mom says.

“Really?” I ask.

“Scout’s honor,” my mom says.

I ignore the fact my mom wasn’t even a girl guide, let alone a scout, and I feel myself nodding my head, despite my reservations.

“Ok,” I say. “Tell her to come to the office and find me at nine thirty on Monday morning. Tell her the post is temporary, a year’s contract, to cover maternity leave with a chance of a permanent contract if she does well. Please also make it known that you might have gotten her through the door, but she needs to be able to do the job to stay. I know this family means a lot to you Mom, but I won’t have her making a mess at my company.”

Chapter 7

Cullen

“Yes,” I say, lifting the receiver of my desk phone when I see it’s an internal call and I know it’s my secretary, Lisa.

“Hi Cullen,” she says. “I have a Lucy Granger here. She says she has a nine thirty appointment with you, but I can’t see anything on the calendar.”

I can hear the mild chiding in her tone. She knows fine well Lucy is telling the truth about the appointment and that I have forgotten to update the calendar again, something she is forever having a go at me about. Strangely, getting told off by my secretary is one of the major things I will miss when Lisa is on her maternity leave. It’s funny but being CEO of the company makes a lot of employees a bit nervous around me, and even the higher ups won’t openly scold me. Lisa has no such issues.

“Send her in please,” I say. “And can you add a nine thirty appointment to the calendar for me for today please.”

Lisa laughs softly and I smile, picturing her shaking her head in amusement. As she hangs up the phone, I hear her telling Lucy to come through to my office and when there is a gentle tap on the door, I call for her to come in.

I don’t know what I’m expecting Lucy to look like. I haven’t really thought about it. What I’m not expecting to see is Max, a woman I slept with like a year or so ago. I am massively confused, especially when she comes closer to me extending her hand and announcing herself as Lucy Granger.

I stand up and shake her hand, sure I must be mistaken about her identity, but I know I’m not. I’m not in the habit of forgetting women I have had sex with, especially not when it was the sort of sex I had with Max. How could I forget that rose bud mouth, the hazel eyes and the cute smattering of freckles across her nose. And how could I forget the contours of her body, the places my tongue roamed over her skin, and the places that seemed made especially for my hands to fit on them.

“Cullen Monroe,” I say, hoping my utter confusion isn’t written all over my face. “Take a seat.”

I don’t know why Max has given a fake name or got my mom involved in whatever the hell this is. If she wanted to see me that badly, she could have just come up from the street and asked to see me. But I do know this – whatever game she’s playing, it ends right here.

At first, I think she is either unaware of who I am or that she is unaffected by my presence, but then, as she sits down, I notice the flush of red on her neck and after a few seconds, she starts to fidget, crossing and uncrossing her legs and rubbing her hands together. I decide to just ask her what the hell is going on here. I don’t have time to play games with her.

“Why did you lie about your name Max?” I ask.

The pink flush darkens and becomes red, and she scratches at her neck with her nails, and then she tugs slightly at the collar of her white blouse.

“I didn’t,” she says. “My real name is Lucy. Max is just a nickname.”

That makes sense and it also explains why I couldn’t find her on social media when I decided to try and look her up just out of curiosity months ago. I assumed at the time she had found me first and blocked me, but I guess I was searching for the wrong name. I am tempted to ask her why she has Max as a nickname, but it doesn’t feel professional to ask and she isn’t offering up the information, so I move on.

“And I suppose it’s just coincidence that my mom is good friends with your mom then?” I say, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes,” she says. “I had no idea that it would be you I was seeing today. I was just told to ask for the CEO – I didn’t even know your name. Had I have known, I probably wouldn’t have come, but the fact is, I need a job so if you’re willing to give me a chance …”

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