Page 13 of Tangling with the Boss

Thumbs trace along my sides, tickling me through my thin dress.

Stars wink overhead, and laughter and chatter buzz beneath the music. The rooftop is thronged with guests, everyone bright-eyed and excited to be here, on the mysterious boss’s rooftop. Seeing his pool, eating his canapes, drinking from his open bars. Leo Corbin is secretly a generous man—people just don’t notice that fact when he’s glaring at them.

“Will you tell me before you leave?” Dread curls through the boss’s low voice, his expression pained.

“Yes,” I promise.

I can do that much. After everything Leo Corbin has given me, surely I owe him the truth.

One final confession, one rip of the band aid, and then we’ll draw a line under this whole messy affair.

Six

Leo

Hazel stays on the rooftop until the last guest has been poured into the car service we’ve provided for tonight. She thanks the band personally and helps coil their cables. She helps the staff to pick up stray glasses and empty beer bottles, then fills crates with dirty dishware ready to go down to the catering van. Hell, she’d probably ride there tonight and single-handedly load all their dishwashers if she could.

“Oh no you don’t.” Snagging her wrist as Hazel moves to follow the last hired staff off the roof, I hold her back. “You’re done for tonight, sweetheart. Take those shoes off.”

She’s been hobbling for the last hour when she thinks no one is watching. Well, joke’s on Hazel, because I’malwayswatching, and she can’t hide her aching feet from me.

My assistant rolls her eyes, but when I kneel and gesture for her foot, she leans on my shoulder and offers one leg.

Such graceful arched feet. Such feminine toes, the nails painted pink.

Christ. Am I suddenly a foot man? This woman has ruined me.

“You did way too much tonight.” Scolding Hazel will make me feel better. Teasing the fiddly little straps undone, I slide off one high heel then the other, placing them carefully on the roof.

The stone is still warm, radiating the heat of the day, even as the wind whips across the empty rooftop and ruffles Hazel’s dress and hair. Without the crowds and the gazebos to get in the way, the wind moans and pushes her tiny frame so hard she stumbles.

That’s enough of that. Straightening up, I take Hazel’s hand and tug her across the rooftop to the pool. Cool water will make those toes feel better—and if she sits, she’ll be sheltered from the worst of the wind.

“Do you think everyone had a good time tonight?” Her voice is thin and tired, and she clings to my hand like a lifeline as I lead her to the pool. So goddamn sweet. Always worrying about other people, always thinking about her coworkers and friends, while Hazel has worked herself into the ground for this party.

“Yes. Sit on the edge and put your feet in the water.”

A hiss escapes her as her feet break the surface, but once she’s settled, Hazel tips her head back with a blissed-out sigh. “That’s better.”

“I’m very wise.” Dragging a sun lounger closer, I sit down and stare at the back of my assistant’s blonde head. Her long ponytail dangles between her shoulder blades, ruffled by the breeze. What I’d give to wrap that rope of hair around my fist…

“Modest, too.”

When I crack a smile, my face aches from the unfamiliar motion. My insides are plummeting, falling into nothingness.

Would Hazel ever care for me too?

Could she ever…loveme?

What if I worked every day to earn her love and loyalty? What if I turned all the fierce dedication and focus that I used to build Grapevine onto my assistant, building something new between us? Something real?

My frozen heart thumps harder, prickling back to life.

Yeah. I could do that.

Iwantto do that.

What else is life about if not Hazel? Why have I been so stubborn? So blind? Sure, I’m a clueless jackass when it comes to matters of the heart, but I’ve got a brain, haven’t I? I can learn.

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