Page 1 of Tempted By the Bosshole

CHAPTER ONE

December 1

Boston

Nathan

“Okay, spill,” my older brother demands, lounging on my living room sofa and tossing back a swallow of beer. “You’re up to no good.”

I stare into my whiskey glass, repressing a grin. “What makes you say that?”

“You’re way too quiet not to be plotting something.”

He’s not wrong. “Guess.”

“Well, you tolerated Douglas Shay stealing the money from your joint venture years ago only because he paid you back?—”

“After I threatened the living shit out of him.”

Steve nods. “So the asshole knows you won’t take the fact he stole your wife lying down.”

I snort. There’s no way I’d let that son of a bitch steal from me twice.

“He didn’t.” Julia and I were already on the verge of divorce. “After I ended things, he moved in with her.”

“Semantics. They were already fucking.”

“By then, I didn’t care who she spread her legs for. We were done.” In fact, my heart purged Julia as soon as I realized she lied to me for a decade.

“Then what’s your beef with Shay?”

“Besides the fact he’s a backstabbing asshole? Julia got half of everything in the divorce. Now she plans to marry that bastard, so he’ll get back all the money he once stole from me—with interest.”

Steve winces. “That would piss me off, too.”

“You’ll never have to worry about that, bro. You’ve got the best wife in Laurel.”

“I do,” Steve says smugly.

He deserves happiness—and his amazing wife. My sister-in-law is kind, generous, funny, smart… They have a great marriage and a passel of kids, the last of whom just left for college. Besides love, he’s also been blessed with money, success, and security. Steve is living the dream.

“I want the same for you, Nate. It’s been months since Julia and Doug announced their engagement, and you’ve let this go way longer than I expected.”

“Eleven months, seven days, and two hours. Who says I’ve let it go?”

“So you are up to no good.” Steve grins. “Tell me your plan.”

“Did I mention that Doug has a daughter?”

He raises a brow. “How old is she?”

“Fresh out of college. And looking for a job. Or she was until I hired her.”

His jaw drops. “You didn’t.”

“Oh, I did. She starts Monday.”

“Holy shit. Seriously? She must know there’s bad blood between you and Doug.”

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