Page 2 of Tempted By the Bosshole

“I don’t think so. During her phone interview, she said she hadn’t spoken to her father in a while.”

“What did you hire her to do?”

I grin. “She’ll be my personal assistant, at my beck and call, working directly under me.”

He nearly chokes on his beer. “Dude, you’re forty. And she’s…what, twenty-two?”

“Twenty-three.” I shrug. “Why does it matter? She’s an adult, and I’m not dead.”

“How will you get her into bed, unless… You already have dirt on her, don’t you?”

I merely smile. My brother knows me too well to think I have qualms about blackmailing Isabella Shay.

“You son of a bitch.” He laughs. “I almost feel sorry for her. But if she’s anything like her father...”

“Probably everything like her father.” Though I’ve barely talked to Isabella since she was a gangly thirteen.

“So…what’s your end game? What do you want from this girl besides raunchy sex?”

“Fucking her will merely be a fringe benefit. Let’s just say that by the time Julia and Doug return from their honeymoon after New Year’s, everything he left behind will belong to me.” Including his daughter.

And she will give me the one thing my ex-wife refused to…

* * *

December 16

Isabella

“You look hot.” Jen eyes me suggestively. “If you weren’t my best friend?—”

“But I am, and you’re strictly dickly.” I smooth my hands down the figure-hugging red velvet dress, wishing I wasn’t too broke to buy my own. Thank god we wear the same size. “It’s not too much?”

“Only half your tits are hanging out, and I can’t see vag, so it’s super classy.”

“Jen…” I huff.

“I’m kidding!”

“No, it’s too much.” I pull another dress from her closet. “The black one would be better.”

She yanks it free and shoves it back on the rack. “God, no. I wear this to funerals. And my exes’ weddings. You’re going to a Christmas party! Wear the red. It looks amazing on you, especially because you have the man-magnet trifecta: great tits, a tiny waist, and fantastic legs. You’re smart and nice, too. I’d hate you if I didn’t love you so much.”

“If I’m such a man magnet, how come you’re the one always having orgasmic sex with super-hot guys?” I’m definitely not.

“Because I’m looking for a human vibrator, not a husband.” She scowls. “Eric doesn’t deserve you. He never puts you first, even in the orgasm department.”

Jen hates my boyfriend…but she’s not wrong. Eric and I have been together since our junior year in high school. I fell hard and fast, convinced he was “the one.” But lately, he’s seemed distant. When he looks at me, I’d swear he’s looking through me. We’d planned to get engaged after my graduation. But weeks have passed since I received my degree, and Eric hasn’t popped the question. I’m wondering if he even wants us anymore. I don’t know what to do.

But tonight is about a party. Nothing that happens at the Force Financial holiday bash will decide my future.

I stare at myself in the mirror. “Are you sure about this dress? It’s awfully short.”

“It’s festive,” she corrects.

“This one-shoulder neckline exposes so much of me that I can’t wear a bra.”

“You’re fine. Your girls are perky. And hey, maybe you’ll finally attract someone who can get you off.”

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