Page 47 of Obeying the Owner

“Pizza.” Maeve gets up and walks back out of my office, shaking her head in disbelief.

Pizza? What the…

And then I remember our first night together and her safe word.

* * *

I’ve got my head leaning back, after what might be the craziest first day of work anyone has ever experienced, and I’m about to close my eyes when there’s a knock on my office door.

“Come in,” I call out.

Isaac struts in with a bunch of balloons in his hand, kicking the door closed behind him. “Happy first day at your new job,” he shouts, walking toward me.

He sets a bottle of bourbon down on the desk and releases his hold on the balloons. They immediately drift up to the high ceiling, but the long ribbons attached to them hang low enough to reach. I read the messages printed on the shiny, large round ones. Congratulations. Good Job. Keep it Up. The rest are made up of a rainbow of bright colors.

“Thanks, man. This is really nice of you. I don’t think anyone’s ever gotten me balloons before.”

“I figured they were better than flowers.”

“Definitely. And the bourbon is needed. I could really use a drink right now.”

“Uh-oh, sounds like your first day didn’t go as well as you’d hoped.”

I nod. “You could say that.”

He opens the bourbon while I dig through the cabinets until I find a couple of glasses. I set them on my desk and he pours a generous amount into each.

“Tell me about your day,” he says, settling into the same chair Maeve sat in earlier.

I groan, pinching the bridge of my nose. “You’re not gonna believe this.”

“Try me.”

“My new assistant is none other than my Finder hookup.”

His brown eyes flash with surprise. “The one you were thinking of seeing more of?”

“Yep. That one.” Raising the glass to my lips, I take a long pull and then another. I hope the liquor helps numb the pain of losing Mae, I mean Maeve, as a lover.

“How the fuck did that happen?” Isaac laughs.

“The universe is shitting on my love life like always.”

“Stop your pity-party bullshit and give me the details.” Isaac is always more than happy to call me out on my shit.

“She was my dad’s assistant and I inherited her. She didn’t know I’m his son.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Yeah, she was too stunned when she saw me for it to be an act. Plus, my Finder account is under James, my middle name.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Any involvement we had before she was my assistant doesn’t matter. We’re going to keep things professional moving forward.”

“That’s gonna be tough to do if she’s as sexy as you said she is.”

“Tell me about it. I’m fucked without actually getting fucked.”

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