Page 37 of Forbidden Boss (Manhattan Billionaires)

The heat of his arm seared across the top of my shoulders. I felt every inch of his nearness: the arm across my back, the hand he curled around my shoulder, the press of his knee against my thigh as he leaned closer. He smelled divine, and he was too close. I leaned forward and grabbed my glass of water to take a sip in the hopes of cooling myself down.

Dean grinned. “I think the lady should speak for herself.”

I painted a grin on my lips and said, “The boss has spoken.”

“Is he always this possessive of you?”

“Only when deep-sea creatures are involved,” I said, laughing as I gave Blakely a side-eye. He met my gaze steadily and said nothing. Heat curled low in my stomach, and my thighs clenched. There was something about this man’s attention that made me want to melt. When he focused on me, it made me feel almost giddy and breathless. Special.

And wasn’t that just the silliest thing in the world?

He shifted his gaze to his potential client, and I let out a breath. The moment passed, but Rome’s arm stayed on the back of my chair for a while longer. By the end of the meal, it sounded like a deal had been struck.

But Rome didn’t seem happy about it.

As we exited the swanky restaurant, I nudged him with my elbow. “You okay?”

He arched a brow at me. “Yes. Why?”

“You’re doing that scowl-till-I-scare-small-children-away thing again.”

“I do not scare small children.”

“What about that little girl just outside the restaurant before we walked in? When you got out of the car, she stumbled back and clawed at her mother.”

“That was the pigeon’s fault.”

I laughed. “Seriously, Blakely. Why the face?”

He faced me fully, standing in front of his waiting car. “Did you want to go scuba diving with Dean?”

Startled by the question, all I could do was blink. “What?”

“Did you,” he asked slowly, “want to go scuba diving with Dean?”

“No,” I answered.

“It sounded like you did. You talked to him for the better part of an hour.”

“Yes, because that’s myjob.”

“You were batting your eyelashes andgiggling, Jordan.”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard what I said,” he gritted out.

Okay, that pissed me off. I planted my hands on my hips and glared. “Have you forgotten that you hired me to sit beside you and make pleasant conversation?”

“That’s right. I didn’t hire you to flirt with other men right in front of me. You’re there to be withme.”

“I was notflirting. I was showing interest in his hobbies. What else was I supposed to do?”

“Talk about—I don’t know—the weather.”

“Theweather.”

“Men look at you laughing at their jokes and they think they’ve got a chance.”

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