Page 84 of Dear Grumpy Boss

Elias rolled his eyes. “That cat never smiles. Is everyone at Andes like that?”

I waved my hand around. “Hello, Andes employee. I smile, and Mr. Aldrich does too. Besides, don’t you see the Andes’ field team all the time? They can’t all be frowning grumps.”

“Nah.” Cameron rolled his head on his neck, the cracks loud enough to make me wince. “We used to see them all the time, and they were serious as shit. I don’t mind them not coming around anymore. We gotta keep the vibes up, you know?”

“What—?”

Elias reached for my hand, cutting off my question, and pulled me toward the boulder again. “Stop trying to distract us. You’re not finished. We still have hours of daylight left. I’m determined to get you to the top.”

I crinkled my nose. “I don’t know…”

“I do.” Elias pointed to the rock. “Get on it, girl.”

I could think of a hundred excuses not to get back on, but despite my aching arms, sore butt, and broken fingernails, I bought into Cam and Elias’s enthusiasm.

In the words of Cam, I was going to conquer this bitch.

Chapter Twenty

Weston

Elisewasintheshower when I let myself into her room. I shed my clothes on the walk to the bathroom. It had been a long day, filled with meetings I couldn’t cut short, despite my desire to do so.

When I reached the bathroom, I stopped in my tracks to stand outside the shower stall, watching Elise. Her head was tipped back, rinsing her hair. My dick throbbed as I took in her delicious, lush curves. Her gorgeous big tits. Her soft, round hips and sloped stomach. That ass that felt absolutely unbelievable when I was taking her from behind.

That ass that was covered in bruises.

What?

Tearing open the shower door, I dropped to my knees to examine her.

She screeched, spinning away from me. “Weston! What the hell?”

Gripping her hips, I tried to turn her. “What is that?”

“What?” She swatted at my hands. “Get up, you scared the shit out of me!”

“Why does your ass look like you just had the spanking of a lifetime?”

She went still, then slowly peeked over her shoulder at her backside. “Oh. It looks worse than it feels.”

“Explain.”

Her fingers hooked the underside of my chin. “Come up here and I will.”

Sensing I wasn’t going to win this right now, I rose to my feet and crowded her space until her breasts were flattened against me.

“Explain, Elise.”

She hooked her arms around my neck, bouncing on the balls of her feet. “I went rock climbing today, and I fell a lot. You should have seen me, West. Actually, I have a video and some pictures. It took me a long time and a lot of falls, but I made it to the top of a ten-foot boulder. Can you believe that?Me.”

Her excitement and explanation eased some of my boiling concern, but I did not like seeing her pretty skin marked up by anyone but me. I did not like knowing she’d endangered herself around people she barely knew. I did not like that she’d shared this obviously incredible experience with the men from the factory.

“You could have broken something.” I slid my hand down her back to gently cup her ass. “I’m not convinced you didn’t.”

“I’m not in any real pain. It’s just that I bruise easily, like a peach. All my falls were onto a mat. I really wasn’t trying to hurt myself.” Her lips touched the center of my chest. “Tell me you’re proud of me.”

I squeezed her cheek, and when she didn’t wince, I was able to breathe slightly easier.

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