Page 37 of Bossed By the Orc

“You were flirting with him,” he accused and my eyebrows shot up even as a shocked laugh escaped me.

“No, I was not,” I gasped.

“Yes, you were,” he growled, pointing an accusing finger in the direction that Garrett had left. “And you invited him here without my permission.”

“I saw his e-mail,” I sniffed, turning back to the laptop and ignoring him, “And I know how much work he and his team put in. It wasn’t fair how you treated him.”

“You could have just shown me the damn e-mail,” he growled, reaching down to rub his abused foot. “You didn’t have to trample me to get your way.”

“I didn’t trample you,” I scoffed, eyeing the chair I was sitting on and comparing it to the one I was looking at on the screen. I double checked the weight limits, eyeing Dristan’s huge form before nodding decisively and hitting purchase. Dristan had given me a company card for expenses like these, but I sweated as I used it, eyeing the astronomical price.

“You won’t be e-mailing any more males,” he told me, going back to his own computer. “And if you do, I need to approve it first.”

“That’s not happening,” I told him, sending him a sickly sweet smile. “You gave me the job. Let me do it.”

Dristan’s frown was probably meant to intimidate, but I’d come to realize that his bark was way worse than his bite… at least so far.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Penelope

Pen: I called the bank Friday and I think everything should be sorted with the mortgage.

I tapped away at my phone, realizing that I’d forgotten to give my best friend the amazing news. She worried about me more than I worried about myself and I loved her for it.

Becca: Yay! We should celebrate!

Pen: You’d need to be here in order to do that. When are you moving to the city?

Becca: When that big, beautiful library hires me!

Pen: I’m sending you the application as we speak.

Becca: I love you! Now, give me the real dirt. How’re things with your hot boss?

I glanced around guiltily, as if Dristan would be summoned, peering over my shoulder, because I was talking about him. When I saw no one, I breathed a sigh of relief and replied to my best friend.

Pen: He might be hot, but he’s still my boss.

Becca: That just makes it sexier.

Pen: Get your head out of those romance novels and back into reality.

Becca: I like it better here! I’m staying!

I chuckled, sending her a kissy face emoji because she was my absolute favorite, even when she drove me insane. I was still grinning when I saw the tall shadow of someone entering the room. I’d gone down to the break room on the floor under Dristan’s, deciding that the distance would give me some much needed perspective when it came to taming myself. It had been a confusing weekend for me. Dristan hadn’t pushed me for more, seeming to understand that I needed time.

I didn’t need to remember the other night, and the wonderful things his tongue had done. Every time I inhaled his scent—which was often, since he sat next to me—the memory replayed in my mind. I sighed, picking up the mug of heavenly coffee that I’d made with the expensive machine in the corner. The first time I’d spotted it, I’d drooled helplessly over it. It was shiny, gleaming and smelled faintly of the beans that I loved.

Tapping my fingernail against the outside of the mug, I remembered the way Dristan had sighed when I brought a cup of the heavenly liquid up to him. I already had plans to brew him another, just to watch his eyes go droopy with pleasure.

I shook my head, biting my lip to bring myself back to reality. I needed to focus on the job and not the male I was working for.

I was still figuring out a way of getting myself out of this obsession that was growing inside of me. It might help if I could get a desk next to Fionel instead of Dristan without giving him an aneurysm.

Dristan was determined to hold a grudge against the male for whatever reason he’d made up in his grumpy head and I was apparently supposed to be on his side and not speak to him at all.

I tensed when I saw a tall shadow coming through the door. When I glanced up, I smiled as I spotted Garrett.

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