Page 15 of Beauty and the Boss Man

Chapter Seven

Romy

My head is fuzzy from all the alcohol I’ve had, but there’s one thing I’m sure of.

Everything I thought about Aiden is proving to be completely false. He’s not just some gruff asshole who only cares about his work.

I would never have guessed that he’s actually charming, sincere, and funny. And did I mention attractive? Because damn.

And I feel oddly comfortable around him. I mean, yeah, we’ve worked together for three years now but have never had any interaction outside the typical 9-5. There should be no logical reason I, Miss Awkward and Weird, should feel so at ease around this man.

But here we are. Maybe the alcohol is the thing pushing this along.

We talk about the conference for a little while, each discussing the different classes and seminars we want to attend. There’s only one or two that we have in common—which is probably a good thing since I doubt I could concentrate for very long with Aiden sitting next to me.

“It’s gorgeous out here,” I say, stopping to look out over the waves.

“Yeah, it is,” he replies. “One day this week, we will have to come out here and swim.”

Feeling bold, I roll up the bottom of my pant legs and walk over to the water’s edge. Slowly, I let the cool water touch my feet as the small waves crash against my ankles.

“Is it cold?” Aiden asks.

“A little.” I shrug. “Why don’t you come out here and see for yourself?”

“Nah, I’m good. This time of night is when the sharks come up to feed.”

“What?!” I gasp and take off out of the water like I’ve been shot.

When I reach him, I practically climb up his body. And when he busts out laughing, I get the feeling he was probably joking.

“Are you fucking with me?” I ask.

Through his deep laugh, he answers, “Well, I’m pretty sure that’s true, but I doubt they’d swim in water that only goes up to your ankles. And if they did, we’d probably see them.”

“Not funny,” I scold and playfully smack him on the chest. “I’ve got a decent amount of meat on this body. I’d make a great fatty meal for a shark and his buddies.”

“You and me both.”

I shake my head back and forth. “I’m sure you’d be too tough to eat. You’re so tense all the time that it’d probably just be like eating gristle.”

He laughs. “Oh, is that right?”

“Hey, I just call ‘em like I see ‘em,” I joke.

We keep walking, and a comfortable silence falls between us for a few minutes.

The first one to speak again is me. “Don’t you find this whole thing weird?”

Confused, he asks, “What whole thing?”

“You and I have worked together for three years now, and we barely know anything about each other. I’ve learned more about you today than I did in all those years. It’s just crazy that you can know someone and not really know them.”

“That’s true. But I also think you and I already know more about each other than you realize. Well, at least some of the important stuff.”

“Oh, yeah?” My eyebrows raise. “What do you already know about me?”

He rubs his hand along the scruff of his beard. “Well, I know you have a good work ethic. You take pride in the work you do—no matter what that may entail. That’s obvious by how organized you keep your desk. And you come to work even when you know you’re going to freeze your ass off.”

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