Page 27 of Beauty and the Boss Man

Chapter Twelve

Aiden

Iwonder if I’ve gone too far by telling Romy I think she’s beautiful. I’m pretty sure I said it last night too, but I guess it takes a whole new meaning when you’re not in the middle of having sex.

“You okay?” I ask when she hasn’t spoken for a couple of minutes.

Her eyes slowly find mine. “I’m good. Just strange to hear myself called beautiful.”

“Why?” It seems weird to me that no one would remind this woman daily how gorgeous she is.

Guilt hits me because up until yesterday, I’d never really noticed how lovely she is. She was always just my mousy assistant.

But here and now, I feel like the biggest idiot in the world for not noticing sooner.

And I’m her boss—I don’t know that I’m supposed to notice. But I mean, the guys she’s dated didn’t call her beautiful?

“What kind of guys have you dated?” I ask. “None of them called you beautiful?”

A whisper of an embarrassed smile crosses her lips before she clears her throat to answer. “Most of the dating I’ve done has been more on the casual side. The couple of relationships that I could even begin to consider serious were with stupid frat guys who ended up cheating on me.”

“Frat boys?” I smile. “That doesn’t seem like your type.”

“Yeah, you’re telling me. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

“You were blinded by their abs and ability to drink beer out of a funnel,” I joke.

She giggles. “You’re probably right. There’s nothing sexier than a man chugging beer so fast it comes out of his nose.”

We both laugh at the thought before she says, “Back then, I was a pretty heavy partier, which seemed to attract the douche bags to me like bees to honey. The moment I got my shit together, they all ran the other way. I guess they’d rather have a girl who partied non-stop as opposed to one who spent all her free time studying.”

It’s hard for me to imagine Romy as the partying kind. She’s so put-together—so organized. She doesn’t seem like the type to lose it and let go of all her inhibitions.

When I tell her that, she chuckles. “Yeah, I’ve changed a lot. When life got rough, I got a big wake-up call. Let’s just say I didn’t like who I saw in the mirror, so I stepped up and made some changes.”

This is the second time she’s mentioned turning her life around because of some big event, but she still doesn’t seem keen on talking about it, so I don’t ask.

Instead, I decide to lighten the mood. When we are finished with our burgers, I say, “Okay, I have one critical question. I think the answer to it will determine whether or not we should go any further.”

Her face slightly falls. “Okay, shoot.”

“Star Trek or Star Wars?”

Any look of worry that was just written on her face a moment ago vanishes.

Her eyes narrow in on me, and her teeth sink into the corner of her lip as though she’s mulling over her answer.

She lets out a loud sigh before saying, “Well, I hate to break it to you, Boss Man, but I’m a huge nerd. So, there’s just no way to choose. I love them both.”

“My God, you are the perfect woman, aren’t you?” I ask.

Her nose crinkles when she smiles—like a damn adorable bunny or something. “I don’t like to brag, but yes, I’m perfect,” she teases.

That gets a loud laugh out of me. Romy is too damn cute for her own good.

She gives me a little wink before telling me she is going to brush her teeth. As she walks into the bathroom, I stand up to put our dishes back on the tray and roll everything back in the hallway.

After I finish, I walk past the bathroom door and catch a glimpse of my assistant. My legs stop moving, and I take a moment to take her all in.

Oh yeah, I’m an idiot for not noticing before.

She took her long hair out of the bun she had it in and is running her fingers through it.

Her robe slips down a little, showing off her shoulders and the top of her chest. Her skin is so soft and creamy.

Romy might have no idea, but her curves are everything.

I want to kiss every single inch of her. And instead of continuing to leer at her like a weirdo, I decide to do just that.

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