Page 34 of Billionaire Boss's One Night Stand

Always be on time, and always show up no matter what.

One more week, and I’ll make an appointment.

The team was busier than normal, anyway. We had tons of input from the Gammon people. Emily, one of the reps I met at that first meeting, had asked for my email and wasn’t shy or procrastinating about inundating my inbox with further questions and ideas they might like to see implemented.

Having a project to focus on was good. It kept my mind busy. I was too preoccupied to dwell on my stomach feeling off and this hot-and-cold thing with Matt.

I had a plan for my stomach issues. One week, and I’d cave to make an appointment.

I didn’t have a plan for dealing with Matt and turning off my lingering desire for him. The best I could do was continue to stay strong and not let him get to me.

Easier said than done…

I had yet to see him smile in the office. And I was more convinced than ever that he was deliberately zeroing in on me and pushing my buttons just to get a rise out of me.

Today, though, he was too in the zone to be motivated for any such bickering or act of annoying me. I was focused too, poring over materials to get a better grasp on a layout for the more in-depth presentation for specific branches of their baby line.

We had been revising our pitch for two weeks, complete with butting heads and sometimes arguing over the simplest little things that left me walking away and wondering why we’d wasted so much time bickering about a trivial thing. Then I realized that maybe he enjoyed this back-and-forth nature of our work relationship as much as I did.

Tom, however, was preventing us from a moment of concentration. He had yet to take a hint that I wasn’t interested. Resorting to not replying at all, I treated him as though he was invisible. Not there. Not talking to me and listing the best places he could take me to get a better feel for the city. It sounded too much like a lame attempt at asking me if he could feelmeup.

Matt spoke up first. He slapped his pen down and narrowed his eyes at him. “Have you read any of those reports?” He gestured at the documents splayed out in front of him, all of them untouched.

“Um. I will…”

“No. Not here.” Matt pointed at the door as he lowered his gaze to his tablet once more, sliding his paper over to take notes again. “Leave. Please.”

“What?” Tom huffed, frowning at me.

I averted my gaze, not wanting to get in the middle of it.

“We’ve got to go over these specs and?—”

“No.” Matt scowled, still not facing Tom again. “All you’re doing is talking. Go ahead and take this home. Or work in your office.”

“Dude. Matt…”

“Now, Tom. I can’t fucking think with you blabbing on.”

I bit my lip to refrain from smiling wide. I wasn’t sure that I could count this as Matt saving me again. It seemed more like his quota for patience was simply shot and he couldn’t take the noise anymore.

“Geez. Well, come on, short stuff.” He stood, gathering his things. “We can?—”

“I said foryouto leave. She’s working fine here. With me.” Now he lifted his face toward Tom.

Through my peripheral vision, I noted his sterndon’t make me repeat myselfglower.

I could complain left and right about Matt sometimes being the consummate grouch. I could hold his hot-and-cold grudge attitude against him. But the one thing I couldn’t get away with saying about him was that he didn’t contribute to the team’s efforts. He was always in here, in the “trenches” with us, working alongside us and not acting superior. Not once had he let us do the dirty work or slog through the busywork for him while he sat back and managed.

Tom muttered something under his breath as he left, but I didn’t catch what he said.

The second he was gone, I exhaled a long breath of relief.

“Ihatewhen he calls me that,” I mumbled.

“Short stuff?”

I nodded, too aggravated to stop there. “As if I need another reminder that I’m vertically challenged.”

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