Page 14 of Starting Over with Her Billionaire Boss

Seven-thirty came and went. By eight, restlessness settled in. He checked his phone—no messages. Had she changed her mind? He sent her a text, asking if she would still be stopping by.

The moment it went through, he got up and looked through the small liquor cabinet until he found a four-year-old brandy—a recent gift from a client. He wasn’t one for heavy drinking, but a small drink a few evenings a week helped to ease his nerves.There is nothing to be nervous about,Daegan tried to reason with himself, though the last half an hour had put him through it.

He looked around the warm, dimly lit study. The faint aroma of freshly polished wood and leather mingled with the sharper, fruity aroma of the brandy. The sound of the clock ticking on the mantel filled the quiet with a steady rhythm that matched the pulse thrumming in his veins. None of it calmed him the way it usually would.

He remained in that chair, swirling his glass of brandy every now and again, as eight-thirty approached. He was about to give up waiting when a knock came from the door.

“Come in,” Daegan spoke as he set down his glass of brandy. His palms were sweaty, no ice in the drink to cause it, and his mouth felt dry. He cleared his throat.

The door creaked open slowly as Kinsley entered, turning to say something to whoever had escorted her. Even in her ripped jeans and t-shirt, she was still a sight to behold. Daegan couldn’tlie to himself about that; she was the epitome of effortless beauty.

“I almost thought you forgot,” he said.

Her eyes shot over to him. “I texted you that I would be about an hour late,” she said, a hint of apology in her tone. “I had to take care of something at home.”

“I never got a text from you.” He paused. “Did you get my text?”

Kinsley pulled out her work phone from her handbag. A look of confusion crossed her face. “Looks like mine didn’t send,” she said, frowning as she glanced at her phone. “No bars.”

She held out her phone to Daegan. Their fingers brushed, and that familiar spark shot through him. For a moment, he forgot every reason why this was a bad idea. In the warm light of his study, with her candy-sweet scent filling his senses, those carefully drawn lines between boss and employee were blurring into nothing. Her skin was warm, her presence magnetic, and Daegan had to remind himself to let it go.It has no place here.

Sure enough, her phone showed no new message from him either. Hers was marked as not going through too. “That’s odd.” Daegan frowned. Their work plan had coverage throughout town. The phone was failing to pick up on the signal. “I’ll restart it and see if that fixes it,” he said, setting it down on the coffee table as it refreshed.

“I hope so,” Kinsley said. The light, candy-like scent of her perfume wafted his way.

“But in the meantime, feel free to take a look around.” He gestured to the bookcases lining every available wall. Their eyes locked, Kinsley’s smile brightened, and Daegan felt a warmth in his chest. “The Grisham books are on that shelf with the red vase, and the one below it.” He pointed.

“I’ve only seen a small slice of your home, but it is absolutely gorgeous,” Kinsley remarked as she peered around the study, slowly making her way over to the shelf. “Very modern.”

“That’s the goal,” Daegan said with a nervous chuckle, although not really sure what was funny. The phone had restarted, but the display was still registering no bars. “I wonder why it isn’t picking up on the signal.” Reminded of the last time IT had fixed this issue, Daegan put the phone into airplane mode to halt its search for the cellphone towers. When he turned airplane mode off again, the connection came back to life. Kinsley’s phone dinged as his text message finally arrived.

“You got it to work?” she asked.

“Somehow. I put it into airplane mode and then took it out of it,” he shrugged, handing it back to her. “You might have to ask IT about it.”

“I’ll add it to my list of one hundred things to do.”

“At least one of those things on your to-do list wasn’t that dinner meeting I just had. I had to pour myself a brandy after it.” He paused. “Would you like a drink?”

“Had to?” Kinsley peered his way with what might be concern.

“Ipreferredto have a drink after that dinner meeting,” he corrected himself.

“I’ll take a raincheck on the drink.” She looked up and down the shelf, her fingers running along the spines of a few books. “The meeting didn’t go well?” As her fingers traced the books, her gaze lingered on a few and her lips curved into a small, thoughtful smile. Was Kinsley nervous? Intrigued? Daegan couldn’t tell.

“Oh, it went well. Got the deal signed. But they all ate so much that I’m pretty sure the bill paid for the restaurant owner’s kid to go to university for at least a semester.” There was a smirk in Daegan’s voice. “They ordered for the sake of ordering. On topof that, they all loved to repeat themselves. I felt like I was having the same conversation a dozen times in a row. Do you know how torturous it feels to have to act surprised at the same story you just heard three other times in the last hour? But they’re my clients now and their money will be well appreciated. That’s what matters in the end, Kins.”

Kins.

Kinsley’s heart skipped as her name rolled off his tongue, warm and unhurried, like he’d been saving it for just the right moment. She tried to focus on the rows of books in front of her, but her fingertips were trembling over the spines. A nickname wasn’t something she had expected from her boss, let alone as she stood in his home study. A warmth washed over her from head to toe, contrasting with the cool air in the room.

Kinsley wasn’t sure how long she’d been staring at the shelves, until his presence behind her broke the spell. His voice was soft, almost teasing, as Mr. Westerhouse leaned in. “Find anything you’d like, or do you need a suggestion?” Despite him being over a foot taller than her, she could feel his breath across her neck as he looked down toward the shelves. It made her shudder.

She didn’t mind the closeness. She actually craved it…had been fantasizing about it. But to have Daegan Westerhouse this close—without a desk between them—was too tempting.

“Well, I readThe ChamberandThe Partneryears ago. I’m open to suggestions.” Her voice was quieter than usual; Kinsley didn’t want to consider why.

“The Partneris hard to top.” Mr. Westerhouse spoke more softly; was he trying to put her at ease? It only had the oppositeeffect. He let out a quiet exhale, warming the space between them, stirring the tiny hairs at the nape of her neck. “But I’d sayThe Firmshould be your next step.” He reached above her and inched it out of its confines. “When you’re done with that, readA Time to Kill. It was his first novel.” Mr. Westerhouse added the title to the other book at his side.

---