Page 7 of Big Built Boss

“Nothing much,” I admit, remembering the shell-shocked look on her face. “Just that she hoped I got home safe.”

“Hm,” Josh hums, staring at the ceiling as he puts together his thoughts. “I’m not sure you should have done that.”

“Yeah, I realize that,” I murmur, resisting the urge to roll my eyes.

“I’m not really sure what you want me to say here,” he says, glancing at me after a few seconds. “It’s not like I don’t want youto find someone, but I can’t really condone you going after one of our employees.”

“I know that,” I counter as I pinch the bridge of my nose. I’ve noticed that lately almost every conversation I have with Josh gives me a low-grade headache. “But it’s not like I want her because she works for us. It really feels like there’s a connection between the two of us.”

“I guess I get that,” he murmurs, walking to our front desk. “It’s just not a good idea to carry on a relationship like that with someone you’re paying. You could run into that quid pro quo thing.”

“I’d never do anything like that and you know it,” I bark as he boots up the computer.

“Yeah, but does Olivia?” he challenges. “You met her two days ago. She doesn’t know anything about you aside from the fact that you’re her boss and you’re interested in her. You have to be careful.”

“I will be careful,” I reply, feeling offended at the implication that I have ill intentions. “It’s not like I just want to sleep with her. She’s witty and kind. Plus, I’ve seen her resume. She’s smart as hell, too.”

“Man, I get it,” he says with a sigh. “I’m not going to tell you not to pursue her if that’s what you really want, but if it’s a relationship that you’re going after, maybe you should give it some time. She’s going to think that you’re just after her for something physical.”

“I’m not,” I say, and before I can say anything else, the front door opens and Olivia walks through.

She looks absolutely gorgeous, if a little tired. Her brown hair hangs around her shoulders, falling into her face as she looks into her purse for something. I can feel Josh watching me for my reaction to her, so I school my expression as best I can.

“Good morning, guys,” Olivia says brightly, holding a tube of chapstick in her hands. “What’re we talking about?”

“Just complaining about the closers last night,” Josh answers easily, saving me from having to come up with an answer on the spot.

“They’re just tired, though,” I add, not wanting her to think we’re the kind of bosses that shit-talk our employees. “We’ve had a huge uptick in business lately and it’s been an adjustment.”

“I saw that when I was going through the accounts yesterday,” Olivia says as she applies the balm to her lips. It takes all of my self-control to keep from staring. “What happened? It seems pretty random.”

“You ever heard of Marlon Henderson?” Josh asks. When she nods, he continues. “He came through town a little bit ago. The locals heard about it and our memberships shot way up pretty much overnight.”

She hums as she caps the tube, saying, “That makes sense. But he was just here for one day. Right?”

“Right,” I say with a shrug. “It isn’t every day something exciting like that happens in town. This isn’t a big city like LA.”

At that, Olivia giggles, and I feel a sense of pride wash over me at the sound. When she recovers from the little fit, she says, “I suppose that makes sense.”

“We’ll be fine now that you’re here, though,” I continue, unable to stop myself from praising her. Maybe I’m laying it on a little thick, but I can’t quite bring myself to care. “Starting next week, we’ll be able to get everyone else back to normal hours thanks to you.”

She beams, and I can almost feel the way Josh rolls his eyes beside me. I don’t care, though. It seems like she’s not upset about the kiss last night. In fact, despite the fact that both Josh and I were talking, Olivia’s eyes stayed focused on me.

“I’m going to get to the office,” she says, her gaze lingering on me for a long moment before she walks away.

As soon as the door closes behind her, Josh scoffs and says, “I guess I see what you mean.”

“What?”

“There’s something between you two,” he says with a shrug. “Like I said before, I don’t condone it, but I’m not going to do anything to stop you. Just don’t creep her out.”

“I won’t,” I say, tapping the desk before heading to the front to turn on our open sign.

The two of us don’t talk for the rest of the morning, and Olivia stays in the office for the entirety of her shift. I spend nearly all of my day trying to come up with ways to get closer to her without coming off as a creepy manager. There’s no way I’m going to throw away the connection that I feel with her. I need her to be mine, and there’s no way I’m going to let myself get in my own way.

Chapter Four

Olivia

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