Page 297 of Savage Bosses

Still thinking about long nights and a lot of pressure from my new boss, I mutter, “Okay.”

I stand and gather my pad and pen.

Walking to the door, I feel his eyes boring into my backside, but I refuse to look back. I pass Contessa in the hallway as I hurry to my office.

“Hey,” Contessa calls out to me. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Is everything okay?”

“Talk to you about it later.” I hurry inside my office and close the door, needing time alone to clear the salacious thoughts of my boss from my mind.

CHAPTER 5

Archer

SHAKY GROUND

C

ontessa makes it in at seven this morning with breakfast from Starbucks. Her assistance has been invaluable, allowing Regina time to work with me on driving new business. I know the precise moment when Tahani arrives for work because I hear her and Contessa talking and laughing. Their laughter does its best to make the corners of my mouth rise, but I fight the urge.

After a few minutes of back-and-forth chatter, Tahani’s footsteps can be heard making the short trek to her office. It’s funny how her presence in the building has brightened my mood. This is my first time realizing how her being near, not even in the same room, but just knowing she’s near affects me.

I rub my hand down my face and try to shake my thoughts away. There’s no way I’m feeling anything for Tahani. I don’t know her. She’s my employee. And, yeah, I don’t shit where I eat, blah, blah, blah. I’ve been repeating all these things to myself since my first week here, and none of it penetrates my mind.

A soft knock on my already open door calls my attention from my thoughts. It’s Tahani, wearing a long-sleeved, loose-fitting dress below her knees. And to be honest, longer, looser dresses do nothing to take away my desire to stare at her. Having a platonic work relationship is important, but changing the dress code has done nothing to quelch my attraction to her. It’s not the clothes. It’s something abouther.

“Come in.”

“Mr. Gates, good morning. I have something I need to run by you.”

She explains the issue that she’s continuously run into with Zeenith, and I take a look at it with her. After an hour of running different iterations, the issue has resolved.

“I know you have a reputation for being a great businessman, but I didn’t know you were this good at code,” she beams.

“Oh, what a shot to the ego.” I pretend to be shot in the chest by holding my chest.

“I didn’t mean it like that.” She laughs, and the tiniest indention on her cheek is adorable. How had I missed that before?

“It’s fine. There are a lot of things you don’t know about me.” I feel myself getting too comfortable. Too familiar, so I shift gears. “You have a heavy workload, and you don’t want to get too far off schedule. What are you working on next?” I ask.

“You’re right. I have a lot to do. I plan to finalize Zeenith today and get it in for peer review. I should go.” She stands and walks out the door, leaving a blend of her unique smell with roses and peonies behind.

I fight my body’s urge to respond to her. She’s not mine to get an erection for. She’s not mine to desire. But tell that to the tent in my pants underneath my desk.

Contessa buzzes into my office amid my sexual frustration. “Sir, I have ordered dinner for this evening. It will arrive at seven.”

“Won’t you be here then?” I ask, slightly annoyed. I don’t want dinner ordered for seven. I want Tahani back in my space, filling my office with her delightful smell and aura.

“No, sir. I won’t be here. I get off at five p.m.,” Contessa replies.

“No one is leaving at five p.m.,” I scoff. “We’re on mandatory overtime for the next two weeks. Did Grace approve you leaving early today?”

Contessa huffs. “I didn’t ask for approval because I have an appointment to attend that has been planned for months.”

“You will have to reschedule it. Overtime is mandatory for the entire team.”

“I will have all of my work done by five. No clients are coming in after five. We should be good without me.”

This back and forth is annoying, so I bark, “I have things for you to do after five p.m., so plan to stay.”

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