Page 304 of Savage Bosses

I wave off her insinuation. “I didn’t do anything like that, but are you coming back?”

“I told him I have to think about it.”

“He’s calmed down a lot. I think in the beginning he was just stressed and trying to get the company in the green.”

Contessa tilts her head to the side in a questioning manner. “I see you’re taking his side now that he’s giving you the feels.” She places her hands on her hips for emphasis.

“It’s not like that. I just don’t think he’s a bad person now that I’ve had the chance to get to know him.”

“I’ll leave the getting-to-know him to you.”

I motion to the food on the kitchen table. “Let’s talk about it with our pasta and wine.”

“Oh, this is about to be good,” Contessa says as she goes to get plates.

Minutes later, we’re sitting on the reclining couch with our feet kicked up, talking about the man who gave Contessa the blues and put hearts in my eyes.

“It feels like he’s been there for months, not just one week,” Contessa says.

I crunch down on a bite full of salad and agree. “Yeah, but I hate that you let him run you off like that. You deserved every penny your good-paying job gave you.”

“No, I deserve to not have someone breathing down my neck. At least with you, he wasn’t hounding you to do things for him every minute of every day. I can handle a busy front desk and my secretary work, but he was on my back about everything.”

“He’s been working me hard too, but I’ll admit, I would have snapped if I had to get him food and coffee all day,” I admit.

She points her fork at me. “You didn’t have to get his food and drinks, but you’ve been feeding him something else, haven’t you?”

“Can I plead the fifth?”

“Absolutely not!”

I chuckle. “Well, let’s just say, I am very satisfied with him as my boss and the kiss we shared Friday night.” I try to keep my composure so that I don’t have a dreamy look in my eyes as I think about Archer’s lips on mine.

Contessa takes a huge sip of white wine, peering at me over the glass. “I can’t believe this shit.”

I shovel in a mouthful of pasta. When I finish chewing it, I say, “Believe it. He’s amazing.”

“Aw, look at that. You’re in love with the bosshole,” Contessa smirks. “I guess stranger things have happened.”

I chuckle. “You’re right.”

“So, am I going to have to find another friend to vent to about him because you’re sleeping with the enemy? Maybe I’ll start a ‘Surviving Archer Gates’ support group online. There have to be other people at companies he’s taken over who quit after he imposed a sixty-hour work week.”

I shake my head in disbelief. “Maybe there are. But I would join a ‘Surviving Archer Gates’ support group for another reason entirely. Hell, I will join because I need to know if falling for him will mess up my whole world,” I murmur.

“I bet other people want to vent about their bosses, whether it’s good or bad. We should start a boss support group where workers can gather from all over the world and talk about the oppression we suffer at the hands of our bosses.”

“Not only the oppression but sometimes it’s the affection we get from the boss that can ruin us,” I submit.

“I should have known from how he looked at you when Jaqueline introduced him to us that he was into you. He couldn’t hide that he liked what he saw.”

“Well, I do look good. I can’t fault the man for staring.”

“Whatever,” Contessa smiles. “That’s not the only time I’ve caught him looking at you and checking you out. You even said it yourself that he asked you to stay in the boardroom after the meeting. What was that for, ma’am?”

“He had some things to go over,” I say defensively.

Contessa smirks. “Yeah, I’m sure he did have some things to go over.”

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