Page 88 of Savage Bosses

Short flings of no more than four weeks were her jam. It was just enough time to get her fill if the dick was good, but not long enough to confuse good dick with love. She always left unscathed and unbothered.

Except once.

While traveling for work, she met a man in Atlanta who made her want to tuck into him and never leave. Thank God she insisted they not exchange real names or numbers; otherwise, she’d have looked him up and made a fool of herself.

They talked and fucked until the morning, and their conversations sparked the dim embers of hope that Selene had struggled to extinguish. She knew that feeling alone was worth the risk but was too scared to take a chance.

Before he fell asleep, he asked her to stay for breakfast, and she promised. But after the morning light, she freaked out. Quietly, she snuck out, called a car, and never looked back.

A year later, she was walking into the first day of her dream job as the Design Principal for Global Diversity Initiatives at Kaplan, Jordan, and Ross Architecture.

When she came across the job description on Linkedin and read that they were developing land in historically Free Black Towns, she went for it even though she didn't have that much actual design experience.

She was fascinated with the towns when she learned about them during her freshman year at Spelman College while taking African Diaspora and the World. Every first-year student took ADW. The men across the street at Morehouse jokingly called it Anti-Dude Workshop because Spelman unabashedly threaded Women’s studies into the curriculum.

Selene never cared what the required class was called; all she knew was that on the third floor of the Camille Olivia Hanks Cosby Academic Center, she discovered the existence of Black towns founded by freed or escaped slaves. Their creation spoke to her own longing for emancipation.

So, when the firm’s owner, Mr. Abdel Kaplan, handpicked her, she knew it had to be God and that she had to go. He said he recognized the relentless precision in her designs, and that is exactly what he was looking for in a principal designer for the library project.

She would not let him down. There was a ninety-day probationary period, and she was determined to wow him.

When Selene arrived at KJR, she looked up at the ornate glass facade that disappeared into the sky. An architectural feat in itself, the building was three 50-story glass cylinders seemingly connected by air. The sight of it was both awe-inspiring and intimidating.

Once she got the courage to walk in, she was amazed. It was like being transported to a different universe. The spacious lobby was decorated in a modern, luxurious way.

Security quickly checked her in, like they were waiting for her, and directed her to Mr Kaplan’s floor. When she arrived in his office, she was congratulated by a woman named Linda, who she assumed was Mr. Kaplan’s executive assistant. Linda ushered Selene into one of the two seats in front of Mr. Kaplan’s desk and said she would be received shortly.

Selene was about to take out some of her sketches when a deep voice interrupted her.

“Hello, Ms. Dubois, I’m Emir Kaplan; please come with me.”

Selene’s body recognized his voice before turning around, but she was in disbelief that her luck could be so rotten. She closed her eyes because until she saw him, she could hold out hope that her move to Aspen was the drama-free escape she needed.

When she rose from her seat and finally turned to the door, the beautiful man caused her to stumble. The best sex of her life looked even better than she remembered.

He was tall like a power forward but lean like someone who runs every day, and his charcoal gray fitted shirtsleeves did little to hide his cut biceps. Selene tried but couldn’t stop her eyes from traveling down to the undeniable bulge he sported in matching slacks that probably cost more than her car.

His skin was chai brown, flawless, and smooth. She stole a few seconds to remember how warm and hard his skin was to her touch. That night, she let her fingers and tongue trace every inch of his body. The face staring at her was clean-shaven and handsome despite its scowl. Nothing on him was out of place; his hair was perfectly styled in jet-black loose curls

Selene cleared her throat, not sure what to say. She felt a mix of emotions – surprise, awkwardness, and longing. She saw the same conflicting feelings in his eyes when he met her gaze. So many questions hung in the air between them, but only one came to mind.

"What are you doing here?" Selene asked, her voice filled with shock and worry.

He scoffed before speaking, "I work here. This is my father’s firm, and I’m also the managing director tasked with showing you around today."

Fuck.

His words weighed down the already tense atmosphere. Each felt like an accusation, like Selene had stalked and purposely invaded his space. Although this could not be further from the truth, Selene could not help but feel like a villain. After all, she was the one who broke her promise to stay for breakfast and left him with no remorse.

The silence was palpable as they both struggled to find something else to say. Selene wanted desperately to tell him how much she thought about him and how it felt like a piece of her heart was missing since that morning she left.

But she didn’t. He appeared to be unaffected by her, and if she didn’t know how his dick felt when it hit every one of her walls, she would have sworn he didn't remember her. He kept their short interaction cold.

Selene nodded to herself. She could match that energy. She collected herself as she gathered her things.

He’d caught her off guard, but she could do this.

This was her dream job, and she earned the right to be here. One amazing night with the boss’s son a year ago would not ruin it. She would get through this awkward welcome tour and then get to work for her real boss, Abdel Kaplan.

---