Page 5 of Hard Boss

After a moment of allowing myself to stare at him, I focus on the computer. The last thing I need is for him to think I’m crazy like Tina. She is so damn obsessed with him after only dating for a few weeks. He made the mistake of hiring her and was so pussy whipped that he made that contract. Now, he’s stuck with her. She’s worked here for a year and a half now and has hated every moment. I don’t want to become that person to him, so I need to just accept that his flirting is harmless, and I need to stop looking too far into it.

When I get done filling everything in, I look up to see that Wilder is watching me. “Everything okay?” I ask cautiously.

“You know you do this thing when you concentrate where your mouth is open slightly?” he remarks with a smile.

“No, I don’t,” I frown deeply, and he chuckles.

“I’ll point it out next time,” he says. “Done?”

“Mhmm.”

Wilder stands and walks over. I go to stand, but he turns my chair back to face the computer and leans over me again to scroll through the paperwork. “You put the wrong address,” he remarks as he clicks on the line and reenters the address as his own.

“Wilder,” I sigh.

“Accept it, roomie. You’ll wake up with me every day,” he says, squeezing my shoulder with one hand as he clicks over to the contract. “Read and sign, please.”

“Haven’t you been burned enough by contracting your employees?” I ask. “This is a five-year contract, Wilder.”

“Unless you plan on being a gold digger, I think we are good,” he laughs. “Also, I feel like if I tell you no, you wouldn’t counteract that by trying to trick me into sex.”

“I uh… I wouldn’t… you know…” I try to say, but I can’t get the words out imagining myself under him.

“I forget you’re easily embarrassed. Sorry,” he chuckles and kneads my shoulders. “Read and sign.”

I try to concentrate, but I am struggling. “You’re distracting me,” I say softly. “I feel like you’re tricking me.”

“A little,” he laughs. “You aren’t going to like this contract.”

That makes me concentrate better and I read. “Fuck no,” I snap. He turns me around and places his hands on the desk beside me. Wilder is close to me, and I am momentarily stunned.

“Macie,” he says.

“No. You are not paying me that much, Wilder. No,” I say. “That is way too much money. Never mind the whole company credit card for personal expenses. What the fuck does that mean?”

“It means, so long as you’re living in my home, I am covering your expenses,” he says. “Food, any gas or food bought when doing work for me. Anything personal you can handle on your own.”

“I’m on call every day, all day, Wilder. That means you’d be paying for all of my gas and food unless I went out with Arden or went to see my parents.”

“Yes, and I’m not changing it. I’m asking you to uproot your entire life to help me with this. It’s the least I can do,” he says. “Sign it, Macie. Please?”

“What happens if you get a girlfriend who doesn’t like me? I’ll just be in your house with a person who sees me as a threat,” I say.

“I wouldn’t bring anyone into my life that you and Arden didn’t approve of,” he says.

“Why?!”

“Because you are my life, Macie. Is that so surprising?”

“Me?” I ask.

“Yes, you,” he smirks. “I will not bring any women into that house with you there.”

“Does that mean I can’t bring men in?” I ask.

“No,” he frowns.

“I guess that’s fair,” I shrug. “I can always go out to them.”

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