Page 7 of How to Marry the Boss

There’s only ten minutes left before midnight.

Everyone cheers as I get drunk with my brother’s assistant and now fiancée, Kiera, and our bestie, Kami Hernandez. Two girls I’ve come to be great friends with.

The Brick, owned by Jake and Jonathan’s best friend, and now Kami’s fiancé Ian Brown, is loud and crowded with party goers.

“I feel like I just moved in with you, and you’re already leaving.” I say to Kami.

Back in early November, I’d moved in with Kami after Kiera had just gotten engaged to my oldest brother. Also during that time, my ex and I broke up. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect, and it saved me from the frustrating process of apartment hunting. But who knew that just less than threeweeks after I’d moved in, Kami would become engaged and moving out to live with her man as well.

“Don’t worry, you’ll still see me at the office,” Kami tells me.

“I know that, but it won’t be the same,” I point out.

“True, but I’m sure you and your new roomie will get along great,” Kiera assures.

“Maybe, but I’ve yet to meet her. She seems to be all but a ghost.”

Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I’d posted about needing a roommate on the internet. The day after, I received a PM from someone who saw my post. She said she was looking for a place to live and thought she and I would make a good fit. We chatted to each other over the holidays, and we seemed to be getting along. The last I heard from her was when she reached out to me saying she’d be signing the papers in the next couple of days.

Kami looks at me, puzzled. “You mean she hasn’t messaged you since?”

“She told me she’d get back to me about scheduling a time to move in, but that’s it.”

“Maybe she’s busy with work or something.” I appreciate Kami trying to find a simple explanation for me, but I’m beginning to worry if I’ve made a mistake, that I should have pressed more for us to meet in person.

“What are you beautiful ladies discussing?” Jake smirks at me as he stands beside our table.

Ugh, what does he want now?

I roll my eyes, avoiding eye contact with him. “Nothing concerning you.”

He clasps a hand to his chest dramatically. “You wound me again, Ms. Knight.”

I should be annoyed with him being in my space. But something in his sultry voice, and the way he calls me that, makes my body hum with excitement.

I’m in my twenties. I’ve grown up. He shouldn’t affect me now like he did when I was a teenager.

“Don’t worry. I think you’ll live.” I send him an incredulous stare, hiding my inner turmoil.

There’s a short pause between the four of us before Kiera breaks the ice. “So, Jake, Jonathan tells me you’re moving out of your apartment soon.”

He’s what?

I look to Kiera with shock, then back to Jake as he responds.

“Yeah, I’m just about packed.”

“Really?” Kami seems just as surprised as I am. “I didn’t know you were moving out.”

“Yeah, it’s smaller than what I’m used to, but closer to the office, and I’m rooming with someone.”

That makes zero sense. He seemingly makes a fortune from his position as Co-CEO of KH Industries. Why would he move into a smaller place and live with a roommate when, financially, he doesn’t have to? Hell, he can afford to live in a place similar to where he is now.

“Who’s the lucky girl?” Kiera teases.

I’m an adult. I shouldn’t care what, or who, Jake does or doesn’t do. Yet I find myself holding onto his every word like I did when I was younger. I have got to get a grip on myself.

Jake opens his mouth as though to answer Kiera’s question, but Ian’s brother, Matt Brown, walks up to the table with a tray of champagne in stem glasses.

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