Page 5 of Claimed By the Boss

Nora watched as thedelivery driver came to Gabriel. The two spoke, and she saw the name of anItalian restaurant on his shirt. It was a very expensive place known for theirlong list of celebrity clients. She was a little taken aback. Gabriel chuckled,slapped the man on the shoulder, and he left.

So, his reputation ofbeing a monster seemed far-fetched. He’d been nothing but polite, sweet, andeven charming to her. She probably sounded like a child or a stupid fairy-tale-riddledasshole.

Gabriel stepped back intohis office, and at the same time glanced down at his cell phone.

“Trudy will be back in anhour with your clothes.”

“You really didn’t need todo that.”

“I had no choice but toinsist seeing as my employee did that. Do you want to tell me what that was allabout?” Gabriel asked.

Clarice was already fired.She didn’t see the reason to raise complaints.

“I just don’t thinkClarice liked me very much.” There was no thinking about it. Clarice had hatedher right from the start. She didn’t know why, just that sometimes peoplesimply didn’t get along. She was not going to analyze it.

“It was nothing.”

“She did it on purpose,”he said. “You’re not protecting her. She has already lost her job.”

She nibbled her lip. “Idon’t know why. Clarice never liked me.” She shrugged.

Gabriel sighed. “I willnot tolerate that level of behavior from anyone. You could have been seriouslyinjured.”

She found it so incrediblysweet that he cared.

“Come, let us eat.”

He moved toward the sofain the corner of his office, near the open windows that overlooked the citybelow. The view was breathtaking.

She didn’t get too closeto the window as she didn’t like the idea of plunging to her death. That was along drop. Not that she imagined he shirked on the quality of the glass. It hadto be quite thick.

“Italian meatball subs arethe very best, and I have two layers of cheese—provolone and parmesan.Delicious. I have this specially made for me. I know the chief, and he likes tochange up his sub game, and I’m the one that gets to try it.”

“Sounds like a goodfriendship,” she said.

This was so strange. Shewas eating lunch with the boss. The very scary boss that could take her job ina second. Yet, he was talking about sub sandwiches, Italian restaurants, andfriendships.

This was a strange day,and it was getting even stranger. She’d also been semi-naked in his office. Shecouldn’t forget that. Not to mention wearing clothes that were not hers. Theyfit like a dream, and she knew they had to be designer. The softness of thefabric screamed luxurious to her. There was nothing to hate about what she waswearing.

It was like she andGabriel had been friends for a long time.

“Pretty good. Let me knowwhat you think.”

He handed her a plate thathad the most mouthwatering sub. The cheese was gooey and spilling out thesides. She saw the size of the meatballs. The whole thing looked appealing,which was a lot better than her salad which was probably sweating in her bag inher locker. She had no choice but to store her lunch in her locker, otherwiseit was taken.

She didn’t like to ordertakeout. Her mother often said the best way to save money was through homecooking. Her mother was a good cook, and she missed her.

Taking a bite to distractherself from the tears that were going to fall, she tasted the flavors. Theywere amazing. There was no other word to describe them. Each one even moredelectable. The balance of the onions and garlic, the tomato sauces, even thecheeses. All of it was a nice party on her tongue, one she was loving.

“This is so good,” shesaid.

Gabriel chuckled and shefelt that pleasure at the sound rush through her body, which was insane. Yes,her boss was a handsome man. No, scrap that. Handsome didn’t even begin tocover it. He was sexy—sexy and hot, and a lot of other things as well. Therewere so many words she could use to describe him.

She was not going toembarrass herself by having a crush on her boss.

Nora finished hersandwich, and knew she would have to get back to work. She got to her feet.“Uh, thank you for the lunch, and for … the clothes. I promise to return them.”

Gabriel got to his feet.

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