Page 51 of The Wrong Boss

“Approved,” I said.

“Excellent. If that’s all, I’ll see you at the resort tomorrow evening. Have a good night, Mr. Christianson.” She nodded andwalked out of the office. I watched her disappear, finished up a few things on my computer, then headed home.

The next morning,a car was waiting outside my building. Alba would be joining me later—she had to meet with the wedding planner to go over some details with the venue—so I slid into the back seat of the waiting vehicle expecting to be alone.

Carrie sat beside me, a purse resting on her knees. She wore black pants that stretched tight around her hips, along with a crisp white shirt that was all professionalism. Her hair was tied back in a French twist, with not a strand out of place. She looked buttoned-up and completely appropriate. Her lips weren’t pursed, but they weren’t soft, either. Her eyes were guarded.

Nothing about her said sex.

Nothing, except her shoes. Her heels were black with a pointed tip. I could just see the base of her toes before they disappeared into the shoe. Toe cleavage. She had toe cleavage.

And it turned me on.

My mouth went dry. I clipped my seatbelt on and nodded to her, pretending that the sight of her feet didn’t twist me into knots. My mind conjured up images of her on a hotel bed, her back arched, her eyes glazed with ecstasy.

I banished the image.

Ihadto get a grip. This was getting ridiculous.

Yes, she was an attractive woman. Yes, I’d seen her naked. Yes, everything I’d learned about her over the past month onlymade my respect for her grow. She had a sharp intellect. She was driven. She was good at a job that was often thankless, that offered no glory.

But she wasn’t for me, and I wasn’t for her. Nothing had changed, toe cleavage or not.

“Carrie,” I said in greeting.

“Cole,” she replied. “Good morning. Kaia told me that you wanted to review the new caterers’ details on the trip down.”

I nodded, but what I really wanted to do was drag her across the back seat so she’d straddle my lap. I wanted to unbutton every one of those little ivory buttons lining her front and see the blush sweep all the way down her chest.

I wanted her the way I’d had her seven years ago.

“We can wait until we board the jet,” I told her, voice slightly gravelly. Ididwant to review the details about the food, but I wouldn’t be able to focus right now. Not when she was so close, when I hadn’t had a chance to pull myself together.

We had the entire trip to go over her work. That meant at least four hours together, all told. The catering details would take twenty minutes to go over, at most.

I gritted my teeth and braced myself for the journey ahead.

NINETEEN

CARRIE

Workingfor Mr. Wentworth had been great; he’d been a fantastic boss who had treated me with respect and consideration, even though the salary had been lower than what I needed to support a young child as a single mother.

But he didn’t have a private jet.

As the company car came to a stop on the tarmac, my view of the chartered plane was shaded through the tinted windows. I waited for the driver to circle around to my side, my heart thumping in my throat. Wiping my hands on my pants, I smiled at the driver when he opened my door, stepped out, and slung my purse over my shoulder.

A worker was already pulling my small suitcase out of the trunk and wheeling it toward the jet. Meanwhile, a flight attendant in bright red lipstick, a perfectly styled updo, and a sharp uniform came striding toward me. She smiled brightly. “This way, Ms. Woods.”

“Thank you,” I said, and followed her to the steps leading up to the plane. Ducking my head as I entered, I tried to quell the nerves that rose up inside me.

It was just a plane chartered by the company I worked for. A planeI booked, with Deena’s help. Just a trip to a resort in Florida which happened to be owned by my boss’s family. Just a little workcation away from my daughter for the advancement of my career (my doomed career).

With Cole.

The plane’s seats were arranged in groups of four that faced each other. My boss sat down on a plush leather seat and gestured to the one across from him. Having no choice but to comply, I slipped into the chair and fussed with my purse and laptop while avoiding his gaze.

Finally, when I could fuss no more, I looked up.

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