Page 140 of Bossy Hero

To be fair, I knew she’d say no when I asked that night on my boat. We’d talked about marriage a few times beforehand. I’m well aware that she never wants to get married again. And she’s aware that I’ll be asking relentlessly. Just like I used to ask her if it wassomedayyet.

For a while, we joked she’d only say yes if the proposal was elaborate and over-the-top. The cheesy type that a girl just can’t say no to.

I’ll have to aim bigger next time. Ice sculptures and fireworks, perhaps.

On the bright side, she gave me the best blow job of my life that night to make up for it. She called it aguilt job. We laugh about it now. I harbor no hard feelings over it.

I push back from my desk and saunter toward her. “For the record, I wasn’t talking about marriage. Not this time.”

“Whatarrangementwere you talking about then?”

“You. Here. While I work. I like having you with me.”

When I reach the couch, she closes her book, tucking it under her thigh. “You mean you want me to be a paperweight? Shall I sit on your desk? Or perhaps it would be better if you hung me on the wall like a painting?”

Her amused tone and sexy smile make my heart pound faster.

“Beats working for a living, doesn’t it?”

I plop down beside her, pulling her against my side. She shuffles the book to her other thigh.

“Speaking of working,” she starts, looking at me from under her lashes in a pseudo-pout.

“Did your manager call you back?”

“Yeah. He did.” She shakes her head subtly. “Three more days. That’s all he can give me.”

I’ve been holding out a foolish hope that we’d bust Lenkov before her employer gave her an ultimatum about returning to work. I knew it was a long shot.

Time is up.

And I have no idea how I’ll handle it if she insists on going back.

Clinging to my only remaining morsel of hope, I ask, “No chance of working remotely?”

She cuddles around my waist. “No. They like paper too much there. And I can’t push it from across town.”

I force out an exasperated exhale. “I’m so fucking done with this shit, Maddie. I want you to be able to go to work and live your life however you choose to live it. But I have no fucking idea who I’d assign to you without sacrificing someone else’s protection. And selfishly, I want you here. When will it fucking end?”

“Every day, Costa Rica looks better and better, doesn’t it?”

“It sure does. But we can’t leave the children unprotected.”

“Damn kids,” she jokes. “It’s about time they move out and get their own lives.”

“Isn’t that the truth?” I kiss the top of her head. “I guess we’ve gone full circle to my original question.”

“About me becoming part of your office decor?”

I tilt her chin to look up at me. “You gotta admit, though... you improve the aesthetic value of this place tenfold.”

Her indulgent smile soon tarnishes with anxiety. “I love you and don’t want to add to your stress, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to find a new job once this Lenkov threat has passed. The market is terrible. I need to go back.”

“What if you didn’tneedto get another job?”

She scoffs. “Oh, right. Because money isn’t real, and we live in a fantasy world. Silly me. Problem solved.”

“Maddie, I could?—”

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