Page 57 of The Boss

Cute. Very cute.

“No. It’s my turn to ask a question, isn’t it? So, I’m going to ask you a question, Less.”

“Go for it.”

Oh, what to ask? How about we start with…

“How good does it feel when I make love to you?”

I know. So original. When in doubt, go with the classics?

“So good that it’s all I can think about even when I’m satisfied.”

“Then you’re not satisfied and I’m not doing my job.”

Presley steps through my door without knocking. Again.

“Put down that phone and hear me out.” She locks the door. I leave my phone upside down on my desk. My abandoned computer likewise goes to sleep while my business partner takes up the spot across from me again. But instead of relaxing, she pulls out another printed sheet of paper and slides it across my desk.

I can’t say that I like what I see.

A week ago, I treated the assertion that my girlfriend is an “STD-ridden slut” as a prank. One that made me have a couple of realizations, but a tasteless prank, nonetheless. I didn’t launch an investigation, even though I probably should have for the sake of the peace in the office. Hell, for all I knew,Presleydid it to make a point. After all, these fliers keep showing up inheroffice.

“Where are these coming from?”

“In-house, obviously.” Presley grimaces. “I stepped out to see you for a few minutes, and someone managed to slip that beneath my door. Nobody noticed. So, it’s someone who flies under the radar and wouldn’t look suspicious.”

That narrows it down to about twenty people at this time of day. Lovely. Could be one of our staff. Could be a courier. Could be security for all I know. No matter what, someone in my office is causing problems for me. And Alessa.

I look back at the paper.“Perhaps the boss would like to know that Alessa Penrose is fraternizing with the male interns?”

“So nice to know that we have a spy on our payroll.” I crumple up the paper and shove it in the bottom of my wastebasket. “What do you think they want?”

“Besides our attention? Who knows? Someone looking to sow discord in our midst.” Presley sighs. “Look, Jules, I don’t care what it’s like with your intern slash girlfriend, as long as you’re jamming along as usual when it comes to business. Marry her and start a family for all I care. Just don’t fuck up the harmony of our office.”

“So, basically, don’t lose you money.”

“That’s all I ask. And don’t get us in legal trouble.”

“How many times do I have to tell you this has all been cleared with HR?”

“And how many times do I have to ask you how much you strong-armed them into agreeing to this? To not press charges?”

I’m not answering that. I don’t want my words to come back to bite me in the ass one day. Fact of the matter is, HR is looking the other way as long as Alessa remains placated – and I will make sure she’s not unhappy with our arrangement. I suppose, if she wanted to, she could force HR’s hand on the matter. But at the end of the day, I am the queen of this corporate castle, and HR’s end goal is to not get us all sued… not to protect every hurt feeling in the building.

Unless they’re my hurt feelings, of course.

“The question is,” I steer the conversation, “why are they givingyouthese juicy tidbits? Who’s trying to stir up discord between us?”

Presley shrugs. “I’m the personable one, remember? Either that or they’re trying to rile me up so I get pissed at you.”

“Is it working?”

She narrows her eyes. “You don’t want to know.”

Presley and I have our squabbles like any other pair of friends in the corporate world, but I don’t want to think that this is going to be what creates a rift between us. Companions should never come between us, and honestly, they haven’t yet. I put up with her philandering, and she puts up with my stuffy heiresses, actresses, and women like Alessa who come in and out of my office and hang on my arm at events. We both have our seduction styles, as opposite as they can be.

It’s official. I have yet another item on my already long list of shit I need to do. Namely, I must get to the bottom of this crap and find out who the hell is trying to sabotage my relationship with Alessa.

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