Page 4 of Beastly Boss

“Oh?! Do tell! Did you meet a boy?”

“No,” I’m quick to say. Too quick. I know Sadie is going to call me out. It’s not a lie, though. I didn’t meet aboy. I met a powerful, dangerousman. And I even got him to smile.

“Girl, you have to give me the deets. I’m dying over here. I hardly have time to make new friends let alone date with all the shitty grunt work and stupid assignments at the office. Let me at least live vicariously through you.”

“It was nothing, really. Just a dance.”

“A dance is hardlynothing. You’ve never talked about dancing any of the other times you’ve gone to the ball with your dad.”

“Fine,” I say exasperatedly. Honestly, it’s nice to talk to someone about it. I don’t know that there’s much to say, but I know Sadie will listen. God, I miss her so much. “He was talking with my father when I walked up. He introduced himself and…” I trail off, looking down at my right hand.

“And…?”

“And instead of shaking my hand, he kissed my knuckles,” I say all in a rush.

Sadie gasps dramatically, making me roll my eyes.

“Then he immediately left, which was weird. I may have stalked him after that. Just a little bit. Not like in a creepy way, I just… I don’t know. I felt like we had more to talk about, like our story wasn’t over yet.”

“Aww,” she coos. “That’s so sweet it’s kind of gross.”

“Hey, you were the one who wanted the details,” I remind her. “Would you like me to stop?”

“Never!”

I laugh at her adamant response. “After some time passed, I saw him go out to the balcony. I can’t even remember what I said to get his attention, but when he turned around and locked eyes with me…” A shiver runs down my spine, landing between my thighs. That’s been happening more frequently since meeting Aurelio. “Anyway, I went full plant-nerd on him and started talking about crossbreeding and the wonders of dahlias being octoploids.”

“Well, that’s… unique,” Sadie replies, trying to find the positive side.

“I know, I know. What was I thinking? He must have felt sorry for me because then he asked me to dance.”

“On the balcony? Thesecludedbalcony that overlooks the romantic twinkling lights of the city?”

“I don’t know if anyone has ever described Las Vegas as romantic,” I say flatly.

“Shut up and let me fantasize, will you?”

I chuckle at my friend and her insistence on making a big deal out of last night. Just because I still have butterflies from our brief dance doesn’t mean he even remembers me at all. Aurelio probably danced with dozens of women last night. He may have taken one home with him to spend the night. That thought shouldn’t make me jealous, but damn if my stomachdoesn’t twist up at the idea of Aurelio’s lips on someone else’s neck, his hands roaming over another woman’s body.

I’m not so naive as to think he’d ever truly be attracted to me the way I’m hungry for more of him. He’s older, hot as hell, mysterious, and exudes power everywhere he goes. I’m a chubby college kid who spends all of her time in a greenhouse.

“Okay, so you’re dancing under the stars with the city skyline spread out before you, the hint of classical music drifting through the air, and you’re locking lips with a sexy man who fell for you instantly. Go on,” Sadie encourages.

“We werenotlocking lips,” I correct her. “Just dancing. More like swaying because I can’t dance. He got me to relax enough to stop stepping on his toes, then he dipped me backward and… kind of… kissed my neck.”

“You totallydidkiss him! You skank.”

We both burst out laughing. Nothing could be further from the truth for either of us. Unless Sadie has been keeping a big secret from me, we’re both rather inexperienced when it comes to romantic relationships – physical or otherwise.

“I didn’t, though. It was just… it was probably an accident. It wasn’t even a kiss, really. His lips brushed up my neck, and then my dad called my name, and we separated.”

I skip over the part where I almost fell, he caught me, and held me for a moment too long. Sadie would only get me spun up about how it means more than it actually does. I don’t need any more reason to obsess over a man I’m probably never going to see again.

“Way to cock-block, Lieutenant Olsen,” my friend deadpans.

“Sadie! It’s not like we were going to sleep together. He was just being nice.”

Even as I say it, I get the sense thatniceisn’t a word used to describe someone in his position. Yes, I know who Aurelio is. Every cop in the ballroom last night knew who he was. That’show much power he holds – Aurelio, the head of the Caparelli crime family, walked into a building full of law enforcement officers without even blinking an eye.

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