Page 27 of So That Happened
‘So you’re the Boss from Hell?’ He tried keeping his tone light, to show he was joking, but her face dropped even more.
‘I know I ask a lot of them, and I’m not the type of boss to be all chummy with my team, but we can’t afford to make mistakes. Not ones that cost the business money or spoil our reputation. I guess I’m not good at communicating that without sounding like I’m having a go. People skills are not my strong point, as I’m sure you’ve observed.’
He couldn’t help but notice the way her hands trembled as she beat her familiar rhythm on the table top.
He leant towards her, trying to catch her eye to make it clear he wasn’t judging her in any way. ‘It can’t all be down to you. There’ll be plenty of other factors at play too.’
He had no idea what they could be, but he needed to say something to take the look of abject misery off her face. He could imagine she’d be a challenging character to work for, but she wasn’t cruel. At least not based on what he’d seen of her. Being in a powerful position and showing authority without being seen as a bitch was a tough gig for a woman, from what he’d heard. No wonder she was so exhausted. He shouldn’t have made that crack about a nervous breakdown; it sounded as if he hadn’t been far off hitting on the truth.
‘I have a real talent for making people uncomfortable.’
She didn’t seem to be able to make eye contact with him any more.
‘I take out my temper on them. I should be nicer and more forgiving of mistakes, according to your sister. My PA usually takes the brunt of my anger.’ She paused and spread her hands out on the table, staring down at her fingers before correcting herself. ‘Took the brunt.’
‘And my sister asked you to take some time away?’ He allowed himself to feel a begrudging respect for Abi. Kudos to her for dealing with this problem head-on.
‘Yeah, before I scare the rest of the team into quitting. I agreed to it because I needed to convince your sister I’m not losing my mind.’
‘Are you?’
She huffed out a frustrated laugh. ‘It feels like it some days. But work is all I have. It’s important to me to be successful. I’ve worked so hard for it.’ She gave a weak smile, but her lip wobbled and her eyes flicked away from his gaze.
There was a tight feeling across his chest and he had to take a deep breath to release the tension. It was hard seeing her come undone, even though she clearly needed to say all this out loud, but he also felt a ridiculous surge of pleasure that he’d finally been able to get it out of her.
‘So Abi’s running the business by herself while you’re here?’
‘Yeah. Crazy woman. It’s not like she’s not stressed to her eyeballs too. She’s the one who should be taking a holiday.’ She closed her eyes and let out a low breath. ‘I guess I just made things so much worse.’
A sudden sinking feeling in his gut at the thought of his sister dealing with the same anxiety distracted him. He needed to turn this conversation upside down before he got sucked into the melancholy that was nibbling at the edges of his consciousness. A game-changer was in order.
‘Well, you know what’s good for stress?’
‘Enlighten me.’
‘Orgasms.’
The word hung in the air between them, throbbing with potential life.
Her face was a picture. ‘Did you just suggest that we…?’ Josie waved a shaky finger between them both.
‘That we waggle our fingers at each other?’ he said, barely managing to keep the grin off his face at her stupefied reaction.
She tried to laugh but it came out as a cross between a hiccough and a snort. ‘That you and I…?’
He leaned in to her again, totally unable to control his urge to tease her. She was such an easy target, and the change in the atmosphere was a relief after the angst of their last conversation. ‘You seem a little lost for words there, Josie. Are you asking me to have sex with you?’
She blushed fiercely and the sight of it made him smile. ‘No! I thought you were asking me.’
He paused, gathering his thoughts. What the hell was he doing? Whatever it was, he didn’t feel like pulling back. ‘What if I was?’
She shuffled in her chair. ‘Well… that would be… a strange request.’
‘Strange, unnatural? Or strange, I’ve-never-been-propositioned-so-directly-before?’
‘The second one.’
He could imagine. She’d be an intimidating prospect. ‘Then you haven’t lived.’
