Page 19 of Bigfoot Boss
Bailey
Wife. Ridiculous. I laugh. “One kiss and you are proposing?” I tug his arm, trying to pull him back to me, but he leans further away.
“This isn’t about your job, Bay.”
“But—” My teeth wrap around my lower lip. “Isn’t that why the other assistants left? Because they wouldn’t sleep with you?”
“No!” He looks completely appalled. “No, no! I’ve never propositioned anyone at work.” He moves even further away, my body is cold in his absence. “I thought you wanted this. I thought you might—dammit, I wasn’t thinking at all.”
My smile twists in confusion. “The others said—you know what, it doesn’t matter. I misunderstood.” I hop down from the desk and fumble to straighten my skirt, looking anywhere but at him. Fuck. I fucked up again. I kissed my boss. Yes, he propositioned me. Or did I proposition him? Fuck. Am I the one doing workplace harassment? “Am I still fired?”
“Fired?”
“You asked me here to fire me, didn’t you?”
“No! I only called you in here to—it doesn’t matter.” His eyes search my face for a long moment. “I really like you, Ms. Thorn. I’m sorry. Your employment was never in jeopardy. I don’t want you to feel pressured to do anything.”
My heart melts just a little, and for some reason, I want to reassure him.
“I didn’t exactly feel pressured. I practically threw myself at you.” I try not to wince at the memory.
“I understand if you want to leave,” he continues, like I haven’t spoken at all.
“I don’t want to leave,” I insist. I need this job. He’s not getting rid of me this easily. I can suffer awkward job situations for decent pay.
“Then I’ll find a new position for you. I understand if you don’t want to work for me anymore. The others didn’t want to work for a monster either.”
“It was just a kiss. You’re hardly a monster,” I mutter under my breath.
“I’m a Bigfoot, Ms. Thorn, you’ve noticed.” He gestures to his body. “The other assistants left because they didn’t want to work for a large hairy monster. I understand if you feel the same.”
“Oh—oh.” It’s like the illusion shatters in my mind. “They meant a monster, literally! Like you are literally a monster. Like,literally, literally. That’s why they are scared of you?” I laugh. He’s practically a giant kitten. Nothing about him frightens me, except maybe the potential proposal. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t… I’m not… I didn’t mean it like that. I don’t think of you as a monster.”
“That has become apparent.” His brown eyes scan my body, and my stomach flips.
“Can we just forget this happened? I’ll go back to my desk. You won’t need to find a new assistant, and we’ll never speak of this again.”
“No.” He steps into the path between me and the office door.
“No?” I ask in a squeaky breath.
“Bay, I’ve wanted to kiss you since the first moment I saw you. I don’t want to forget this happened. I want to be with you.”
“You want to fuck me, you mean?” I laugh.
“I want you by my side every day, every moment.”
“But you aren’t serious, though.” I shift on my feet, and suddenly it feels like the carpet is very interesting. My eyes search the berber for any kind of pattern.
“I like you, Ms. Thorn. A lot. I enjoy your company. You are clever, and funny, and kind, and sexy.”
His feet appear in my line of sight. I look up to check his expression and am surprised by how close he’s standing. He rewards me with a wide grin. He’s so attractive when he smiles, and it’s hard not to think about the way his strong hands traveled over my body.
Shit. I need to pull myself together. These things never work out. I’m a desperate idiot for even considering he might be telling the truth.
“Let’s go out. On a date.” It’s a command, not a question.
“I can’t date my boss.”
