Page 21 of A Very Bossy Christmas
“Well then, my answer is no. No way. No way in hell.”
That’s my girl.
“Okay.” My work here is done.I stand up and put my jacket back on. “You still have time to think about it.” I slide the beanie back on, watching her watch my hands the whole time.Yeah. Get a good look at these hands and think long and hard about what you want me to do with them over the holidays.
“I will not be thinking about it.”
“Yeah you will.”
Do I actually think our working relationship would survive a few rounds of hot vacation sex? Yeah. I do. She may not know who she’s dealing with here, but I do. And she can handle it.
“Why would I agree to this?”
“Would you rather be at the office with me on Christmas Day than spend a couple of days and evenings with me in nonwork environments and get some much-needed time off?”
“If you’re going to these events, then it is clearly not as dire for you to work through Christmas as you had led me to believe.”
“I’ll have to make up for lost time, and I’ll be working at the office even when you aren’t there.”
“Really?You’ll be working at the office without me? All by yourself?”
I shrug. “If I have to, yeah,” I say quietly, my shoulders slouching the tiniest bit. Because I am not above trying to make her feel sorry for me right now.
“You know what?” she says. “Thank you for the offer, Mr. Cannavale. I’ll think about it.”
I study her poker face. “You will?”
She smirks and leans toward me. “You sound skeptical.”
I fucking love that smirk.
I know what she’s doing. She thinks she’ll have some kind of power over me if she doesn’t give me an answer one way or another. Look how happy she is right now.
“Okay, Cooper.” I put my gloves on. “You think about it.”
“I shall.” She nods once. “When do you need to know by?”
She needs a deadline. Deadlines for accepting offers are always tricky, but I have a feeling this woman needs as much time as possible to warm up to this idea. “The 22nd. Six pm. But I’ll need you to book travel and accommodations for us ASAP. You can always cancel your flights if necessary.” And before she can open that gorgeous, sassy mouth, I continue. “Separate adjoining rooms at the Ritz-Carlton in Cleveland.”
She frowns as she opens the door to the hallway. “You’re not going to stay with your family?”
“Absolutely not.”
“But they don’t live right in Cleveland, do they?”
“No, they don’t. But the best hotels are there, and I always stay at the Ritz-Carlton. And we’re only staying one night. The night of the 24th. Fly in that afternoon. Fly out the next morning. That’s very important. The wedding’s in Cleveland, so we’ll stay there for that too. I’ll email you the info.”
She’s still frowning at me, and as I pass her on my way out the door, I have the strongest urge to grab her and kiss that mouth.Reallygive her something to frown about. But I won’t. There’s no kissing in the art of negotiating a deal. And I need this. I need her. I need her forthis.
“Uh-huh. And if I decline your offer, will you be traveling alone or selecting some other lucky hot-as-fuck winner?”
God, I love it when she says hot as fuck.
“I’ll probably just cancel everything. I mean, I have to go to the wedding, but…”
“Whose wedding is it, anyway?”
Now I’m frowning. Now I hate everything again. “My brother’s. See you Monday.”
