Page 1 of Oh My Gourd
one
Tori
Iwonder if it'sreally as thick as it looks.
“Tori, did you hear what I said?” my boss, Mace McElroy, says, drawing my attention back to his face.
“Yes, sir.”
Pull yourself together and stop staring at your boss's thick head of hair, and focus on the business lunch he invited you to for the first time.
“Would you care to repeat what I just said to you?” His tone contains no anger—if anything, there’s a hint of amusement.
Mace's sense of humor is one of the things I find attractive, along with his thick, luxurious hair that I want to run my fingers through at least once. Having a crush on my new boss isn’t ideal, but as long as I stay professional, I’ll be okay.
“You were talking about the capital gain margins versus the capital losses for the fourth quarter.” When he smiles at my answer, I silently congratulate myself for pulling the answer out of my ass and bluffing my way out of a sticky situation.
“That was actually what we were discussing about fifteen minutes ago on the way over here.” His smile softens his words, but I can still feel my face flush from getting caught in a lie.
“Sorry, Mr. McElroy. I’m a little distracted today.” Distracted by your handsome face and neatly trimmed beard, I want to feel between my...
“And what exactly are you distracted by?” The smirk on his face makes me squirm in my seat. It’s like he can see right through me and my little crush.
He unbuttons his expensive suitcoat, revealing his muscular chest and flat stomach in the tailored long-sleeved white dressshirt, making my mouth water. How have I survived this long working for my hot boss?
When he places one of his arms on the back of the booth, his fingers accidentally graze my shoulder, sending heat through my body. This isn't good. I grab my glass of ice water and take a big sip. Trying to think of a good excuse for why I can’t focus around Mace today, I keep drinking until the glass is nearly empty. I shift my gaze to the front door, wondering if Mace will notice if I make a quick exit.
The restaurant door opens as I plan my escape, but seeing the man in the business suit with a tall, skinny, beautiful blonde on his arm walking toward us stops me cold, making me inhale sharply. Some of the water in my mouth follows the inhale of air into my lungs. I hold back the cough, thankful that the man walking our way hasn’t spotted me yet.
“Are you okay, Miss Wells?” The concern on Mace’s face makes me feel a little guilty about what I’m about to do if Niles recognizes me as he walks past our table with his new girlfriend.
Niles and I dated a few months ago, before I got the job with Mr. McElroy—actually, we went on three dates, even though I realized after the first one that he wasn’t the right guy for me. The problem with guys like Niles is that they can’t handle rejection.
Saying Niles freaked out when I ended things with him is an understatement. It’s actually the reason I left my old job. We worked in the same office building. Avoiding him was almost impossible once he started telling our co-workers that I was anice princess who wasn’t worth the effort. He even left packages of condoms all over my cubicle. I found one in my purse and decided to keep it as a reminder to listen to my gut, just like I wish I had done with Niles—ended our relationship after the first date instead of dragging it out and giving him the idea I was interested in something more.
I considered going to our human resources department but decided not to after learning that his father owned the company. So instead, I quietly submitted my resignation and began searching for a new job.
I hold my breath as Niles gets closer and closer to our table. His eyes flicker in my direction, and he gives me a small smirk. Crap, I didn’t want to have to do this. I shift in my seat, turning to face Mace while scooting closer to his side so our bodies are touching. He doesn’t say anything, only raises an eyebrow. “Mr. McElroy, please, can you just go along with whatever I do? I’ll explain everything later.”
He doesn’t respond quickly enough for my liking. In a desperate move, I wrap my arms around my boss’s neck and press my lips against his. The kiss starts out innocent enough until my boss wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me closer to his chest. His tongue licks across the seam of my lips, demanding entry. All thoughts of Niles vanish from my mind as I open my mouth and let my boss deepen the kiss.
“Well, well, well. What do we have here?” Mace and I break apart as Niles interrupts, both of us breathing heavily. Mace keeps his eyes on mine, a mixture of lust and confusion reflected in his gaze.
“Hi, Niles,” I say, pulling my gaze away from Mace and leaning into his shoulder. “This is my boyfriend, Mace.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Now it’s my turn to look confused. Why would Niles laugh at Mace being my boyfriend? Mace is way hotter than Niles by a mile. “My own stepbrother cleaning up my sloppy seconds.”
Stepbrother?
I snap my gaze at Mace, then back to Niles—caught in some strange ping-pong match of words I don’t understand.
“Apologize to Tori now, Niles.” My normally jovial boss looks ready to tear Niles apart, judging by the twitch in his clenched jaw.
“Chill out, Mace. I’m just kidding," Niles smirks, his expression darkening. “She’s an ice princess anyway. Good luck getting into her panties—they're made of pure ice.” Niles and his bleach-blonde date laugh at his description of me, which doesn’t bother me this time because I don’t want Mace to think I’d hook up with a douche like Niles. “I just find it ironic that you are dating my ex.”
“We went on three dates, Niles. It wasn’t like we were in a relationship.” I can’t let Niles jeopardize this job—even though I’ve probably already landed on my boss’s bad side for dragging him into my mess.
To make matters worse, Niles and Mace are related. The universe must really hate me. If the floor opened up and swallowed me whole right now, I would welcome the escape.
