Page 26 of Falling For Her Boss

Isabella smiles to indicate her pitch is over. Several of the men at the table clap for her and she blushes as I join in. Honestly, I’m pretty impressed at what she pulled off today. A woman with no experience in sales, marketing or design has pulled off a presentation on all three in under ten minutes. And, more to the point, she had everyone eating out of her hand.

The applause lasts for at least thirty seconds and when it dies down, I stand up with a grin, glancing around the room.

“You see?” I say, pointing to Isabella. “That is what I’m talking about. Good ideas. Excellent presentation. Proper research. You all need to rise to this girl’s level because this portfolio is full of good ideas. I hope we’re all feeling inspired and ready to tackle this from a new angle. What do we think?”

Everyone in the room murmurs in agreement. This kind of meeting is exciting. I feel as though we are finally getting somewhere. All thanks to Isabella.

“Dismissed, everyone. Work hard and come back to me with solid ideas this week. I’m expecting great things from all of you!”

The room erupts into chatter as the men prepare to leave. Isabella is watching me as she stands up. She tosses her blonde hair over her shoulder.

“How did I do?” she asks, half joking and half in need of validation.

“You were perfect. Honestly. In fact…” I step a little closer to her, not wanting to be too obvious, but not too subtle either. I want her to know I’ve got her on my mind. “I was hoping I might be able to grab dinner with you tonight,” I murmur, loud enough for people to hear. But before they can get suspicious, I continue. “I’d like to hear more of your ideas after hours if you’re up for it…”

Isabella’s cheeks have turned a pretty shade of pink. I guess she wasn’t expecting to see me again so soon, at least not outside of work. But I can’t help myself – I want to see her. She meets my eyes and nods nervously, wrapping her arms around herself like a protective barrier.

“I’d like that,” she whispers.

CHAPTER 15

Isabella

I leave the meeting and head back to my office with my heart racing. I can’t believe all the risks I’ve taken today…the scene in Logan’s office, my casual flirting during the meeting, my confidence pitching to the team. Who am I? It’s like I’ve become a new person. All these exciting new traits have come about after spending time with Logan, and I can’t say I mind, to be honest. Feeling confident in myself might be a new sensation, but it’s certainly not an unwelcome one. Whatever Logan is doing to me, I’m into it.

It feels odd to be back in my office now. This morning has been a whirlwind, but it’s so strange to me, that it doesn’t feel like a real part of my life. And now I’m sitting here feeling like this normalcy doesn’t belong to me either. I’m in a kind of limbo, separate from my old life and my new one. Past me would never have accepted a date with my handsome boss, but this new version of me is jumping in headfirst.

My phone buzzes on my desk and I fumble for it, blissfully happy in my own skin today. Not much could dampen my mood right now. But when I see who is messaging me, my heart sinks a little.

Dinner tonight?

It’s Joshua. I sigh. It’s moments like this that I wish he made the effort to have more friends. I don’t exactly have an abundance of them myself, but now that I’ve made plans with Logan, the last thing I want to do is hang out with my socially deprived brother.

Can’t tonight. I have plans.

Plans? With who?

I snort at the text. Clearly, Joshua is just as aware as I am that I never have plans with friends.

It’s a work outing.

Joshua doesn’t reply again. It’s his blunt way of saying message received. I bite my lip. Maybe this is an opportunity to get him talking to Logan again. If that happens then maybe Logan and I won’t have to tiptoe around so much. As hot as this morning was, I’d love to be able to talk to Joshua about it.

Why not ask Logan to join you?

It’s a major long shot, I know. My plan would be to get the pair of them together and then tag along later on. Maybe in that amount of time, they would be able to fix things between them. But Joshua’s reply is just as blunt as his previous silence.

I don’t think so.

I curse quietly to myself, putting my phone down in frustration. I just wish this could be simpler. It seems like there are a million obstacles preventing Logan and me from exploring our attraction. While it’s exciting to keep him a secret, someday I would like to show him off to the world. I know it’s early days, and this might not lead to anything at all, but I’ve spent enough time in the shadows during my life. I don’t want that to happen anymore.

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