Page 40 of Beautiful Desire

Spinning on his feet, he pins me with a glare. “Quit the bullshit, Elle. You can drop the wholeMr. Lombardiact.”

Fuck this.

“Excuse me? Are you for real right now?” My anger takes over as I march toward him. “Howdareyou come tomyplace of work and speak to me like that?Youwalked out of that room a year ago,youleft me without any explanation or even a courtesy text, and now you think you can just waltz in here and I’ll jump at your command? I don’t think so,Mr. Lombardi.Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have work to get back to.”

And with that, I turn on my heel, walk out of his office, and slam the door shut behind me. I stand up straight and make my way down the hallway to the bathroom.

I check the stalls and am relieved to find they’re all empty. My chest rises and falls frantically as I try to catch my ragged breath. Trying to steady myself, I grab onto one of the sinks with my shaky hands. A cold sweat spreads through my body as I hang my head, taking a deep, calming breath. I roll my lips as my chin trembles and tears threaten to spill from my eyes. I take another deep inhale to try to settle my racing heart.

How the hell am I meant to survive a full day out there with that asshat as my new boss?

Fuck.He’s my new boss.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I will my racing heart to slow down. After a few minutes of deep breathing techniques, I can finally feel my heartbeat returning to its normal pace. My hands have stopped shaking and my body temperature regulates itself. The feeling of his eyes on my body was something I pushed deep to the back of my brain, but the heat that burned through me when we were alone in that office was a reminder. One I’m not sure how I’ll deal with every day.

A few minutes pass, and I know I need to compose myself and get back out there. Even after my raging rant, I need to show him that I won’t let him affect me. This ismyjob, and I won’t let him push me out. I can deal with seeing him every day if I have to.

The bathroom door opens, and I stand straight, rubbing my hands down my dark blue pencil dress. I pull my lipstick out of my bag and apply a fresh coat to help give me the confidence boost I need right now.

Come on, Elle. You can do this.

Beth walks around the corner with a sympathetic smile on her face.

“You okay?” she asks, leaning against another sink.

“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?” I reply, trying to sound as happy and cheerful as I can manage.

“You mean aside from the fact that the guy you spent the night with at Peter and Christine’s wedding is the new company owner?”

I was hoping she wouldn’t remember that.

“I’m fine, Beth, honestly. It was one night. That’s why he sent you for coffee. It was a long time ago, and neither of us are going to allow it to affect us working together.” I turn to face her, hoping she’ll believe the imaginary conversation Dom and I had in his new office.

“Yeah. Must still be awkward, though. Knowing you’ve seen your boss’s dick.” She rolls her lips, trying to hold in her laughter.

“Shut up, you dork. Did you at least get the man his goddamn coffee?” I ask, hoping to change the subject. I start walking toward her and link my arm through hers as we exit the bathroom.

All I have to do now is act like I haven’t slept with my boss or dreamed about those goddamn eyes more times than I care to admit over the past year.

CHAPTER13

DOM

Not even back inBoston twenty-four hours, and it’s already been a whirlwind. From the second my plane touched down last night, my life has been chaotic, and my phone has not stopped going off since.

I knew coming back here after being gone for so long was going to be difficult, but I didn’t expect it to be this hard. Buying LM Investments was always part of my plan. I wanted to get into investments, help people who are in situations I was in once before. Have someone believe in them like others believed in me when I first moved here. I had to delay the agreement of the sale once my life got turned upside-down.

Needing to have a quick and quiet sale last night when I got off the plane wasn’t part ofmyplans. But with the offer I presented to Peter, he’d have been stupid to turn it down. He and his wife Christine are probably already in Bora Bora sipping on cocktails by the pool and using hundred-dollar bills as toilet paper, with the amount of money he got from the sale.

It’s been a year and a half since we first met at Peter and Christine’s wedding, where Elle told me he was her boss. Since it’s been so long, I wasn’t sure if she still worked at the company or not. After all this time, she still looks just as flawless and amazing as I remember. What I didn’t anticipate was for my dick to still respond the same way to her after all this time.

I knew she was going to give me sass. I expected it. But what I wasn’t expecting was the hurt I saw flashing across her face for a split second before she masked her emotions.

What did you think she was going to do? Run into your arms and beg you to fuck her?

I’m sitting behind my desk in my new office; there’s so much that needs to get done. Since this sale happened overnight and without the proper thirty-day period to inform the clients, I need to do damage control and assess all of the employees. I was basically thrown to the wolves. I need to figure out how not to get ripped apart and eaten alive.

Lifting the phone on my desk, I dial the receptionist, Becca.

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