Page 22 of Royal Bosshole

“I think he’s used to getting what he wants, so maybe when I see him today, he’ll be insufferably smug.”

“So what? You get yours.” Stevie clinked her mug against mine. “Don’t you dare feel shame about it. You’re not ashamed, are you? Men always love to make women feel shamed for wanting sex.”

A little something flicked across her expression, but it was gone in a moment.

“No, no. Not like that. I just—" I breathed out, thinking back to that moment. “I don’t know what came over me. I was like a totally different person. Just letting go.”

“That’s good! Now, I want to hear all about it, but I’ve got to get ready for work! Keep me updated!” She grinned at me and rushed to her room.

I took my coffee and walked into mine, not looking forward to work. Okay, well, maybe only a little.

CHAPTER9

LILY

At work,I kept my head down. Thankfully, James wasn’t in his office when I first came in, so I could just hide away at my desk and get my shit done. The inspiration just kept flowing. At any spare moment I had, I scrawled down a few more lines in my lyric notebook. I had two songs brewing at the same time, and my heart was happier than it had been in a long while. With a smile, and when no one was looking, I pulled up my Spotify on my computer.

My smile faded when I checked out how much money I’d earned that month. Twenty-five dollars.

That’s even less than usual!

Twenty-five measly dollars. I put down my pen and let out one of those big, disappointed sighs. The ones that come straight from the deepest part of the lungs. Poof! Hope and inspiration gone. My phone dinged, and I looked down to see a text from Jen.

Hey, boss, thought you might like to look at the account books for the past month. Not looking too great, but things will pick up!

If it was possible for my inspiration to sink lower, it certainly did. On my first day at work at Coffee on the Go, I thought life was going to pick up. My body still felt good at least. I’d had another full, normal breakfast and was feeling more energy than ever. But I guess I’d expected too much. I’d expected things to change at the drop of a hat. I tried to channel my grandmother’s voice.

There are downtimes, Lil. You’ve got to work hard to get to the up times and enjoy them while they’re there. That doesn’t mean you stop working or let the disappointment get to you. Not my Lil.

Then, she’d always chuck me on the chin after her speech, and I’d feel better. Now that she was gone, there was no one to chuck me on the chin. I would just have to do it myself.

“Hey, boss bitch,” Sara whispered to me as she got near to my desk. “How’re you doing?”

“Oh hey.” I brightened and pushed my notebook away and stood. “I’m good. How are you?”

Lies. All lies, but hey what was that thing about repetitive therapy? The more you repeated something, the more you believed it. I can believe I’m good. All good. Maybe it’ll come true.

“Very good.” Her eyes widened, and she passed me a paper. “Check it out. You’re brilliant. I changed all the copies on the site that you suggested, and since then, our visits have doubled! You weresoright!”

She did a little fist bump, and shocked, I looked down at the stats. A little ray of pleasure warmed me up from the inside out.

So, I’mnota complete failure!

“That’s awesome, Sara! Wow, even I can’t believe it! Well, let’s keep going with this theme. We want not just visitors but people buying the online products. Any change in that?”

“Yeah, for sure.” She pointed to a number on the page. “Twenty-five percent higher on that. But we’ll get there.” She glanced at the glass castle and looked back at me. “Big boss is going to be happy! Even though you insulted the way Coffee on the Go looks.”

For the first time that morning, I allowed myself to look his way. A little breath escaped my lips. I couldn’t help it. He looked too good. I was kind of a sucker for waistcoats. He was just in a waistcoat and shirt, his sleeves rolled up already, and he was on the phone. He was pacing back and forth in his office, and once, he glanced up at me. I swallowed. He didn’t look happy.

Shit, was it because of what happened yesterday? But how was that my fault?

Finally, I tore my eyes away and looked at Sarah. “How about the images? Can we conjure up a few more enticing images that aren’t so…clean and corporate?”

“Hmm…I’ll think about it and see what I can come up with. Thanks, Lily.”

“You’re welcome. So glad to hear about the uptick.”

When I was sitting back at my desk again, I opened my notebook once more. Courage and perseverance were about fighting during the hard times, right? Inspiration only struck once in a while, but I could work to keep it. I didn’t want to let disappointment stop me. I was a boss bitch. I could do this.

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