Page 33 of Royal Bosshole

“Wow. Uh… Okay. Great. Here she is,” Stevie said, and Lily came around the corner.

“Hi.” She looked nervous.

I thought I said hi back, but I wasn’t sure. My mouth opened, and it stayed open for a few seconds. She wore a green dress again, only this one was definitelynotsuitable for the office. It had thin straps, a low neckline. It was tight and stopped about mid-thigh. Nope, I would not be able to do much thinking on this date.

“You look—” I began, but Lily came up to me and took my arm.

“It's better you don't finish that sentence while Stevie's around.” She opened the door and grabbed her purse.

“Hey,” Stevie complained.

“Goodbye!” Lily called and shut the door firmly behind us.

I took her hand and led her outside and into the car. It felt easy and natural, and surprisingly, it calmed my nerves.

“It's a good thing you live here,” I said. “The restaurant's not far.”

“Great.”

We didn't say too much on the drive over, but she still kept her hand in mine. With my thumb, I traced outlines in her palm.

Once we got inside, we were greeted by name and led straight back to a private area.

“Wow, this is fancy. Amazing.” I helped her into her seat and caught a whiff of her lily perfume.

The wine was already there and waiting. I poured us both a glass. How did one behave on a date? I'd spoken to countless dignitaries and businesspeople. But something about Lily made me sweat like crazy.

“Thanks for coming out,” I decided.

She smiled. “You act as though I'm doing you a favor.”

“Maybe you are.”

Her joke lifted my confidence. When the waiter came back, we ordered and then it was just us.

“So, I heard you have a name around the office,” I said as I swirled the wine in my glass.

“Is that so?”

She lifted a brow, and she looked confident and sexy as hell. Her hair was in a fishtail braid over one shoulder. She wore a necklace that went all the way down to her cleavage and hung in the middle. I'd never been jealous of a necklace before.

“Yeah, I think it's something like boss bitch?”

“Oh, God.” She groaned and covered her eyes with her hand. “Is Sara spreading that around the office?”

“Kind of.” I laughed. It felt good to laugh with someone. Like, to really laugh. “So, what's with the name?”

“Oh, it was just this dumb thing. On the first day, I was talking to Sarah about changing the copy, and I told her what I’d told you, that coffee shops need to be homey and not cold and corporate. She was so impressed with me that I spoke to you like that that she started calling me boss bitch.”

Lily scrunched up her nose in the cutest way I'd ever seen, and I just kept on laughing. “Well, I should admit, it was impressive that you spoke to me like that. And on your first day, too.”

It had been fucking hot.

“I bet you have a nickname at work, though.” She smirked.

I leaned forward on the table, and I noticed a slight parting of her lips. I reached out a hand for hers.

“Well, you would probably know that better than me, wouldn't you? I bet you've got a bunch of names in your head stored up for me. Care to share one?” I shot her my most charming smile, and she blushed.

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