Page 37 of Grumpy Boss's Secret

I stared up at him, my expression unmoving.

“And then I thought, is she mad at me?” Ian continued, looking down at my face as if I were some impossible puzzle he had to solve.

"Bingo," I thought, but said nothing.

Ian and I stared at each other. He put his hands on the edge of the desk and leaned into me. I could sense his muscles shifting under the sleeves of his suit. I had an impulse to lean away – his strength moving into me like that was intimidating. Not to mention the fact that I still got butterflies of arousal when he was close to me. Less than twenty-four hours ago, I’d sat at this desk and read what he’d written about “his heart hammering at the sight of my nakedness.”

I didn’t move, however. I just continued to glare.

“Jozi, you are impossible,” Ian said.

“Thank you,” I said primly.

“What’s bugging you?” he asked.

“Bugging?” I said. “Are we in middle school now?”

He glared at me.

“Jozi,” he said.

“None of your business,” I said. Which was ironic because it was his business that was bugging me. Not his “business” business. His other kind of business. Anyway.

Ian exhaled. “You’re not going to tell me?” he said.

“Why do you care?” I countered.

He looked at me. He suddenly looked slightly like I'd punched him in the stomach. "Is it because of the book?" he asked, his voice quiet.

My eyes widened. We stared at each other. Did he know?

“What do you mean?” I asked.

Ian paused for a long time. “The…I mean, I’ve taken so long returning your book to you,” he said.

“No, that’s fine,” I said, feeling like I was blushing. “Why would I care about that?”

Ian ran his hands through his hair. “It’s not like you’re making sense, Jozi,” he said, his eyes on the ceiling.

“Why do you care?” I repeated.

"Okay, fine," Ian said. He turned and started walking towards the door. He hesitated before hanging the door handle as if there was something else he wanted to say. Something more, he tried to ask me.

I realized I was holding my breath.

“Make sure you send those promotional images to Henry before the end of the day,” he said.

“I already did,” I said icily.

Ian left the room. I bit my lip, tears filling my eyes. I did still like him. I loved him. Being near him made me feel something that I'd never felt before. As much as I was putting an irritable face on it, he made me feel at home in a way nobody ever had back.

"That's probably because he's Kirk," I thought, the tears leaking from my eyes. "I have known him for years."

I lifted my blazer sleeve to my eyes, blotting my tears. The door opened.

"Knock!" I bellowed at Ian, unable to wipe all my tears away in time. Besides, my nose was red, and my eyes looked blotchy. I always get like that when I cry.

He stared at me. Whatever he was going to ask me about, he didn’t. “Jozi,” he said. “What’s –”

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