Page 104 of Insufferable Boss

“Yes,” I whispered and then leaned forward to kiss him. The moment I did all my fears and worries seemed to completely dissipate.

It felt perfect, it felt right, and it felt true.

EPILOGUE

Lena

The meeting was about to start, and although I felt relatively calm, I couldn't stop glancing at my phone. I was going through the terms to be negotiated with my new assistant, Emma, for our division. As we finished reviewing them, I felt a sense of relief wash over me. This would be our first major contract for the division, and despite knowing our numbers were solid, I couldn't help but be nervous about whether the pricing should be adjusted lower for a first-time deal.

Eventually, Emma left to head to the conference room with the others, and I finally gave in to my impulse. I picked up the phone and called Kane.

"Hey," he replied almost immediately, and just hearing his voice had the effect of enveloping me in warmth.

"Hey," I replied, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath to calm my racing thoughts.

"Ready?" he asked, and I couldn't help but place my hand against my belly. It always reminded me of him and the life we were building together. I was showing a bit more now, but not enough for anyone to notice, which was a relief since our wedding was just this weekend.

"I feel like we should postpone this meeting until after the wedding," I suggested, hoping he would understand.

Kane laughed softly.

"I mean, what's a few more days?"

"In the business world, you know the answer to that."

"I know, I know. A few more days, or even hours, could mean success or failure."

"What is it?" he asked softly, concern evident in his voice. I looked around my office, contemplating my decision, and then decided to go to his office instead.

"I'm going to come over to your office real quick," I told him. "Are you busy?"

"About to wrap up a meeting now with Matthias, but you can walk in," he replied.

"Alright," I said, ending the call.

The walk to his office was a welcome distraction. As I passed through the lab, I checked in on the preparations for the meeting in half an hour. Seeing everything in order reassured me that I had done my very best in preparation. Our fragrance had been three months in development, with new scents I had established in LA. Now, we were offering it to P&G as they prepared to launch a new home air freshener brand.

Everything was in place, but it was the biggest deal I had ever been involved in, and the entire company had their eyes on me. Taking a deep breath, I continued my walk and soon arrived in Kane's office. His secretary smiled at me and, as usual, ushered me right in.

The first thing I saw when I walked in was Matthias’s smile, which had always struck me as peculiar. Kane had told me that he was just happy to see that Kane had found someone. Apparently, he had been almost convinced that no one would ever be enough, but since Kane had been with me, he had become softer and happier, and everyone benefited from it.

I was more than happy to see him as well, and in no time, Matthias got up and took his leave. Kane stood up and came over to me, and although my intention was to hug him, when I saw his gorgeous face, all I wanted to do was kiss him. My hand slid around his neck, and within seconds, our tongues were entwined in a passionate kiss.

He instantly surrendered to the kiss, and when I felt his arm wrap around my waist, I melted even more. The kiss seemed to go on forever, as if neither of us wanted to let go. Eventually, though, we had to break the kiss, knowing that I couldn't afford to miss my meeting.

The biggest smile was on his face as he pulled away and looked deeply into my eyes, and my heart just melted.

"What's wrong?" he asked, glancing at his watch.

I immediately got to the point.

"I had always heard that if you weren't ready to walk away from the table, you should never go into a negotiation."

He laughed at this and then nodded, pulling me towards the edge of his desk. After we settled on it, he pulled me between his thighs, ready to discuss.

"Yeah," he replied. "What's on your mind?"

"I am ready to walk away if they propose less than 38 million. But I don’t think I’m ready to do so if they propose less than the 45 million, we’re asking for."

---