Page 64 of Insufferable Boss

Kane

Things moved fast in the business world, which is why in no time the office space assigned to Lena was ready. I looked over the report and completed the design, nodding in approval.

"Should I send it over to her office, Sir?" my secretary asked. I was tempted to decline because what I truly wanted was to walk her over there myself. It was a significant milestone and an opportunity to see her, which seemed rare these days. Since that night, I had a strong suspicion that she had been avoiding me. Either that or our offices had magically grown in size, making it nearly impossible to run into her. Perhaps she wasn't even coming into the office anymore, but I couldn't be certain as I had also refrained from seeking her out.

I knew what we were both running from, and it was that night. I had initially convinced myself that it was the ambiance, but when I reminisced about how we made love again in the middle of the night, it became even harder to deny the connection that had formed between us. Perhaps the distance between us was an unconscious or perhaps even a conscious attempt to suppress the tenderness that had emerged. And it seemed to be working. Because as much as I desired to see her now, my thoughts and anticipation were driven by the explicit memories of being inside her, and I longed to experience it again.

Soon... before I lost my mind.

Self-control had never been my strong suit, and in this case, I couldn't quite discern my own motives. Was I struggling to stay away, or was I simply hooked and unwilling to admit it just yet? I had no clue, but these questions and many more were reason enough for me to take the folders with me and personally head over to her office.

Her secretary seemed surprised to see me since I hadn't sent any messages indicating my interest in seeing her. He immediately called her, and as his gaze lingered on mine, I wondered if she would instruct him to turn me away. He appeared nervous and struggled to speak, but eventually, he set the phone down and looked at me with relief.

"Please go in, Sir," he said, and I gave him a pitiful look.

A few seconds later, I pushed open the door to her office and entered. I realized, with a quickened heartbeat, that my heart had recognized her presence before I did. She stood at the windows, positioned against the backdrop of the city, exuding sophistication, determination, and beauty. As I took in her attire for the day, a pink tweed jacket and skirt, I couldn't help but stare at her until she cocked her head, wondering why I was still standing there. I wondered the same as I came to my senses, shook my head, and took a step forward.

"I came bearing gifts," I said, and she took her seat just as I did mine.

I handed the folder over and watched her expression as she began to peruse it, and then her eyes widened.

"It's ready?" she exclaimed.

"We can head there right now?" She blinked severely, and it was quite amusing.

"This was put together quickly... much more quickly than I thought was possible. Wait, I thought moving forward with this at all was on hold, given the vote from the others."

"It was," I replied. "But then I realized that there was no reason truly for it to be.”

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"They didn't reject it because they didn't agree with the proposal, but because of diplomacy. It's thoroughly aggravating that I have to deal with these kinds of pettiness, but I guess it comes with the management territory and truly I wouldn't have it any other way."

She cocked her brow and then narrowed her eyes at me.

"You wouldn't have it any other way?"

I was amused as I knew exactly what she was implying.

"Dealing with foolishness is part of the job and I happen to enjoy the job so in order to keep my temper from constantly rising I've decided to change my perspective on things. I get to manage those idiots... and they don't manage me or this company hence why I'm the one who ultimately decides whether to keep the wheels rolling on this or not.”

"Well, this is obviously a decision that I have absolutely no problems with," she said, and I nodded in agreement.

"Want to head over to take a look?" I asked and she hesitated just as I had anticipated.

30

Lena

His smile caught me off guard. Almost as much as his presence here, as well as his invitation that we go check out the new offices together. All of these, I could very easily say no to. However, without exposing the fact that I had gone out of my way to avoid him, then there was no other explanation for doing so.

However, I didn't want to fall under my own trap once again of telling myself that I could handle this. He watched me, and then he rose from his seat and started to leave. I watched him, and then before he could exit the room, I stood up as well.

"Sure," I said, and thankfully, he didn't point this out as he turned to watch me. His eyes... those were what I had been avoiding the most, because somehow, they seemed to absolutely strip me bare. And I couldn't say that it was currently among the least of my favorite things.

He held the door for me and waited, and I accepted it just as I would do if he was just any other male colleague. This was what I told myself, that all I needed to do was treat him like every other male colleague, and nothing we did in the way we interacted with each other within these walls would be out of place.

Soon, we headed out quietly, side by side. As he accepted greetings, I got a feel of what it meant to be by his side. This was probably the closest we would ever get, and it was enough for me. But from what I could tell, he was deeply respected, maybe even a little bit feared. And as we got to the elevator, I couldn't help but glance briefly at his face.

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