Page 2 of Christmas with the Denton Billionaires

“As I said, I can explain.” Her normally put-together boss that she so didnothave fantasies about was looking entirely too flustered with his hair sticking up in places where he’d rubbed his head.

She kept staring at the escort site, which offered a range of what they referred to as “experiences for the discerning man” including temporary girlfriends, wives, and mommies. Amelia was still squeezing the mouse, frozen in indecision, and she jumped when he gently took the mouse from her and closed the website.

Whirling around, she was surprised at how close he was to her and she quickly sidled away from his desk and around the other side. “It’s okay, Mr. Denton. You don’t need to explain anything to me. It’s…it’s completely normal to have urges.”

“Amelia.”

She rubbed her hands, twisting her fingers. “I mean, I don’t get why you’d use a website when you look like you do, but hey, that’s not my business and…”

“Amelia.”

Backing away, she bumped into the chair she normally sat in when they would work together and tried to step around it, but the slit on her skirt caught on the armrest and she found herself stuck. Reaching behind her, she tried to tug the skirt free, but it wasn’t working and she had no idea why. She gave her hips a little shake hoping he wouldn’t notice but when she peeked up at him, she found him staring at her, which only made her talk faster.

“Really. It’s okay. Senior year in college, the Dean of the English department would bring his wife to all the school functions. Eventually, everyone found out that she wasn’t his wife. In fact, his real wife showed up to one of the events and I think someone ended up in the pool fully clothed and there was a lot of yelling, but that won’t happen to you because you’re not married.” She really needed to stop talking but she also needed to get out of his office.

“Amelia. Stop talking and sit down. Now.”

She froze. Her glasses slid down to the tip of her nose and she pushed them back with a huff. She crossed her arms, tilting her hip up but decided that looked too defensive, so she dropped her arms, and then immediately wanted to cross them again. Giving her hips another little wiggle, she felt her skirt finally come away from the armrest with a little tear and she collapsed down into the chair with relief.

Once she was seated, her boss swung around in his chair and reached into the little fridge behind his desk, and pulled out two beers. Popping the caps on both, he set one on the desk in front of her. While they’d sometimes celebrated the end of a busy week with drinks, it wasn’t even lunchtime. On a Tuesday.

Taking a long swig, he tilted his bottle toward her. “Have a drink. I think we both need it.”

Nodding her head, she reached for the beer and took several swallows, not really tasting it but desperately needing to do something with her hands.

They sat in silence, deep in their own thoughts when everything that’d happened came flooding back to her and she snorted out a laugh. Slapping her hand over her mouth, she snapped her eyes to his and prepared to apologize, but she found him smiling.

He broke the silence first when he asked, “So you think I’m good looking?”

Instead of answering, she took another drink and almost choked. She managed to swallow without spewing the beer onto her lap and she caught his smirk. Narrowing her eyes, she sat back in the chair, tapping the beer bottle against her lip as she pretended to be deep in thought.

She spoke only when it became clear that he wouldn’t break first. “I mean, sure. You’re easy on the eyes.”

He choked at that comment and she hid her grin behind the beer. “Easy on the eyes? Do people even say that anymore?”

Amelia shrugged, no longer hiding her smile. “In all seriousness, Mr. Denton. Did you accidentally end up on that site or was it intentional?”

Joshua Denton, hotel magnate and one of New York’s most eligible and richest bachelors was blushing. There’s definitely a first for everything and while she might regret having this conversation with him later, right now, she was all-in.

“Yes and no, but before I get into it, Ms. MacTaggart, how long have you worked for me?”

Was this a trick question? Was he going to fire her? “I’ve worked for Denton Hotels for four years and I’ve been your assistant for two of them.”

Taking another sip of his beer, he carefully set the bottle down, then rocked forward in his chair, setting his hands on the desk as he watched her.Do not squirm, Amelia.

“Then do you think, given all that time and what you witnessed not long ago, you could start calling me Josh or Joshua? Unless of course my being easy on the eyes makes me too intimidating.”

Amelia felt the heat from her blush shoot across her cheeks and she couldn’t stop the laughter. She snorted and then gasped hoping he hadn’t heard, but he had. He chuckled and the weird butterflies that had been fluttering inside her increased their activity and she had to take several breaths before they calmed down. Nodding, she gave the best answer she could. “I’ll try.”

He gave her another smile, and she wanted to file them all away in her mind to recall later. She picked at the label on the bottle before setting the beer down on his desk.

Easy on the eyes? What had possessed her to say that? Her billionaire boss was gorgeous on a bad day, and now he wanted her to call him Josh? It was hard enough pretending she wasn’t attracted to him when she used his last name.

She needed to get back to her desk and pretend none of this ever happened. “Mr. D., uh Joshua, Josh?”Stop blowing it, Amelia!“If there’s nothing else, I should get back to work.”

“Actually there is. Cedar Grove Hotel and Spa,” he said, leaning across his desk to grab his mouse and click at something on his computer.

“What about it?” She scooted the chair over to the side of his desk so she could see what he was doing. Thankfully it wasn’t another escort site. She recognized the private realty listing site that he regularly used. He was the Senior VP of Business Development, so it was his job to source potential commercial properties to add to Denton Hotels’ portfolio.

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