Page 41 of Secret Desire

Andrew wasn’t afraid of anyone. Or anything. Ever. He didn’t look it, but he was badass.

Then there was Mr. John Whitby, the CEO. He outranked Steven, but I didn’t think that was the reason. They seemed to be longtime friends, judging from the convos I had overheard through the door.

And then Mrs. Barnes. She told me she had been Steven’s assistant for over twenty years. But I had a feeling they had known each other longer than that. She was fearless around him and never seemed fazed by his outbursts. She was more like a mom humoring a temperamental two-year-old.

And I was the fourth. Mr. Cox never gave me a reason to fear him. I had heard horror stories from some of the employees. But I had a hard time believing them. I had never seen his bad side. At least not the scary angry side people tried to convince me of.

I’d only seen the side that was making me ache for him.

And then there were the single ladies in the building. Flirting their asses off in front of him, even though they were scared shitless of the man. Shouldn’t their instincts scream “run away” instead of “va-va-va-voom?”

I guessed the grumpy-billionaire-boss vibe was sexy these days. Or maybe the bitches were after his money.

I hated people like that. Disgusting. Make your own money. You couldn’t rely on anyone to take care of you. Ever.

Sheila was the bravest of them all. And the most persistent. She stirred her coffee and shuffled closer to him. A roll of her head made her long blonde hair flip over her shoulder.

Bitch, stay away from my man.

Whoa! Where had that come from? Green was a new color on me. I didn’t get jealous. I’d never needed to because I never had anyone I cared about enough to worry about losing them.

Andrew jumped onto a chair near the counter. “Hi, Mr. Cox. Hey, Sheila. I’m about to hang the mistletoe. Who do you think will be the first to have a go?”

Sheila giggled and peeked up at me under her lashes.

Fuckin’ Andrew with his damn mistletoe. I ignored Sheila and turned my gaze to the most beautiful woman in the building. In the city, even. Laura looked like she wanted to pounce on Sheila.

That would be a sight to see. My curvy, petite Laura taking down the skinny, towering Sheila.

Was she jealous?

The microwave dinged, but I ignored it. I was too busy enjoying the curves in front of me. My eyes drank in every delicious soft inch of Laura’s body.

I glanced up at her face. Lips pursed. Eyes glaring at me with a murderous look.

Shit! What was I thinking?

Horrified at myself for offending her, I stared at the floor and rotated on the spot until Sheila’s boobs came into view.

Nope. Not good.

I kept shifting until I faced the counter, my eyes safely away from Sheila’s boobs. If I wasn’t looking at anyone, I couldn’t get myself into any more trouble. I took my meal out of the microwave and jabbed at it with a fork.

Why was Laura so mad? She had welcomed my lingering stares before.

Had I imagined that?

God knew she’d stripped me naked with her eyes a hundred times. I would have never dared to stare at her so blatantly if I hadn’t caught her drooling over my body.

I thought we had an unspoken understanding. I want you. You want me. Let our eyes and minds get their thrills since we can’t act on it.

Had I misunderstood?

I picked up my plate and turned around. I had to make her understand. Show her my regret. I needed her to know I wasn’t a dick.

Laura still looked mad as hell, but this time her stare was fixed on Sheila.

Sheila trailed a finger down my arm. “Mr. Cox, should we go over the fiscal budget together?”

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