Page 28 of Grumpy Boss in Love

“What else would you call demanding that I start bringing you your coffee again? Your order has gotten Caroline back on my case, thank you very much.”

As she glowered at me, I took a few sips. “Fine. I admit that asking for you specifically to come all the way up here when I have an assistant or I can get the damn coffee myself is a bit much.”

Her derisive snort echoed. “Abit?”

“Okay, it's extreme,” I confessed with a grumble. I gazed at her, wondering how to put into words the reason I liked our brief interactions. There was no way I’d reveal that she made me feel like a normal guy instead of a Westwood with the weight of the world on my shoulders. “It was the only way I could get a minute with you,” I said. “You’ve been dodging me.”

“Maybe because you showing up on the fifth floor to see me, a lowly intern, looked suspicious. If everyone were to see us chatting…”

“For fuck’s sake Ruby, you and I having a conversation is hardly going to cause a scandal.”

“Yet people are already talking.”

“Who? The marketing manager and the other interns?” I put my coffee cup down on my desk and took a step closer to her. “You’ve never struck me as the type to be afraid of what others think.”

“I’m not.”

I studied her intently, taking in her expressive eyes. “But?”

“You gave me my confidence back.”

My eyebrows shot up. “I’m sure it didn’t go anywhere. You were a little discouraged, that’s all.”

“Just be quiet and listen to me, Elliot…” She closed her eyes and shook her head. “I mean, Mr. Westwood.”

My mouth snapped shut because Ruby was possibly the only person who could come into my office and tell me to “be quiet.” It helped that I was genuinely interested in what she had to say. She didn’t even have an inkling of the power she held right now.

Pinning me with shrewd brown eyes, she said, “See? The lines are already blurred and that’s what I don’t want. The way you encouraged me last week was… I can’t thank you enough. Despite us not getting along sometimes?—”

I hummed my amusement at that.

“...I value your advice. I thought about everything you said. You implied that I have a chance to make it in my career.”

“And I meant every word,” I said.

“That faith coming from someone as accomplished as you gave me the boost I needed. I thought about everything, our interactions since I started working here and that kiss…” Her cheeks flushed and her eyelashes lowered. “It shouldn’t have happened. We were drinking and things got out of hand. It was a mistake.”

My molars clamped together. I’d obsessed over the goddamned kiss for days, and she saw it as a mistake.

“I’m just starting out,” she continued. “You’re already at the top. It isn’t that I’m afraid of Caroline or anyone else. I don’t intimidate easily.” Her eyes gleamed with fierce determination.

“I’m aware,” I drawled.

“Do you think I don’t know that Caroline hates me for a deeper reason than her interest in you? She’sthreatenedby me. A younger, fresher face who has ideas worth listening to. That’s why she shuts down all my ideas and takes every opportunity to stifle my creativity. But for now, I’m playing along to get along. I’ll stay humble in my intern’s corner. When I get hired for a permanent job here?—”

“Whennotif?” I couldn’t help being impressed by her confidence and perceptiveness. I’d peeped Caroline’srealproblem with Ruby from the beginning, but it wasn’t my business. Ruby Bennet was more than capable of fighting her battles.

“I’m choosing to stay positive,” she returned. “When I’ve cemented my place here, Iwillcause tsunami-sized waves and impress the hell out of you, Mr. CEO. In no time, you’ll be promoting me to marketing manager.”

“Hmmm.”I tilted my head and studied her intently. She was a force to be reckoned with already.

Ruby held up a finger. “I'm playing smart right now. I’m a young woman trying to make it to the top in a male-dominated sphere, Elliot. It’s harder for me than it is for you. If you and I are made a source for tawdry gossip, you’ll be fine—just a CEO who messed around with an employee. Me?” She pressed a palm to her chest. “I’ll never recover. I might never be taken seriously again. I have to focus and work twice as hard as you do, so I have to put that kiss behind me. And I don’t want to talk about it, especiallyhere.”

My annoyance over the way she downplayed our kiss dwindled. Hell, she was right and incredibly smart. I peered at her a little longer before I nodded. I respected the hell out of the twenty-three-year-old intern standing in front of me. “Okay.”

Her eyebrows snapped together. “Okay?”

“The kiss was a mistake. It was the alcohol’s fault, as you said.”

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