Page 69 of Grumpy Boss in Love

I let out a chuckle. Then, realizing I’d laughed out loud, I sucked it back in and glanced around the table. A bunch of unsmiling men and women in dreary suits glared at me. The other interns eyed me with mild amusement and Caroline…

I gulped. She looked as if she wanted to throttle me. God, she probably thought I was laughing at her since she was the one speaking. My heart plummeted into my ass. I guess I could expect to stay late this evening. She’d no doubt find the most boring, grueling tasks for me to do as payback.

I caught Elliot’s eye, and he quirked an eyebrow. No one would ever guess that he’d spent the night at my place, and we’d done some erotic things to each other. No one would know that there was still tension between us from our argument this morning.

We really went at it after I made my sugar baby comment. Elliot was not amused. He had followed me to the bathroom where we descended into the old bickering Ruby and Elliot.

He hadn’t spoken to me since he called me a “fucking drama queen” and stormed out of my apartment. I dragged my gaze away from his, only for it to collide with Caroline’s. Although she still gave her report, her sharp eyes flickered between Elliot and me. I made sure not to even glance in Elliot’s direction for the rest of the meeting.

* * *

As predicted, Caroline, The Taskmaster, made me pay for my little outburst in the meeting. It was almost eight and the marketing department was empty except for me. I was still in my cubicle doing a shit ton of research and market analysis to put together a presentation by tomorrow. I’d have to present to the bigwigs, something none of the interns had yet to do.

Caroline thought she was going to embarrass me by ensuring that I was ill-prepared for my presentation. That’s why she’d given me a bunch of other tasks to complete before I could start my project. The joke was on her. I juggled college and worked full-time for four years. Working under pressure while running on fumes was my specialty. I was almost finished.

Ten minutes later, I closed my laptop with a satisfied grin. “Take that, Taskmaster. My presentation is going to bethe shit. Thanks for unwittingly giving me the chance to shine.” When I impressed everyone tomorrow, Caroline was going to be so pissed.

My smile turned into a grimace when a dull pain started in my neck and radiated down. “Ugh, these freaking chairs.” I rubbed my neck and rolled my shoulders for a bit, then I leaned back in my chair and pushed it out into the hallway. Arching my back, I stared up at the ceiling.

I jumped when my phone buzzed on my desk. Glancing at the screen, I frowned. It was Elliot, so I let it ring out. It rang again, and I still didn’t answer. A few seconds ticked by before the device vibrated once. I picked it up to view the message.

Elliot: Ignoring my calls. Rude.

I rolled my eyes and tapped out a response.I was busy.

Elliot: Little liar. You were staring at the ceiling.

I gasped and looked around, a little freaked out.

Me: Where are you?

Elliot: Look up. Far-right corner of the hallway.

My eyes followed the direction and landed on a camera. How did I not notice it before? Putting my phone down, I glared at the camera and stuck up my middle fingers. As expected, my phone rang.

With a sigh, I answered sweetly. “Yes, boss?”

“Seriously?” he growled.

“That was for calling me a drama queen.”

“You are,” he said. “And you deserved it for pretty much calling me a sugar daddy.”

After a beat of silence, I sputtered and then cackled. It just hit how ridiculous our argument was. Elliot’s low rumble of laughter echoed through the speaker. I sighed, thinking that he had the sexiest laugh. I looked up at the camera, smiled, and said into the phone. “Okay, maybe I was a little melodramatic this morning. I’m sorry.”

“Me too,” he said. “What are you still doing here?”

“The same thing you are, working. So, you spy on all of us from your glass tower, huh?”

“It’s hardly spying. I have access to the security feed. I spotted you wheeling your chair into the hallway. Now, get up here.”

I glared at the camera. “It’s after work hours. You can’t tell me what to do.”

“Don’t make me come down there for you, Ruby.” He delivered the warning in that sinfully low, authoritative tone that made my vaginal muscle clench. It was the same tenor in which he’d instructed me to properly give him a blow job. Sweet mother of arousal… I was suddenly turned on.

Face and chest hot, I clear my throat. “Fine, but I’m only coming up because I want to enjoy the spectacular view you have up there. Not because you ordered me to.”

“Uh-huh,” he drawled, making me seethe at the camera.

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