Page 10 of Boss of Her

“Take a seat,” Simone said. “I’ll be with you in a moment.”

But several seconds passed, and there was no movement in the room, no sound of footsteps on the marble floors. There was only silence.

Simone looked up from her laptop. Standing frozen in the doorway, a folder clutched to her chest, was a curvaceous youngwoman dressed in a light blue blouse, the same color as her eyes, and gray slacks and flats. Her long, dark hair was pulled back in a ponytail, her eyes wide with the same shock that was coursing through Simone’s body.

The woman she met at Club Velvet that night? The woman her assistant had chosen as her replacement?

She was one and the same.

And she was standing in Simone’s doorway.

CHAPTER 4

Jade’s heart stopped.It’s her. It’s really her.

She stared at the woman sitting behind the desk, the very same woman who had rescued her at Club Velvet the other night. The woman who had offered to show her the private rooms, and more.

The woman who had haunted Jade’s thoughts and filled her with desire and regret ever since.

Here she was again. Instead of a curve-hugging black dress, she wore a stylish ivory blazer and a dark pencil skirt, heels that were a more practical height. Her ice-blonde hair was pulled back into a tight bun, her lips a subtler shade of red.

But the way she looked at Jade, with intense curiosity mixed with desire? It was the same.

Simone cleared her throat. “I believe I told you to take a seat.”

Jade blinked. “Yes.”

“I don’t like to repeat myself. Sit.”

Regaining control of her body, Jade took a seat in one of the chairs in front of Simone’s desk. But she could barely look the woman in the eye.

How had she not noticed that the woman she’d spoken to that night wasSimone Weiss? Jade had seen pictures of her before, online and in articles. Los Angeles’ hotel queen was no stranger to the press. And Jade had researched her thoroughly in preparation for the interview.

But the woman Jade had met at Club Velvet was nothing like the severe executive from all those photos. And she never expected Los Angeles’ wealthiest, most successful businesswoman to be mingling with the crowd that night. Not to mention, it had been dark, and Jade had been distracted by parts of the woman’s body that weren’t her face. The commanding seductress from Saturday night had seemed like someone else entirely.

Not that Simone was any less commanding as she sat behind her vast desk in her enormous corner office. And while her outfit wasn’t as revealing as the dress she’d worn that night, the way her skirt hugged her hips and showed off her long legs was just as alluring.

Jade shook her head. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t expecting this.”

“Expecting what?” Simone asked. “Is there a problem?”

Jade opened her mouth to speak, then shut it again. So Simone wanted to pretend that Saturday night hadn’t happened? Jade could work with that.

“No,” she said. “There’s no problem.”

“Then let’s begin.” Simone shut her laptop and pushed it aside. “Since my assistant has already vetted you, I’ll make this quick. She says you’re the best candidate for the job. And I can’t deny that for a recent graduate, your resume is impressive. You interned at Davis and Spencer?”

“Yes, I worked closely with the team responsible for—”

Simone held up her hand. “You don’t need to sell me on your achievements. Your letter of recommendation tells me all I need to know. It’s not every day that Carter Davis himself writes apersonal recommendation for an intern. And your grad school professors gave glowing recommendations. I see you graduated at the top of your class, but you took an extra semester to complete the program. Why?”

Jade had hoped that wouldn’t come up. “I took a semester off for personal reasons.”

That was as much as she was willing to tell her future boss, or anyone else. Would Simone assume the worst? That Jade had burned out because she couldn’t handle the stress of the rigorous MBA program?

That wasn’t what had happened. But the truth about that period of her life was something she’d never told a single soul.

“I assume these personal issues have been resolved?” Simone asked.

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