Page 15 of Boss of Her

“You’re telling me.” Jade pushed her half-eaten sandwich away. “But it’s nothing I can’t handle.”

Renee shook her head. “I don’t know how you do it. You know, keep it together all the time. When the rest of us were panicking during finals, you were fine.”

“Maybe that’s because I actually studied instead of going to parties all the time.”

“Hey, I passed all my classes, didn’t I? Maybe I wasn’t valedictorian like you, but we aren’t all blessed with your brains and cool head.”

“You make it sound like it was easy for me. Maybe it looked that way from the outside, but I worked hard for all of that.”

And not just in college. Jade had worked her entire life to get to where she was. She’d been the first person in her family to go to college, and on a full-ride scholarship at that. It was all so she could escape her tiny, one-stoplight hometown and build the life she wanted for herself.

Sure, she’d had missteps along the way, especially during grad school. She’d let herself get distracted, let her guard down, trusted someone she shouldn’t have. Her heart had been crushed, her whole life shattered, and she hadn’t been able to tell a single soul.

She’d picked herself back up in the end. But the scars remained.

“Well, just make sure you’re not working too hard,” Renee said. “Pushing yourself all the time is a surefire way to burn out.”

It wasn’t hard to figure out what Renee meant.You don’t want to burn out like you did in grad school.But that hadn’t had anything to do with burnout. Jade had let Renee and everyoneelse believe that because it was easier than telling them the truth.

“I’ll be fine. This is nothing I haven’t dealt with before.” Jade picked at her sandwich absently. “Well, except for everything with Simone. I have no idea what to do about that.”

Renee chuckled. “That’sthe one thing you don’t know how to handle? Being around a woman you’re into?”

“It’s more than that. More than just attraction. Whenever I’m around her, I just can’t stop my heart from racing. And whenever I’m not around her, I can’t stop thinking about her.” Jade put her head in her hands. “I’ve never felt like this before. What am I supposed to do?”

“The only thing you can do. Keep your head down, get your job done, and buy plenty of batteries.”

“Batteries? Why would I need—” Heat crept up Jade’s face. “Seriously?”

Renee shrugged. “It’ll scratch that Simone itchandrelieve stress. Kill two birds with one vibe.”

Jade shook her head. “You’re ridiculous.”

The conversation moved on. And before Jade knew it, she had only five minutes left of her lunch break.

“I should get going,” she said. “I can’t be late in getting back.”

“Right,” Renee said. “You wouldn’t want to get on the boss’s bad side. Especially since you know how she’d punish you.”

“That’snotfunny.”

But that didn’t stop a scene from forming in Jade’s mind. Of her returning to the office a few minutes late. Of Simone giving her a lecture before enacting some kind of kinky punishment. Tying Jade to that imposing leather desk chair of hers. Making Jade kneel at her feet. Bending her over her desk and spanking her…

Jade banished the image from her mind. When had her imagination become so dirty?

She wrapped up the rest of her sandwich and stashed it in her purse for later. “Let’s get out of here.”

They left the cafe, parting ways at the door. As Jade began the short walk back to her office, she pulled out her phone and dialed her landlord’s number. But like the last three times she called, it went straight to voicemail.

Great. Another night of listening to water dripping into a bucket.She needed to find a better apartment. One with a roof that didn’t leak and appliances that worked. Maybe even something with more than one room.

She left another message and hung up, pushing the problem to the back of her mind, along with everything else. Despite what she’d told Renee, she was starting to feel the pressure of it all. Her apartment. Her money troubles. The long work hours.

The fact that she was stuck spending her days with a woman she found irresistible, despite how coldly she treated her.

Simone’s words echoed in her mind.Good girl.That wasn’t the kind of thing any boss would say to an employee, let alone one as impassive as Simone. But she’d said it. Jade hadn’t imagined it.

So why had Simone spoken those words to her?

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