Page 16 of Boss of Her

CHAPTER 7

Simone stared at her monitor, her phone on speaker on the desk beside her keyboard. “And why are you sending me photos of half-naked women while I’m in the office?”

“When else am I going to send them to you?” Elle said, her voice echoing through the phone. “You’re always in the office.”

“I have a company to run.”

“So do I. Why do you think I’m at Club Velvet tonight? Someone has to keep an eye on our little venture.”

“I’m sure that’s why you’re there tonight,” Simone murmured. Along with being one of the other owners of Club Velvet, Elle ran her own company, which owned dozens of bars and nightclubs across the city. While she played an important role in creating and managing Club Velvet, she tended to get distracted by every pretty woman who crossed her path.

“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that,” Elle said. “Tell me what you think of the photos. They’re the work of the rope artist I was telling you about. I sent you a link to her website.”

Simone clicked the link. The website was filled with yet more images of women in various states of undress, artfully bound with ropes.

“I already spoke to her,” Elle said. “Told her we were looking for a shibari artist for performances and hands-on demonstrations, maybe even some classes. She was very into the idea.”

“She’s certainly talented,” Simone said. “Let’s hire her for a performance in The Playroom next Saturday night. If it goes well, we can discuss a regular arrangement.”

There was a knock on Simone’s office door. It had to be Jade. She and Simone were the only people left in the office this late at night.

“One moment,” she called before speaking more quietly to Elle. “I need to go. Let’s talk later.”

She hung up the phone and closed the website. She didn’t need Jade hearing or seeing anything to do with club business. It was entirely inappropriate for her assistant to know about her tastes. It was bad enough that Jade had seen her at Club Velvet.

But Jade had been at the club that night too. And she’d admitted to Simone that she was curious. Not that she’d needed to say so. Her curiosity had been clear on her face. So had her interest in Simone.

But Jade had turned her down. Which had been the right move, in the end. If anything had happened between them that night, hiring her would have been a conflict of interest.

Yes, it was for the best. After all, there were very few people who met Simone’s requirements for an assistant. Women who were eager to play, on the other hand? They were plentiful.

But none of them were Jade. None of them were so utterly alluring.

None of them lit a fire inside her like Jade did.

Simone pushed the thought aside. “Come in.”

Jade opened the door and approached Simone’s desk tentatively. Things between them had been tense since day one. Simone’s little slip-up the week before hadn’t helped.

Good girl.She hadn’t meant to say those words to Jade. It was entirely unprofessional.

But at that moment, Jade hadn’t been her assistant. She’d been an eager-to-please woman who had spent the whole week serving every one of Simone’s needs with the devotion of a submissive to her Mistress. And so, Simone had slipped into a dynamic that was just as natural to her as boss and employee.

It had been a mistake. A lapse. But Simone hadn’t missed the way her assistant had reacted.

Jade hadlikedit.

Simone looked up at her. “Yes, Jade?”

“You got an email,” she said. “I thought it was important enough that you’d want to hear the news right away. It’s about The Ashton Star. There’s another party interested in it.”

Simone opened her emails. There it was, in black and white. Orion Development was eyeing her hotel. And they wanted to knock it down and build a parking lot, of all things.

She held back a curse. Until now, she’d been the only party interested in buying The Ashton Star. At least, the only party with enough money to stand a chance. Now, she had competition.

“My assistant put together a file on Orion Development earlier in the year,” Simone said. “Find it and send it to me. I need you to read it too. I want you on top of everything to do with Orion.”

Jade nodded. “Right away.”

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