Page 24 of Boss of Her

So why did she hesitate?

“The choice is yours. I’ll be waiting for you, Jade.” With one last piercing look, Simone released Jade’s hands and returned to her desk, taking a seat behind it as if nothing had happened at all. “Now finish up here and go home.”

Jade left Simone’s office, her head spinning and her body alight. That kiss? It had awakened something in her, a need stronger than anything she’d ever felt before.

But the warning voice in the back of her mind remained. And it was too loud to drown out.

CHAPTER 10

Simone sat in Club Velvet’s VIP lounge, drink in hand, watching the club below. The lounge was on a mezzanine above the main part of the club, surrounded by glass to provide a bird’s eye view of the room so that Simone and the other owners could watch over it.

But tonight, Simone wasn’t interested in what was going on inside the club. She was only interested in who walked through the door.

She’ll show.Simone knew it. She’d known since the day Jade walked into her office that if she commanded it, Jade would come. But she needed it to be Jade’s decision. She needed Jade to come to her.

“I wasn’t expecting to see you tonight,” a voice said.

Simone turned to see a woman at the top of the stairs. She was slender and willowy, with warm brown skin and tight, dark curls tied up at the top of her head, her stylish white pantsuit creating an elegant contrast with her skin.

“Valerie.” Simone gave her a nod. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here, either.” Between her daughter and her job as a Hollywood executive, Valerie’s schedule was even busier than Simone’s.

“Just stopped by after work to check on things. I’m not Madame V tonight.” She took a seat next to Simone. “Are any of the others around?”

“Olivia is on a work trip. Elle is here, but last time I saw her she was preoccupied with a bratty brunette who probably has no idea what she’s in for.”

“The usual then.” Valerie leaned back and crossed her legs. “I’m glad you’re here because I have an idea for the club that I’d like to run by you.”

As Valerie continued, Simone’s attention drifted to the club’s entrance. It was a weeknight, but the club was busy enough. In the last ten minutes alone, a dozen women had walked through the door.

But none of them were Jade.

“…we’d be running the events at a loss, but they have the potential to bring in a wider clientele.” Valerie said. “Do we have the budget for it?”

“It won’t be a problem,” Simone murmured.

Valerie raised an eyebrow. “Did you hear a word I just said?”

“Beginner play parties. Once a month.”

“So youwerelistening. But you obviously have something else on your mind.” She glanced at Simone’s face, then down at the entrance to the club. “Are you waiting for someone?”

Simone took a sip of her drink, an old fashioned. “Perhaps.”

“And who is she?”

“A woman I met here on opening night. Who also happens to be my new assistant.”

Valerie blinked. “You’re serious?”

“Dead serious. I invited her back here tonight.”

“You invitedyour assistantto Club Velvet?”

A voice rang out beside them. “I’m going to need you to start from the beginning, because that sounds juicy.”

Simone turned to see Elle joining them at the table. She took a seat across from them, gathering her strawberry blonde hair over her shoulder and leaning in.

“So?” she said. “What’s going on? I want to hear what has Madame V so scandalized.”

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