Page 34 of Boss of Her

“Just name the time and place,” Simone said.

“Next week, Friday. Dinner at The Ashton Star. It will give you a chance to see the hotel in its current form. And I’ll make the penthouse suite available for you to stay in so you’ll get the full Ashton Star experience.”

Simone turned to Jade. “I’ll have my assistant clear my schedule. And I’ll be bringing her along to assist me. I trust you’ll be able to accommodate her.”

“I’ll make the necessary arrangements,” Ashton said. “In the meantime, if anything comes up, I’ll have my nephew give you my direct contact number.”

“I appreciate it. It’s been a pleasure speaking with you.”

Simone nodded to Jade, who reached for the speaker in the center of the table and ended the call with the press of a button.

“Come, let’s go back to my office.” Simone had taken the meeting in the conference room out of habit, but now that it was done, she needed to get Jade alone, somewhere more private.

Her assistant gathered her laptop and files in her arms and followed Simone out the door.

“I’ll need you to reschedule all my appointments next Friday and Saturday,” Simone said. “Move the meeting with the Silver Lake contractor to this Friday so we can get it over with.”

Jade nodded. “Right away.”

Simone continued to fire off instructions as they made their way back to her office. But as soon as they were inside, she shut the door and backed Jade against it, a hand on either side of her head, pinning her in place.

Jade exhaled softly, surprise and desire swirling in her eyes.

“What was that in there, hm?” Simone said.

Jade hugged her laptop to her chest. “What was what?”

“The way you kept looking at me. Like you were begging me to drag you into the storage closet and fuck you while the whole office listened.”

Jade’s cheeks turned the same shade of pink as her lips. “I-I don’t know what you mean.”

“Oh, I think you do. You’re looking at me the same way right now. It’s utterly distracting.” Simone traced a finger along Jade’s collarbone, up the curve of her throat, all the way to her chin. “I ought to make you kneel beside my desk for the rest of the day as punishment.”

Jade trembled, her lips parting silently. Satisfaction rippled through Simone’s body. If she were to order Jade to do just that, she’d be on her knees within seconds.

“But I don’t mix work and play,” Simone said. “And we have far too much work to do. We only have a week and a half until dinner with Ashton, and we need to prepare. Things in the office are going to become even more intense. My question is, can you handle the heat?”

Jade nodded. “Whatever you need,” she said softly.

“I’ll have your desk moved into my office so we can work together more… intimately. And don’t you worry. I’ll be sure to reward you for all your hard work in a way you’ll appreciate. Especially now that you’ve given me the questionnaire back and I know exactly what you like.” Simone dropped her voice to a whisper. “Your answers were very illuminating. Who knew you were into such filthy things?”

Jade shifted against the door, the flush on her cheeks deepening to crimson. Simone hadn’t needed to read Jade’s answers to the questionnaire to know how much it turned her on to be teased and toyed with. And watching her blush and squirm only stoked the flames burning within Simone.

But they were at work. And Simone had already stepped too far over the line.

She straightened up, releasing Jade. “It’s time for your lunch break. Take your time, get something to eat. Because when you get back, our work truly begins.”

Jade nodded. But as she turned and opened the door, she hesitated.

“Is something the matter?” Simone asked.

“No, I just have a question,” Jade said. “Back there, in the meeting. How did you know that would work? Telling Evan to take the other offer?”

“I’ll admit that I wasn’t expecting it to work as quickly as it did. I expected that Evan would go crying to his aunt about what I said. He’s just the type to do that. It was pure luck that Ashton was listening in.”

“But why did you say everything you said in the first place?”

“It’s simple. Deals like these? They’re never only about money. It isn’t simply a matter of who’s the highest bidder. Humans aren’t machines. We’re driven by emotion, for better and for worse. We have our own individual wants and needs. Understanding what someone really wants can be the difference between closing a deal or not.”

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