Page 40 of Boss of Her

“That’s right.”

“Wow.” Valerie Kane was practically Los Angeles royalty. Then again, so was Simone. “How do you even have time for all this? Running the club as well as your company?”

“I have help. Like my brilliant assistant.”

Simone leaned down and kissed Jade on the forehead. As Jade snuggled against her, she caught a glimpse of the files on the dining table. Simone had insisted on bringing them home for the weekend so she could prepare for their dinner with Ashton.

“Do you really need to spend the weekend going through all those files?” Jade asked. “You already know every little detail of what’s in them.”

“Perhaps,” Simone said. “But this is important. I need to be thorough.”

“Why is this deal so important to you in the first place? There are plenty of other hotels in LA. And you own half of them already. Your company is booming, and you’ve made a ton of profitable acquisitions in the last year alone. Why focus so much on acquiring The Ashton Star? Especially since it’s such a risky investment?”

Simone peered down at Jade. “I didn’t know you were so familiar with my company’s affairs. All of this falls far outside of your job description.”

“I don’t plan on being an assistant forever,” Jade said. “I want a career of my own, just like yours. That’s why I wanted this job; to learn from the best. I did as much research as I could on you and your company before I even applied.”

“I shouldn’t be surprised. My assistant chose you for a reason. AndIchose you for a reason. There aren’t many women who would beg me to fuck them and ask me to explain my business acquisitions afterward.”

Jade’s face flushed, eliciting a smile from Simone.

“But your assessment of The Ashton Star acquisition is correct,” she said. “Itisa high-risk investment. But that doesn’t mean it’s a bad investment. Given enough time, I can turn it around. It will be a challenge, but I’ll make it happen.”

“But why go through all that trouble? What makes The Ashton Star worth it?”

Simone’s hand fell to Jade’s arm. “I’m not usually one for sentiment, but there’s a part of me that’s simply drawn to The Ashton Star. It has so much history, so much life. It’s stood the test of time, generation after generation. There’s something appealing about that.”

That wasn’t the answer Jade was expecting. But if there was one thing she’d noticed about her boss, it was that she had an appreciation for old things. And it had been Simone who said that humans were driven by emotion, first and foremost. Why would she be any different?

“I want to turn The Ashton Star into something that reflects the spirit of Los Angeles,” Simone said. “The city of dreams, a city of endless possibilities. LA has always been my home. The Ashton Star is its heart. I want to make it shine again.”

Jade gave her a soft smile. “I understand that. That’s why I moved to LA in the first place. Well, I moved here for college, but the reason I wanted to come here was because, to me, LA has always represented something bigger. I grew up in a small town in the Midwest, and I never really felt like I belonged there. I got picked on a lot because I wasn’t skinny, or pretty, or interested in the things my classmates were. I was this awkward nerdy kid who always had my head in a book. I didn’t fit in anywhere. My world felt so small, so gray.”

Jade didn’t talk about her past very often. But she still carried it with her, no matter where she went.

“Then, the summer before I started high school, we came to LA on vacation,” she said. “And all of a sudden, everything was in color for the first time. It was like my whole world opened up. There were so many people, all different, all unique. I felt like I could be myself here, just one of millions of people living their lives their own way. So I worked my butt off all through high school, got into college on a full-ride scholarship, and moved here to chase my dreams.”

“And what dreams are you chasing?” Simone asked.

“Nothing big. I never wanted to be an actor or a star like everyone else who comes to LA. I just wanted a different life for myself. To go to college, to build a career, to experience the world. I know those probably seem like small dreams, but I was the first person in my family to go to college. Just making it out of my hometown felt like a big achievement to me.”

Simone squeezed Jade’s arm gently. “I don’t think your dreams are small. How does it feel to have achieved them?”

“Honestly, I don’t know if I have. I don’t think the life I dreamed of even exists. LA isn’t perfect. It might look that way from the outside, but it’s all superficial. I know that now, but when I first came here, it was like the city was full of potential. Likelifewas full of potential.”

But that was a feeling she’d never get back. And it was a feeling Jade didn’twantback. Because that naïve, optimistic outlook of hers had led to her getting her heart shattered.

Simone stroked her fingers through Jade’s hair. “Don’t give up on those dreams of yours just yet,” she said. “You say you want to make something of yourself, but you already have. You’re an exceptional woman, Jade.”

Jade’s stomach fluttered. Lying in Simone’s arms, talking about her life, her dreams, felt natural. Comfortable.

Were they crossing a line into something beyond just physical? Was she letting her guard down, letting Simone in, in a way she’d told herself she wouldn’t?

Was she setting herself up to have her heart broken all over again?

But when Simone leaned down and kissed her, none of that mattered.

Simone drew back, gazing into Jade’s eyes. “Next Friday night,” she said. “After the meeting with Ashton. After dinner,when our business is done. It will be just the two of us. And I think you’re ready for me to take things to the next level.”

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