Page 19 of Her Temporary Boss (Slade, Inc.)

Why did this one have to be so difficult? Why couldn’t she just give in to her desires while holding on to reality? This was a short, fun fling. Nothing more. Deep down Morgan had to realize that nothing more could come from him. Right?

When Connor had seen those tears running down her face, he had had trouble convincing himself that it wasn’t all a lie. He wanted to blame her for being too sensitive, but the dark part of his heart was starting to feel more hollow than normal.Am I a monster in her eyes? Do I care?

Connor stopped just short of entering the building. He stood on the sidewalk taking deep breaths, trying to get his mind straight. For the rest of this week, he would be gentle with her. He’d still fuck her hard, of course, but he’d make time for more conversations or even hugging. That would certainly ease her heart, wouldn’t it?

Then next week, after a day or two away from him, Ms. White would be fine. In fact, he was sure that after a little space, she would realize that he was right. There was no chance of anything more than two weeks of sexual release.

A courteous hostess then opened the doors of the restaurant, smiling at Connor. He nodded politely and turned to walk inside. He pushed the mental picture of Morgan on her knees in his office to the back of his mind. His heart wasn’t as easy to ignore, however.

Chapter Sixteen

It was about ten o’clock on Wednesday and Connor couldn’t stop pacing in his office. Ms. White had called in sick. He had never felt this level of discomfort before. He was so indecisive and scattered-brained that the feelings felt as if they were eating his brain alive.

“Fuck!” he cursed into the empty room.

Morgan was not his first conquest at work, far from it, but shewasdifferent. No other temp had called in sick on him. This was partly because the assignments were so short, but also because no woman had ever wanted to be away.

Connor stopped walking and rubbed his hands together. He narrowed his eyes on his office door, almost willing her to walk through it. Had he fucked everything up? He really didn’t think so, but what the hell was he supposed to think at the moment?

His stare flicked over to the phone on his desk. Of course, the receptionist had received Morgan’s message this morning so he hadn’t spoken to her. Should he call her? If he did, what would he say?I should demand she comes in immediately. No, I should apologize and ask her out on a proper date. Fuck! This is a shitty mess.

He desperately wanted to touch her, to be next to her. Connor hated being in this limbo. He was a man who was never at a loss for what he needed or wanted. And he was a man who rarely didn’t get both. He raked his hand through his blond hair while a deep breath rushed from him.

Did she just need a day to process things or was this her way of bowing out? Connor felt like punching his fist through his wall, but he held in his rage. Finally, he made his way to his desk, forcing himself to at least try to concentrate on his work.

As he opened his email, a quick mental picture of Ms. White bent over his desk popped into his head. Spanking her right now would certainly ease his stress.Am I really a monster or a sick fuck? She was enjoying it, though. I was giving us both what we wanted, right?

“Damn it.” Connor sat back in his chair. “Why do I care so much about this one?”

****

It was now late morning, almost eleven and Morgan was still in bed. She had left a message for Marcie very early in the morning because she didn’t want to talk to anyone. Morgan rolled over and stared at the ceiling.

There were two reasons she hadn’t gone into work. One, she just didn’t want to see Mr. Slade. Her heart needed time to close itself off. Two, she wanted him to miss her. She wanted him to see what it was like without her around. She was desperately hoping it would cause his heart to react.

Her day went slowly. She only got out of bed to use the bathroom or get food. Otherwise, she just lay there flipping through the channels on her TV, trying to keep her mind off Mr. Slade.Connor.She repeated his name in her mind several times. It was strange how it almost felt dirty to say it.

Suddenly, Morgan’s cell phone came to life, causing her to jump. She grabbed it off her nightstand as she looked at the clock. She saw that it was already four-fifty. She looked down at her phone and saw that the number was blocked.

“Hello?”

“Ms. White, you are trying my patience.” It was Mr. Slade and his tone was tense.

“Mr. Slade?”

“Oh, so you do remember me? Do you know what time it is?” His tone was getting harsher.

“Ah, yes. It’s, ah, almost five. Why?” She was excited to hear his voice, but she was very confused. If he was just going to yell at her for calling in sick, she was going to hang up.

“Proper words, Morgan. I want you here, now. This is not your choice.”

“Mr. Slade, with all due respect, you can’t just demand that—”

She was cut off by his strained words. “Morgan. My office. You have twenty minutes.”

There was an abrupt clicking sound and then the line was dead. He had hung up on her. Morgan put her phone down and just sat on her bed, staring.What the hell?He was obviously pissed at her, but was it just for missing one day of work?

Maybe when a temp said yes to being his stress-relieving fuck-toy, she was required to be at his beck and call. Morgan shook her head and a small laugh broke free.Seriously?Mr. Slade had sounded like he wasn’t playing games. Could she really deny him? Could she just turn her phone off and ignore him? She already knew the answer. She was going to listen and obey. She was going to go to him. Maybe this would be her last chance to see him.

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