Chapter 6

As she walked back to her office the next day, the other workers welcomed her and introduced themselves to her. It made her feel good that they were all friendly and knew she was going to love working here. Or so she thought. Sitting behind her desk, looking down at some papers, she barely got a glimpse of the man that stormed past her and over to the boss’s office.

“Office now, coffee,” he barked as he entered the office.

Her head snapped up when he spoke, but she didn’t get a look at his face but knew it had to be her new boss. Getting up, she poured the coffee and added what she was told to. Grabbing her pen and notepad, she knocked once and waited for him to tell her to enter. When she walked in, all she could see was a man in an expensive suit with his head lowered, making it difficult to see his face. But once she went over and placed the mug on his desk, her hand began to shake, and when he looked up at her, she almost spilled the coffee.

“You,” they both said at the same time.

Without being asked, she sat down in the chair across from him. She couldn’t believe this was happening to her. Here was the very man she slept with, the stranger, and he was her boss.

Ace sat back in his chair and stared at her. He never thought he would ever see her again, but here she was, his new personal assistant. “Well, this is a funny coincidence.” He couldn’t help noticing her nervousness and how her body was trembling. Of course, it got him thinking about the night they spent together. And the way her body yielded to his and the way it responded to his touch.

She couldn’t look him in the eyes. “I had no idea you were my boss, this is so awkward. I don’t think I can work for you.”

He looked at the paper in front of him that had her information on it. “It says here you are Rosalee Keller and your credentials are amazing, and you’ve had plenty of experience in this field. I see no reason why you can’t work for me.”

“It’s too weird, after, well, you know.”

“Rosalee, we are both adults, and it was just one night. There’s no reason to get all emotional and quit a job before you even get started. I need a personal assistant, and you fit the bill. We can forget what happened.” But he had to wonder if he could, especially when she looked so sexy in the outfit she was wearing, and knowing what she looked like naked was still fresh in his mind.

She had quite the dilemma on her hands. She needed this job because there was no going back home again. Maybe this could work out if he was being honest about forgetting their night together. “So we will never speak of that night?”

“I give you my word,” he said, sipping on his coffee. “So, will you stay?”

“Okay.”

“Good, now take some notes,” he said and started telling her what to write. When he was done, he looked at her. “Did you get all of that, or do I have to repeat it?”

She glanced up at him, knowing he was testing her. Little did he know that she could write one hundred words per minute. “No, I got it all. Would you like me to write it in full and send it to Mr. Roberts?”

“Yes, and let me know when my first appointment arrives.”

“Will there be anything else?”

“No, you can go,” he said, looking down at the papers on his desk. When she was walking out, he watched her. She looked so hot with her cute ass swaying, and he knew he was going to have trouble keeping his hands off of her. But he would. There was no way he was going to get involved with someone who works for him. Thinking back to when he first saw her as he sat on the barstool, there was something about her that caught his eye. He couldn’t stop watching her, how she handled all the men trying to get with her. Then when she was on the dance floor, and that guy started groping her, he was about to get up and go over to help her. But she handled it on her own, pushing him away. Shaking his head to get her out of his thoughts, he buried himself in his work.

She was glad when the day ended, and he never bothered with her again, only to toss some papers for her to file as he was leaving for the day. He was grumpy and didn’t even look or say good evening when he left, which was OK with her. After the shock of finding out who her boss was, she needed some alcohol to calm her nerves, so she stopped and picked up a couple of bottles of wine.

Eve was home and could tell something was bothering her. It wasn’t like her to bring wine home. “Did you have a bad day?”

Kicking off her shoes, she went into the kitchen, opened the wine, and brought it and two glasses into the living room and sat down. “Oh Eve, you’re not going to believe what I have to tell you.”

Eve was curious as she took the glass Rosalee handed her. “Now judging from the look on your face, it’s not good. So tell me, what’s going on.”

Taking a long drink from her glass, she looked at Eve. “You’re never going to believe who my boss is.”

“You’re killing me here, girl, out with it already.”

“The man I met in the bar and slept with is none other than Mr. Ace Thatcher.”

Eve’s jaw dropped, and she stared at Rosalee. “Oh my God, what are the chances of that happening? You must have been mortified, what did you do, and what did he say?” Wine squirted out of her mouth when she heard the news.

“I almost spilled his coffee, and I thought for sure I was going to faint. He was just as shocked as I was but said that we could still work together and just forget that night ever happened. It was so awkward, but thank goodness he was out of the office most of the day, and when he left for the day, he didn’t look or say goodbye to me.”

Shaking her head, Eve took another sip of her wine. “That man is so handsome there’s no way I could work beside him every day and not want to jump his bones. I don’t know how you will be able to, especially when you go away on business trips with him.”

“Well, it’s like he said, we’re both mature adults and will forget it happened.” Even saying those words with confidence, she had to wonder if she could, not after the night they had together. That night in the bar, he looked so handsome, but seeing him in his suit made him look even more gorgeous.

The rest of the week at work was unbearable. He was so grumpy and only talked to her when he needed something. She could feel how cold he was towards her. It’s not like she expected him to be all sweet and lovey-dovey, but he could have used a less harsh tone with her. Not to mention he never said please or thank you, just barked orders at her. She was so glad when the week ended, and seeing it was the weekend, she was looking forward to seeing the sights with Brett.

Saturday morning, Brett picked her up for their day out. The first thing he did was to take her on an airboat adventure where she would be able to see some exotic wildlife. She was like a child as she squealed and pointed to all the animals she spotted.

“Oh wow, I have never seen anything like this before, it’s so amazing.” She took some photos with her camera, hoping that they would turn out.

When they were finished with the boat ride, he took her to the tower garden. They walked around and looked at all the flowers in the arrangements. He could tell she loved flowers by the way she would stop and, with a big smile on her face, she would bend over to smell them. He hadn’t seen her all week, and when he did, he could see the stress written all over her face, and he wanted her to have some fun.

“Hey, have you ever seen or patted a giraffe?”

She looked at him and smiled sweetly. “I’ve seen them, but I have never gotten close enough to pat one.”

“Well, you’re in luck, I know of a giraffe ranch where we can go, and they let you feed and pat them. They’re quite tame, so you don’t have to be afraid, but first, I think we should go grab some lunch.” During lunch, he decided to ask her about her week at work. “So how was your first week working for Mr. Thatcher?”

She wasn’t about to tell him that her boss was a man she had a one-night stand with, but she did tell him about her week. “It was very exhausting, and my boss is so demanding. When I wasn’t busy taking dictation or making phone calls, he had me picking up his dry cleaning and his mail.”

“Dry cleaning shouldn’t be a part of your job, or getting his mail and coffee.”

She agreed with him, but there were circumstances that he didn’t understand. “As a rule, no, but in my contract, it was in there, and I agreed to it. It’s not so bad, at least that way I get out of the office and away from him.”

“I take it you’re not too fond of him?”

“Not really, he’s rude and arrogant and has no manners whatsoever. I honestly don’t understand how he can be so successful when that’s the way he acts and talks to people.”

Brett placed his hand over hers. “Well, don’t think about him or your job, let’s just go have some fun.”

Well, she was all for that, especially after the week she’d had. When they got to the giraffe ranch, she was a little afraid to get close, but with Brett’s arm around her, he led her close to them. She couldn’t believe how tame they were and that they let her pet them. But she was told that because they have been in captivity all their lives, they were used to being around humans. She started laughing her head off and had to hold on to her gut when one of the giraffes took the baseball cap off of Brett’s head and took off with it.

“Oh my God, you should have seen the look on your face,” she said between laughs. “And then you tried chasing him. Whatever made you think you would be able to catch the giraffe, and even if you did, how would you get the hat from him?”

He was bent over, resting his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. With her laughing so hard, it got him laughing too. “I have no idea why I chased that giraffe, but it sure put a smile on your face.”

“I’m really enjoying myself, thank you so much for taking me out today.”

“You’re welcome, but it’s not over yet,” he replied, smiling at her. “Do you like games?”

She looked at him and raised an eyebrow. “What?”

“You know, games such as arcade games. I was thinking we could go over to the new arcade that just opened up, and after playing a few games, we could finish off the day by having dinner somewhere.”

At first, she wasn’t too sure about it, but once they got there, and he started pumping in the quarters for her to play certain games, she began having fun. Every time she scored, she would raise her arms and go yay, and Brett would give her a hug—an innocent hug.

After a couple of hours of doing that, he asked her where she would like to go to eat.

“Well, I haven’t had a cheeseburger in a long time.”

Smiling, he took her arm and wrapped it around his. “I know this cute little diner that serves the best cheeseburgers and onion rings around.”

She liked the place he had picked; it was a little quaint place that had seating for outside dining, and since it was a warm night, they decided to have their food on the patio. She ordered the cheeseburger, onion rings, and a strawberry milkshake; he ordered the same.

“You were right about this cheeseburger, it’s the best I’ve ever tasted. I have to tell you that I had a great time today. I don’t know when I’ve ever had this much fun.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed yourself, maybe we can do it again sometime?”

“I’d like that, but wouldn’t you rather go with someone else, like a real date.”

When he saw the worried look on her face, he knew what she was thinking. “I know this wasn’t a date, but I still had fun, and I wouldn’t have missed it for anything. We’re friends, and this is what friends do, hang out and have fun together.”

“You’re such a good-looking guy and so nice, why don’t you find yourself a nice girl?”

“My last breakup was very hard on me, and I still haven’t gotten over her. So I don’t want to get involved romantically with anyone at the moment. Besides, my leave will be over in another few weeks, so what’s the point of getting involved with somebody?”

“I’m sure whoever you find will wait for you to come back. Is there anyone you’re interested in?”

“Yeah, but she only wants to be friends, and I’m okay with that,” he said, looking her right in the eyes. “There is another girl, but she belongs to someone else. If you’re done, we should head home now, unless there’s something else you’d like to do.”

She shook her head and wiped her mouth with the napkin. “No, I’m actually getting a little tired.”

When they entered the apartment building, he walked her right to her door. “Thanks again for going out with me, and we’ll do it again soon.”

“I’d like that, good night Brett.”

“Good night, Rosalee,” he said, leaning over and kissing her on the cheek before walking away.