The Boss by Abigail Barnette

Author:Abigail Barnette
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: billionaire, kink, bdsm, billionaire alpha, contemporary romance, billionaire alpha male
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

We talked, mostly about work and how things were going there. It was a safe topic, one that wasn't too personal for friendly chatter, nothing that would push us into real "getting to know you" territory.

Unfortunately, some personal details were unavoidable. There were pictures on the wall, of his daughter I presumed. I tried not to look at those.

He must have known that I’d been rattled by his demeanor in my apartment the night before, because near the end of the meal he said, "Sophie, I want to apologize if I've... crossed any boundaries with you. Last night I wasn't myself."

"It's okay. I just... you said something." I stopped myself. "Maybe this isn't the right time to talk about it."

He smiled sadly. "I've learned my lesson when it comes to relationships. If there's anything you can't talk about, that's likely the thing you should be talking about."

"I bow to your painful experience," I said, trying to make light of the situation and feeling it fall flat between us. So clearly, joking about his divorce was a bad choice. "When you were... high on Klonopin last night, you said that you missed me, and you weren't talking about the trip."

He nodded, and he didn't meet my eyes. It was a defense mechanism, I realized, and my stomach dropped. When he answered, his voice was uncharacteristically quiet and serious, without any hint of the playful teasing I was used to. "I wish things had happened differently between us. As I've gotten to know you over these past few weeks, I can't help but think that we missed an amazing opportunity with each other."

"Or not." I dabbed the corner of my mouth with my napkin. "I don't think I'm a fully formed person yet, imagine me six years ago."

"True. And perhaps we wouldn't be sitting here now." He regarded me with his unreadable half-smile that I will probably never figure out.

My heart was racing, and for entirely different reasons than my earlier excitement. This was heavier than I'd imagined the night would be. I was caught between being afraid of what I was feeling and being afraid of what he was feeling. The lack of control was unsettling.

He reached across the table and took my hand in his. I felt like I might get up and bolt, until he linked our little fingers together in the classic pinkie-swear pose. "Let's make a pact. No matter what happens with our current arrangement, we remain on friendly terms. I don't ever want to go six years without seeing you again."

There was that sneaky knot in my chest again, the one I never realized was there until it eased slightly at something he said or did. "I can live with that."

There was a long moment between us, one that had begun in comfortable silence then ended with an awkward clearing of the throat on Neil's part.

The mood needed a reset button. "So, any big after dinner plans?" I slipped my shoe off under the table and ran my silk-covered toes up his ankle.

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