Arrogant Boss

“I couldn’t get them to drop it.”

His eyes flashed back up to mine, humor dancing in them. The collar of his shirt was slightly askew, and I reached up on my tip-toes to fix it. I stiffened the collar and flattened the fabric over his wide, strong shoulders.

“There,” I murmured. “Now you’re ready.”

We were close enough that I felt the warmth of his exhale. “I was born ready.”

“Mhm?”

“Mmm.” He bent to close the distance between us, lips about to close on mine, but a deafening sound rang out from the speakers. We both jerked back.

“Sorry! Just some mic feedback.” The moderator called out. “We’re almost ready to begin-all of our panelists are waiting backstage. Sorry to have kept you waiting, folks.”

“Showtime,” I told Julian, curling my hands into fists. A dimly lit space with my stunningly attractive and expert-kissing boss? Deadly.

Julian grinned and took my hand in his, pressing a kiss to the soft skin at my wrist. “Wish me luck, Ace?”

“Break a leg,” I whispered.

“Our first panelist is none other than the young tech genius from San Francisco who gave us Audio-Feed. He’s here this year to introduce two new products his company is releasing, and we couldn’t be more excited to hear about them. Julian Hunt, everybody!”

Julian gave me a wink before disappearing out on stage. He walked confidently and gave the crowd a single, strong wave before shaking hands with the moderator.

I sank down on the chair provided for me backstage and tried to catch my breath. He was a force, and I wasn’t sure if I was strong enough to survive him. My phone screen lit up with a new message from Rachel.

Is he on stage? Everything OK?

I took a deep breath and typed back a quick response. Yes, he’s fine.

Damn fine.

Dinner that evening was a simple affair-the four of us grabbed pizza in a small restaurant opposite the conference hall, wall to wall with our hotel. It was nearly ten in the evening, but I wolfed down slice after slice as if I was carbo-loading for a marathon.

Which I was, in a way. We still had another day of the conference to go.

Rachel picked a piece of pepperoni from her pizza and glanced over at Julian. “You’ve never joined us for post-conference victory pizza before, boss.”

He raised a finger at her. “Only because you’ve never invited me.”

Both Rachel and Josef laughed at that. “Right. As if that was what was missing. An invitation.”

He rolled his eyes and reached for another piece of the barbecue chicken. The others might have dropped it, but I was curious. “What do you usually do? Don’t tell me you’ve hit the gym or something previous years. No one can have that much energy, not even you.”

Julian looked over at me with glittering eyes, as if daring me to let him prove just how much energy he had. I looked away quickly.

“Oh no,” Rachel said. “He usually has dinner with some of the other big names, discussing world domination. Three tech titans walk into a bar…”

“Or you go on some steamy date. It was an actress when we were here two years ago, right? I can’t remember the name now.” Josef frowned. “It made the headlines. Great publicity for the company, boss.”

“Josef,” Julian chided.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“She was in a space movie that year, I think. Right?”

Julian took a bite of his pizza and avoided my gaze. “I’m a man of discretion.”

Rachel was grinning. “Josef, Julian’s personal life might be a goldmine for us, but we don’t tell him that.”

“Is that so?” I leaned back in my chair. “No famous dates this time around?”

Julian played with the rim of his glass and shook his head slightly. His gaze felt like a caress, warm and secretive, holding a secret only we knew. “No, not this year. I’m actually seeing someone.”

“Oh la la,” Rachel said. “I can imagine she’d object to you taking Hollywood out on the town.”

Julian’s gaze slid to mine again. “She might. Not that I’d want to, anyway. I’ve always been a one-woman kind of man.”

“Is this a serious thing?” Josef asked.

“It’s in the early stages so far,” Julian said. “But I have high hopes.”

My heart was beating so loudly I was amazed that nobody called me on it. I wouldn’t be surprised if Rachel turned to me at any second with a shocked gasp, declaring that she knew I was the woman in question. J’accuse!

I met Julian’s gaze. He looked exactly like I felt. Calm on the surface, smoldering below.

“But it’s going well so far?”

He gave me a small smile. “I think so, yes. Even if I don’t always know what she’s thinking.”

The mood had changed between us, and I’m sure I wasn’t not the only one who’d noticed. I reached for the last slice of pepperoni and cleared my throat. “Just invent an app for telepathy.”

The others laughed and the conversation continued away from dating and Julian and me. Under the table, his knee touched mine gently. I glanced up to see him give me a questioning look. Are you okay?

I smiled at him. I’ve never been better, I thought.

Hunt’s new health app was launched with roaring success the next day. It was the latest in a trend that seemed to be sweeping the tech world, with a revolutionary interface and a platform capable of reaching thousands of healthcare providers within months.

Julian was practically aglow on stage when he introduced it. Calm and controlled, in a fitted grey suit, he projected confidence. But underneath it, I could tell that excitement was thrumming through him. This was his passion. He genuinely believed in his work, in his creations-in what he had to offer the world.

I watched him from the back of the room, just as transfixed as the rest of the audience. It had become clear to me that I didn’t just like Julian.

I was head over heels.

Later that evening, the full day done, giddiness hung in the air. The launch had been phenomenal. I could hear the Hunt technicians joking with each other as they packed down our workshop gear, laughter, and exhaustion in their voices. I knew how they felt. I was starting to realize that these huge launches and events had a lot in common with sporting events. Once the adrenaline was spent, all you had left was a tired sort of happiness.

Rachel grinned at me. “Finally, huh?”

“Yes, finally,” I agreed. “My stomach is practically eating itself.”

She laughed. “So is mine. You’ve done some really great work these days, by the way. I was glad to have you by my side.”