Текст книги "Beauty and the Boss"

Автор книги: Diane Alberts

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Текущая страница: 2 (всего у книги 13 страниц)

Chapter Two

Maggie crawled out from under the table clutching her stupid fork, her face on fire and her heart racing. Out of all the positions to be found in, kneeling at her boss’s feet was not the most flattering. And the thing was, she was the person least likely to be caught messing around with her boss. She had bad enough luck with men as it was; she wasn’t about to throw the possibility of her ex firing her into the mix.

No, thank you.

She’d keep her disastrous romantic entanglements out of the office.

Once she made it to her feet with Mr. Gale’s help—which his mother did not miss—she smoothed her skirt and swallowed hard, still clinging to the fork for dear life as if it could somehow save her from what was coming. “Mrs. Gale. This isn’t—”

“Quiet,” the older woman snapped, without taking her murderous glare off of her son. “No one was speaking to you.”

Picking up her wine, she swallowed a healthy mouthful, and it washed down the retort attempting to choke her to death in front of her boss and his nasty mother. The woman watched her son like he was a bug she’d stepped on.

Something to be scraped off and forgotten.

And, in return, Mr. Gale watched his mother with all the warmth of a winter’s night. Maggie had never wanted the power to be invisible as much as she did right now.

And she used to pray for it every night.

Guess she knew now where he’d gotten his cold, emotionless exterior. He wasn’t rude to her or anything. He never was. He just didn’t really have the time, or the desire, to chat idly all day long. Something told her that he’d never been taught how.

They must not teach small talk at Harvard.

But they spent a lot of time alone at the office, so she got to see a side of him no one else did. And the more time she spent with him, the more he reminded her of a lost puppy who had all the bones in the world, but no idea what to do with them.

Especially after tonight.

“Please tell me this ‘dinner’ is not being billed to the company,” Mrs. Gale said, each word icier than the last. “Last I checked, there is no clause in your contract that states the company must pay for your many dalliances.”

Many dalliances?

She’d never have pegged Mr. Gale as a playboy.

Sure, he had the looks and the money to pull it off, but he spent almost all his time locked in his office, scowling out at his employees through the glass windows on either side of his closed door. Alone.

Covertly, she stole another glance at him as he shrugged back into his jacket while his mother watched him angrily. Tonight, he wore a black suit with a light green pinstripe dress shirt and a pair of black loafers. Something about the way his custom-made suit hugged all those hard muscles was a lot harder to ignore than it usually was—maybe because moments before she had been kneeling at his feet, staring up into his eyes and thinking how handsome he was from down there.

And he was. Handsome. From every angle.

Not just his feet.

He always had a slight five o’clock shadow going on, but she’d never seen his hair when it wasn’t picture perfect. The man easily could have been a GQ model, but instead he was the CEO of his family’s pharmaceutical company. He was well over six feet tall, weighed a little under two hundred pounds, was thirty-three years old, had attended Harvard for six years, and wore a size thirteen shoe.

I know way too much about him. Stalker.

She sighed.

Oh, and he was freakishly, devilishly, impossibly hot.

And single.

A muscle in his jaw ticked, but he remained otherwise motionless. “This isn’t a ‘dalliance’, Mother,” he said.

“It’s not.” Maggie tore her eyes off of him, flushing when his mother shot her a condescending look. “It’s so not.”

He shot her a narrow-eyed look.

She stared right back at him, and took a big gulp of wine.

The second he turned away, she put down her glass, swiped a napkin across her mouth, gently set her fork down, and decided to creep out while no one paid attention to her. If she had any luck—which she normally didn’t—she’d escape before whatever was about to happen here happened. World War Three, maybe.

Slowly, she stepped sideways to the left.

Mrs. Gale snapped her fingers. “Sit down. No one excused you.”

Before the sentence was even finished, Maggie slammed her butt into the soft leather chair. Mr. Gale was her boss, which made his mother her even bigger boss, so she didn’t exactly have a choice. “This really isn’t what it looks like, Mrs. Gale. I—”

“Don’t bother, Maggie.” He frowned. “She won’t believe you.”

Mrs. Gale shrugged. “You’re right. I won’t.”

He rubbed his jaw. “You can’t come in here and order my employees around. If Maggie wants to leave, she’s allowed. She’s not a prisoner in my office.”

She stood again. “Great. Thank you. I’ll be on my—”

“Your employee?” The other woman laughed, but it didn’t sound like humor at all. “Oh, that’s just rich. You have one of your workers under your table doing…doing…”

Shoot me. Shoot me now.

“As we already told you,” he said, his tone tight with exasperation. “It’s not what it looked like.”

“Oh, but it was. And there are rules against such things.” Mrs. Gale focused her cold gaze on Maggie. “Get out. You’re fired.”

She exhaled a big breath of air, dread punching her in the stomach. She’d been in the city for half a year, fighting her way into this hard-to-attain position at Gale Incorporated, and now she’d been sacked over suspicion of going down on her hot boss—and she hadn’t even done it. Great. Just great.

She had to get out of here, with her head held high, and then she’d cry. But not in front of this horrible woman. She nodded. “Right.”

“Don’t even think about walking out of here.” His icy look froze her to the spot. “Sit down.”

She sat again, feeling a bit like a marionette on strings, and wishing she were anywhere but here with these two people. A funeral. Even the dentist.

Or the gynecologist, with her feet in stirrups, and an apologetic doctor holding a speculum between her thighs going, “Sorry, but this will be cold and uncomfortable.”

Literally. Anywhere else.

Mrs. Gale sniffed, crinkled her nose as if she smelled something foul, and crossed her arms. “How dare you bring one of your paramours into the company as an employee. What would your father say?”

She stiffened, every nerve within her screaming for her to tell this pompous woman exactly where she could stick her old-fashioned attitude. She stood again, nails digging into her palms. “You know what? You can take your—”

“Father would say nothing.” He smoothly stepped in front of her and cut her off, all without even glancing her way. “We were working and had a dinner break together. We were both fully clothed, and she just happened to be under the table. That’s it.”

Mrs. Gale cast a glance at the table in question. “Oh, dear me. I didn’t realize that wine at a business meal was now standard. Shall we serve that all day long at the break station, instead of coffee and tea? Perhaps throw in a few hard spirits, as well, to liven up the day? Some leftover medication that didn’t pass FDA approval?”

Maggie’s nails dug even deeper into her palms, but she miraculously managed to keep her mouth shut. She had a suspicion that this had nothing to do with her at all, and everything to do with them. Mrs. Gale was a force to be reckoned with. Word on the street was that she never stopped pushing till she got her way, no matter what stood in her path. Apparently, that ruthlessness extended to her son, so Maggie speaking up in his defense wouldn’t do anything to help diffuse the situation.

If anything, it would only rile the monster even more.

Mr. Gale crossed his arms, not even close to losing his cool over his mother’s…well, coolness. If anything, he looked mildly amused. The man was like a machine, all cold, hard logic and no irrational emotion at all. “That’s not the same thing. It’s after seven, and we’re both finishing up a twelve-hour day on a Friday. Since my original dinner meeting was canceled, I invited Maggie to join me before I go home—alone, I might add. Not that it’s any of your business.”

“Then why was she under the table?” Mrs. Gale lifted her head and somehow managed to stare down her nose at her son, despite their height differences. “Let me guess. You were playing hide and seek. She seems to be of the age and intelligence level that she’d enjoy such trivialities.”

Maggie gasped. “Excuse me. I graduated top of my class at—”

He interrupted with, “She dropped a fork and was picking it up.”

“Ah, but no one will believe that.” His mother shook her head. “Not once I tell the board the disgraceful behavior I witnessed. Interoffice relations are forbidden.”

“Not always,” he said, still looking completely bored.

If she had known she was going to get fired anyway, maybe she would have had a little bit of fun under that table first. Mr. Gale was an attractive man, and the way he’d been looking at her right before the interruption…

It had been scalding hot, to say the least.

Panty-dropping, to be more accurate.

Mrs. Gale snorted. “Well, unless the two of you were secretly dating before she came here, you don’t have a leg to stand on. And you are well aware of it, too.”

Maggie’s boss looked at her, but remained silent.

It was almost as if he was asking her…no. No.

Surely he didn’t mean…no.

“As I thought. She’s fired, and that’s that,” his mother said, shooting Maggie a disdainful look. “It’s time you stopped messing around with loose women, and did your duty as heir and primary share holder of Gale Incorporated. I set you up on a date with a lovely woman last night, and you didn’t even show up, which is why I’m here in the first place. Do you know how long it took for me to smooth the waters with Sheldon?”

Maggie crept toward the door. Time to slink away.

He grabbed her hand, holding her in place.

“No, and I don’t give a damn, either. I told you not to set me up with his daughter,” Mr. Gale said, his voice clipped. “That’s on you. You’re the one who refuses to give up on the idea of me marrying some snob you handpicked for me.”

“With good reason.” His mother’s nostrils flared. “I don’t give up once I’ve decided on a course of action. It’s a pity you didn’t inherit my determination to win and stubbornness to be the best.”

Maggie tried to discreetly wriggle free, not wanting to draw attention to herself, but failed. Her boss wasn’t letting go. She glanced up at the ceiling. If ever a meteorite was going to swoop down on the city and kill her, now would be the perfect time.

“Funny that you think that. You tried to kick me out of this position,” he pointed out, brow raised. “And yet here I stand. Holding steady.”

“This is not a conversation for outsiders.” She gestured to Maggie, her nose again scrunching up at the sight of their joined hands, as if she smelled the peasant on her. “Let her go. She’s fired.”

Mr. Gale shook his head. “No, she’s not. And she’s not going anywhere.”

“Very well then. You want to dig yourself a deeper hole? Go ahead.” She threw her hands up dramatically. “I’m through trying to protect you.”

“Protecting me? When the hell have you ever—?”

“Language,” his mother snapped, her face flushing. “You listen, and you listen well, young man. You will go on the dates I set up for you, and you will do it with a smile on your face, and you will pick one of them to become your wife. It’s what your father did before you, and your father’s father, and your father’s father’s father. It is what’s expected of you.”

His jaw flexed, but he remained silent.

Apparently, Mrs. Gale wasn’t finished yet. “You will be charming and every inch the gentleman I raised you to be. You will find a suitable woman to settle down with, and you will propose. Enough of these dalliances with low-class women—it’s time to do your duty as heir and the head of this company. You wanted the position badly enough to fight me for it? You have it. Now it’s time to take full responsibility for that position. It’s been almost six years. It’s time to be the man you’re supposed to be. A man your father might possibly be proud of. If not, I swear, I’ll—”

She cut herself off, finally.

Maggie, for one, was grateful for the silence.

Mr. Gale tightened his hold on her, but otherwise he showed no outward reaction to his mother’s horrible words. Maggie tugged again, but to no avail. “Go on,” he said. “Finish your threat. You’ve never held back before.”

Mrs. Gale lifted her chin and pointed her haughty nose to the ceiling. “If not, I’ll take this unfortunate situation to the board and use it to get you kicked out of your tenuous position as CEO of this company. Your brother is three years younger than you, and he’s married a woman of suitable upbringing—”

“That you picked for him.”

“Yes, that I picked for him,” she said, stepping forward and pointing a manicured finger at his chest. “And they’re married, with two little boys to carry on the good Gale name, as they should. They attend charity balls. He’s every bit the CEO this company needs. If it were left up to you, you’d bring a lady of the night to the mayor’s dinner next month.”

Lady of the night? My God, what was this woman? Did she walk straight out of a Charles Dickens novel? Maggie lifted her chin. “If you’re insinuating I’m—”

Mrs. Gale swung a glower on her that would scare the devil out of a hellhound. “I wasn’t speaking to you.”

She swallowed her words, staring back at the woman.

Where was that freaking meteorite?

Mr. Gale rocked back on his heels, finally showing some emotion. But it was amusement, not anger. “I wouldn’t be the first to do so, and if you think otherwise, you’re more naive than I ever imagined. Last week, Mr. Thorn brought a woman that I know for a fact is a—”

“Don’t.” She dropped her hand and shook her head sadly, as if she’d caught him banging a woman in front of her late husband’s shrine, instead of walking in on an awkward dinner between boss and employee. “You will announce an engagement before the next board meeting, or I will put forth a motion to remove you as CEO under a No Confidence vote, and do everything in my power to instate Andrew into the position in your stead. Don’t make the mistake of thinking I won’t get the votes needed. I will. I’ve ensured as much. As I said, I abhor losing.”

He glanced at Maggie again, and the idea he’d planted with his silent gaze earlier took an insane, reckless turn. She’d been trying her best to ignore the plan forming silently in her head, but something inside of her snapped.

But she couldn’t do it. Could she?

She didn’t do things on impulse. Ever.

And yet, she was about to. Like a boss.

Ignoring her actual boss, she tossed her hair over her shoulder. “That’s ridiculous, and this is the twenty-first century. You can’t force someone to get married because you want them to.”

Slowly, her boss turned to her, shock on his face as if he couldn’t believe that someone was sticking up for him. Or maybe he’d forgotten she was there. Either way, it looked as if a strong gust of wind would have blown him right onto his perfect, tight butt. “Maggie—”

“Excuse me?” Mrs. Gale said. Her face flushed an angry red, and her hands fisted at her sides as she advanced on Maggie. “Who exactly are you to speak on this matter? And why are you still here? I fired you.”

“Ah, but he didn’t. And there’s a reason for that.”

Mr. Gale blinked at her, looking like a fish out of water for the first time.

His mother spluttered. “How dare you—”

“I’m your son’s fiancée,” she blurted out. “We were together before I joined the company. That’s why he can’t date other women, why he didn’t show up last night. And it makes all of your threats empty ones, too. You can’t fire me. So–yeah. He already wins, because he has me.”

Mrs. Gale’s jaw dropped. Finally the woman shut up.

But as quickly as her uncharacteristic impulsiveness had come into play, Maggie’s common sense came right back. She’d literally just announced, without her boss’s permission, that she was engaged to him. If he denied it in front of his mother, she would not only be fired, but everyone would hear about her shame, and no one would hire her.

New York might be a huge city, but the pharmaceutical research field was not.

And all of this had happened because she had a stupid soft spot for creatures who needed help. Her boss, with billions in his bank account, shouldn’t fit into that category, but yet he somehow did.

Mr. Gale, who probably wanted to strangle her, choked and dragged his hands down his face. “Maggie, you don’t—”

“It’s okay. I told you I didn’t want to announce it yet, but I’m ready.” She forced a smile. His mouth opened, closed, then pressed into a thin line. “We can tell the whole world how much we love each other if you want…Benjamin.”

He made a strangled sound and tugged on his tie. He seemed more shocked than anything, but he had to be angry underneath that cold exterior of his. “Love—?”

She cast a quick glance at Mrs. Gale, who was starting to turn blue from lack of oxygen, before turning back to her boss. Not giving him a chance to ruin the ruse she’d thrown together, she launched herself into his arms and kissed him, right in his office in front of his mother.

The second their mouths touched, it was as if she’d woken up from a long, deep sleep. This wasn’t a kiss—not really—and she was fully aware of that.

But her body didn’t get the message.

His mouth softened under hers, and after a moment of sheer awkwardness, he closed his arms around her and hauled her against his chest. Though she’d initiated the kiss, it didn’t take long for him to show her who was in charge of it. A small shift of his chin, and he was the kisser instead of the kissed.

He turned her slightly, facing away from his mother, and ran his tongue against the seam of her sealed lips. She gasped, shocked he’d actually gone there, and he took full advantage of the situation. He tasted like wine and something else she couldn’t place, and that was about as far as she got before she couldn’t think of anything except his lips on hers, his tongue against hers. She curled her hands into his shirt, and a small moan escaped her. She jumped at the sound, jerking back and covering her mouth in surprise.

Mr. Gale stared down at her, breathing heavily, his focus clearly on her mouth. It did weird things to her insides—things that made her want to launch herself back into his arms, only for real this time, and take that kiss a step further.

Like, stepping right into his bed.

She lifted her face, going for another taste. His eyes darkened, and a sexy growl escaped him, so quiet she might have imagined it. He fisted her shirt at the small of her back and closed the distance between them. She sucked in a breath.

If she didn’t, she might pass out.

“Enough,” Mrs. Gale shouted, forcibly jerking Maggie out of her lust-hazed tunnel vision. “If you think I’ll buy this…this…indecent sham as something real, you’re even less fit as the head of this company than I suspected.”

Mr. Gale—God, she didn’t even call him by his first name in her mind and she’d just kissed him—turned to his mother. Instead of letting her go like she’d expected, he tightened his grasp on her waist and kept her tucked against his side. “There’s nothing indecent in this room. We love each other and aren’t ashamed to show it.”

“This is unacceptable. Whatever this”—she gestured between Maggie and Mr. Gale—“is, it needs to end. Now. I’ll contact you with a list of suitable candidates, and you will woo them all. And you will pick one of them and kick her to the curb where she belongs…or you’ll pay the ultimate price.”

Not waiting for an answer, she stormed out, closing the door behind her with a firm click. Even though she hadn’t slammed the door, the effect was still there. Maggie jumped and dropped her hand—which had been covering her mouth—to her side. Mr. Gale let go of her, and he immediately stepped back to a respectable distance.

She still didn’t look at him. Didn’t dare.

God, what had she done? So much for keeping her disastrous love life—real or fake—out of the office. She’d kissed her boss. Her boss. Jesus.

After counting to three, she blurted, “I’m sorry. So, so sorry, Mr. Gale. I have no idea what came over me, but she kept yelling and calling you worthless, and you work so hard and don’t deserve to be treated that way, and I just, I don’t know, snapped. I couldn’t take it anymore, so I…I…”

“Did the perfect thing,” he said, his voice as calm and collected as always. “Damn brilliant, really.”

“It was stupid and irresponsible and—” She staggered back and glanced at her boss’s face for the first time since they’d been left alone. “Wait. What?”

Instead of anger and disgust, which she’d totally expected to see, he smiled at her. Actually smiled. And he had dimples. Two of them. In his cheeks.

What just happened?