Page 38 of Claimed By the Boss

When I open my eyes again, the sun is high and dancing across my bedroom ceiling. I reluctantly get up, shower, eat something, and decide I’m getting too old to pull all-nighters. I’m planningwhat to do for the day when there’s a knock at the door. I figure it’s just Becca and she’s forgotten her keys.

She texted me earlier that she’d gone out to pick up pastries and whatever overpriced coffee she thinks we deserve today. I’m padding around the kitchen in socks, sipping from a chipped mug, when the knock comes again, firmer this time.

I frown. It’s not Becca’s knock.

I walk slowly to the door, setting the mug down on the console table, and peer through the peephole. My stomach drops. It’s Rick from the office. How the hell does he know where I live?

I freeze for half a second. Then I take a breath, undo the lock, and open the door halfway, angling my body like a shield.

“What the hell are you doing here?” I ask sharply.

Rick smiles like this is some meet-cute we’ve been building toward. Like I haven’t rejected him twice already.

“Good morning to you too,” he says, glancing past me into my apartment.

“How did you get my address?”

He just shrugs, leaning against the doorframe like we’re friends and not two sentences away from me slamming the door in his face.

“I have my ways.”

I grip the door tighter.

“Well, unfortunately, you and your ways are not welcome here. I’m not interested in you, Rick. I wasn’t interested at work, andI’m definitely not interested in you here, at my home. You’ve essentially invaded it.”

His smirk tightens, his gaze flicking down my body in a way that makes my skin crawl. “Are you always this rude to people who show up just to say hi?”

“You didn’t come to say hi.”

He scoffs, the faux charm dropping. “Look,” he says. “I’ve been thinking. You and I got off on the wrong foot. You’re obviously smart and very attractive. I like that.”

I cross my arms. “That doesn’t do anything to change my opinion of you.”

“Is this because of him?”

My stomach clenches.

“I know you’re fucking the boss,” he adds, voice low and venomous. “Why not give me a try? Don’t pretend you’ve got some kind of moral compass now.”

My jaw tightens. “Leave. Now.”

“I’m just saying.” He shrugs, his voice slick with something that makes my skin tighten with rage. “If you’re handing out freebies, I might as well get in line.”

Becca’s voice slices through the hallway like a blade. “She’s already told you to get lost. I suggest you do that, asshole.”

Rick’s head jerks to the side, clearly surprised. Becca’s behind him, arms full of coffee cups and a paper bag, one brow arched.

Rick stiffens. His confidence cracks just slightly. His eyes dart back to me.

“Whatever,” he mutters, turning toward the stairs. “You’re not worth it anyway.”

“Oh honey,” Becca says sweetly. “Go back to your mom’s basement where you belong.”

He doesn’t reply, just stomps off down the hall like a kid who didn’t get picked for dodgeball.

I wait until the sound of his footsteps disappears completely before I close the door and double lock it.

Becca drops the coffee on the counter with a thud. “Okay, who the hell was that?”