Page 1 of Forbidden Boss

1

MARI

The bass shakes through the floor and climbs into my chest, a relentless beat that makes conversation pointless and dancing irresistible. Neon lights spill across the packed club, washing strangers in shifting blue and pink. I tip my glass back, finish the last sweet swallow of my cocktail, and laugh as Susie grabs my wrist and pulls me deeper onto the dance floor.

The crowd swallows us whole. Bodies press close, heat rising in a wave that clings to my skin. I let it sink into me, let the music loosen the knot of responsibility that always sits between my shoulders. Tonight, I’m not the girl who spent years hunched over library desks or the one who counted every dollar and stretched it as far as it would go.

Tonight, I’m celebrating.

Hours earlier, I was standing barefoot in my tiny kitchen when my phone rang with a number I didn’t recognize. I almost ignored it, ready to let it go to voicemail, but curiosity made me swipe the screen.

“Ms.Gonzales?” a woman asked, brisk and professional enough to make my pulse skyrocket.

“Yes, this is she,” I said, my throat going dry.

“This is Janet Munson at Levcon Industries. I’m pleased to extend an offer of employment for the Forensic Accountant position you interviewed for. If possible, we’d like you to start on Monday.”

For a moment, I forgot how to breathe. Then the words slammed into me all at once, and I gripped the counter to keep from laughing or screaming, or both. I’d interviewed for that position thinking there was no shot in hell I’d ever get it. And now it was mine!

The call ended in a blur of formalities. I didn’t register a single one. All I remembered was punching Susie’s contact with shaking fingers.

She answered with her usual impatience.

“You’d better be dying or telling me you got that fancy job you’ve been stressing about,” she said, her brusqueness cutting through the line.

Susie absolutely hates talking on the phone.

“I got it!” My voice cracked from the force of excitement. “Levcon just called. I start Monday.”

Her squeal nearly burst my eardrums.

“Oh, my God, Mari! This is huge! We’re going out to celebrate tonight, no arguments.”

Now here we are, standing in the middle of one of Manhattan’s hottest nightclubs, surrounded by flashing lights and music so loud it rattles my bones.

Susie twirls, her silver dress sparkling under the lights, her blonde hair flying around her face as she laughs. She’s a magnet for attention, already catching eyes from every angle, but she only grins at me, urging me to let go.

At first, I’m reluctant, but I give in, swaying with her and letting the rhythm take over. The knot between my shoulders starts to loosen in a way it hasn’t in the last year.

That’s when I see him.

He stands in the roped-off VIP section that overlooks the dance floor, a few feet from anyone else. Unlike the crowd of guys our age, he doesn’t fidget with his phone or shout to be heard over the music. He simply stands there, a dark silhouette against the neon haze, radiating a kind of quiet command that draws my gaze like gravity.

The lights shift, and I catch him in full view.

He has salt-and-pepper hair, cut neatly at the sides and longer on top, catching the glow in silver streaks. His jaw is sharp, his mouth set in a line that looks like it rarely curves into a smile.

He’s tall and broad-shouldered, dressed in a tailored suit that fits him so well it must have been made for him. His icy blue eyes scan the club like he’s above it all. His gaze makes my spine straighten immediately, though I can’t quite explain why.

I freeze in place, caught by the sheer force of him.

Susie follows my line of sight, then smirks. She leans close, her lips brushing my ear so I can hear her over the music.

“Wow, he’s hot,” she says, eyeing him appreciatively. “But he’s old, Mari. Like, probably old enough to be your dad.”

My eyes stay locked on him.

“So what?” I shout back over the music. “I’m done with boys. I want a man who knows what he’s doing. Someone who doesn’t think ramen counts as a meal.”