Page 1 of Her Billionaire Boss

CHAPTER ONE

(Matthew)

DO NOT CHASE HER.She’s basically a prey animal when it comes to relationships.If you chase her, she’s going to run.Let her come to you.

I scrolled through my text messages from Scott for the thousandth time.My best friend knew more about his sister than I knew about mine; it didn’t seem right that he could offer me advice about dating Charlotte, but I couldn’t help him out with his romantic problems.

I wasn’t quite over the fact that he’d not only fucked my married sister, but he’d been unreasonably furious when I slept with Charlotte.Still, I couldn’t deny that he’d done me a tremendous favor in helping get her back.

Because Charlottehadrun from me.She’d taken one tiny misunderstanding between us and blown it up into a relationship ending crisis.

Almost.

I still wasn’t sure if we’d broken up or not.

She’d definitely run away, though.And now she was returning, and I couldn’t chase her.

So, I didn’t.I went to work and responded to her texts with brief answers when she updated me on her travel.I didn’t pick her up at the airport.Ididarrange a car, because I was a nice guy, but I had followed Scott’s advice to the letter.

I didn’t chase her.

After work, I came home and had a drink.I put my feet up and thought about what we should do for dinner when Charlotte arrived.I resisted every single urge to obsessively check in.

At eight p.m.on the dot, I got a text from the doorman indicating that a guest had arrived and asking me how to proceed.I responded,“Send her up,”but I didn’t leave the lounge.I would let her come to me, all the way.

“Hello?”I heard her call.Then, closer, “Matt?”

“In here,” I called back.I didn’t get up.I didn’t go to the hall to find her.I stayed right where I was, on my sofa, in front of the tv, in my gray sweatpants.

I wasn’t supposed to chase her.There was nothing in the rules about appealing to her libido with a well-presented bulge.

She entered the room and stopped after the threshold.Her fingers wriggled in a little wave.“Hey.”

“Hey.”Should I get up?I should get up and hug her, at least, right?I couldn’t resist.I got to my feet and approached her slowly.“How was your flight?”

“It was… a flight.”She shrugged.“Nobody shouted, ‘Is there a doctor on board?’and I’m starting to think that it’s never going to happen for me.”

“You’re not a doctor.”

“I know, I just want to see it happen.”She moved toward me, her arms out.“Can I have a hug?”

“You don’t have to ask me twice.”The moment I swooped her up in my arms, the long hours of limbo I’d suffered through felt like days.I practically crushed her.We hadn’t been apart for long, at all; business trips took longer.But the unknown had tortured me.

I never wanted to go through that again.

I set her on her feet and held her out at arm’s length.“You scared the shit out of me.”

“I scared the shit out of myself,” she admitted, her expression falling.“Do you forgive me?”

“You’re here, aren’t you?”If I didn’t put some space between us, I would throw her on the floor and fuck her until we both passed out.That wouldn’t exactly be conducive to a productive reunion.

She didn’t seem to share that opinion.She jumped up on her toes and practically mauled me, tugging at my t-shirt to get her hands beneath and accidentally biting my lip.

“Whoa, whoa.”I pushed her back gently.

She grinned up at me.“I thought you missed me.”

“I didn’t miss you.You scared me.There’s a difference, and we need to talk about that.Fucking it out isn’t an option.”My dick could wait.I gestured to the sofa and waited for her to move.