Forbidden Boss (Nikki and Rome's Story) (Manhattan Billionaires)

14. Rome

I lockedmyself in the bathroom attached to my office and leaned against the vanity. My pulse pounded. I could feel the blood thrumming in my fingertips, my toes, my cock.

The woman drove me nuts.

Tugging at my tie, I tossed it aside and stripped off my jacket. It was too warm in here. Too stifling.

I hadn’t been able to think straight since Nikki had told me she’d been kept up by another man. Before I realized she was teasing me, I’d wanted to turn the car around, tear through her apartment, and find whoever it was that had shared her bed—and end him.

It was an itch under my skin. An urge I could scarcely resist.

But that was crazy.

It was just because I was worried about this stupid scheme in the first place. I didn’t actually care if she slept with another man. It wasn’t like we were together. Not for real. I was just paranoid about this whole thing blowing up in my face. I’d made headway with Wilbur Monk for the first time in months, and I was antsy about anything that could make it fall apart.

Yeah. That was it.

Except when she’d laughed at that prick Dean Garrett’s jokes one too many times, I’d wanted to throttle him too. His eyes had lingered on her lips, her breasts, her mile-long legs, and I could see what he was thinking by the look in his eyes. Then he’d had the gall to actually ask her out in front of me.

I should have gotten up and left right then and there.

But.

Nikki was right. The whole reason I’d hired her was for this exact reason. She softened my potential clients so I could come in for the kill. She made it easy to cut the tension. She made me look good.

And though she’d only been in the position since the beginning of the week, I already knew that she was better at her job than I could have ever expected. She charmed men and women alike. She found topics of conversation and navigated them with ease. She laughed easily and made people feel good about themselves.

Last night, at the gala, I’d found myself actually falling for her charms. She made me feel good about myself just by leaning into me slightly when we walked, or giving me that little side-eyed glare whenever I said something she didn’t like.

And I almost went and ruined it by kissing her in the elevator.

Except I didn’t just want to kiss her. I wanted to tear her clothing to shreds and take her against the wall. I wanted her to understand that she belonged to me. That she was mine, and I wouldn’t tolerate anything less.

A knock on my office door brought me back to the present. I washed my hands and walked out to the main room in time to see Cole poke his head in.

“How’d it go?” He was asking about the lunch meeting.

“They’re in,” I said.

Cole whistled. “Between that and the Monks inviting you down to Grenada, seems like your little investment is already paying off.”

I grimaced. “Yeah.”

Cole frowned. “You don’t think so?”

“I’m just not sure how long I can keep this up,” I told him, and it was the truth. There was a reason I kept myself to myself. I’d learned from a very young age that I was on my own, and that was how I’d made myself into a success.

Now, a week into having this woman at my side, I was panting after her like never before.

This wasn’t me.

Besides, I didn’t like lying to my clients. I hadn’t said anything directly untrue, but I knew Monk and Garett and all the others inferred something more about my relationship with Nikki.

This had to end before it got too complicated.

“After we sign the deal with Monk, I’m terminating her contract,” I told Cole.

He rubbed his jaw with his forefinger, nodding. “You might want to wait a little while so it doesn’t look like you pulled a bait and switch on him.”

“I’ll come up with some excuse. We grew in different directions. Went our separate ways. It was amicable. Something that makes us both look good and doesn’t raise any red flags.”

“If that’s what you think,” Cole said.

“You don’t?”

He shrugged. “Seems pretty effective so far. Who knew all you needed was a beautiful, charming woman at your side to start closing all these deals so effortlessly?”

My shoulders stiffened. “Beautiful and charming, huh.”

Cole laughed at the look on my face. “Tell me again why you don’t think you can keep this companion thing up?”

“It’s a lie, and it’s not right.”

“Uh-huh. It’s got nothing to do with the fact that you’re having to spend so much time with the woman, does it?”

“No.”

“Right. So if I called her up the day you terminate her contract and asked her out, you’d be okay with that?”

“If you do that, I’ll take it as an immediate resignation on your part.”

Glee shone in Cole’s expression, and I knew I’d said the wrong thing. “Well that is interesting.”

“How would we explain that to our clients?” I tried to rationalize, but Cole’s grin just widened. Not one to be deterred even though I knew it would be best to clamp my mouth shut, I continued, “What if the Monks get wind of my second-in-command dating the woman I’ve just tossed aside? How do you think that would play?”

“Tossed aside,” he repeated, brows arched. “Is that how it would go down?”

“She would never be interested in you anyway.”

At that, Cole straightened. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You know what I mean.”

“No, I want you to explain. Why wouldn’t she be interested in me? I’m just as successful as you. Better looking, too.”

I snorted. “On what planet?”

“You’re so full of shit, Blakely. You want her and even the thought of me taking her out for a drink is driving you crazy.”

“Why are you here? Why are we even talking about this? We’ll get the contract with Monk, and then we’ll go our separate ways. This has nothing to do with you.” The skin under my collar felt warm. I tugged at the fabric, glaring at my friend.

He crossed his arms and widened his stance, watching me curiously. “I’ve never seen you like this. You’ve barely known her for two weeks.”

“Get out of here,” I bit off. “I’ve got work to do.”

He put his hands up, relenting, then walked to the door without a word. I waited for the door to close behind him before sinking into my chair. Pinching the bridge of my nose, I groaned.

This whole thing had been a terrible idea. The smart thing to do would be to pull the plug and snare Monk some other way.

But the only progress we’d made in closing the deal was with Nikki by my side. I needed her for this. Needed her to save my company.

So I’d do exactly what I told Cole: I’d close the deal with Monk, then terminate her contract and go back to the way things were before. Then everything would be fine, and normal, and great.

All I had to do was survive the few months that she had to be by my side. I’d grit my teeth and bear it.

But a few hours later, when she walked into my office at five o’clock sharp, giving me a little sideways look that was designed to get a reaction out of me, I forgot all about terminating her contract. I became very busy watching the way she moved when she unpacked takeout containers, or how her hair shimmered when she bent her head over the schedule I gave her.

Until she walked out again and my brain came back online, I forgot everything in the world except how much I wanted to have her.