Chapter 21
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Ryan was desperately trying to think with his head—the one which contained his brain, not the other little one. It was a hard fought battle. Camille was sending him signals at a hundred miles an hour.
The way her voice had deepened to a sultry tone when she’d said he didn’t seem like a man who was single.
The way she sat in her chair, with her body angled toward him.
Every single breath she took.
And every one of those signals was flashing brightly, ‘hey, you and me. How about it?’
If she were any other girl, he would have already made a move. But Camille Royal wasn’t just any girl. She came from billionaire level wealth. She was a successful fashion designer. And she was from the internationally famous Royal family. People like them didn’t slum it with people like him.
Not to mention that she was his boss.
That last thought sealed it for him. He needed this job. The generous salary, along with paid overtime, which came with this gig was something he couldn’t live without.
You don’t mix business with pleasure. You don’t mess around at work.
And you don’t look at your female boss and think how much you would love to bury your face between her legs.
Especially not that.
But all the sensible arguments fell away as Ryan turned to Camille and said, “We could try it for a week or two, and see how it goes. If you feel uncomfortable having me around your studio and apartment all the time, I’ll just go home at night. How does that sound?”
It sounds like you are trying to have your cake and eat it too, Ryan Collins.
And so what if he was? If they were both single and played this sensibly no one would get hurt. Or fired.
I don’t even know if she is single. Maybe she’s just flirting because she’s Camille and it doesn’t mean anything.
For all he knew she might have a boyfriend, or even a fiancé tucked away someplace else. Like France. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d fallen for a woman only to discover that she was already spoken for.
He stopped his brain before it ran completely away with that insane thought. Camille wasn’t offering him sex, she was asking if her personal assistant would like to stay over for a few nights during the work week to help make her New York fashion week debut a success.
He would have his own room. Use the guest bathroom. And keep everything above board.
And my hands to myself.
“I think seeing how it goes would be a great idea,” said Camille. “I know in the lead up to September we will be putting in some long hours. It would make it easier for you if you’re getting sleep here instead of having to travel back and forth from your home.”
Ok, she was setting boundaries. Good. His lustful interest in her would have to go back into its box and stay there. Though, he might need to use some serious duct tape to keep the box closed.
“I’ll go home tonight and pack a bag. We can start the new arrangement from tomorrow. I’m sure it will work out fine.”
Ryan focused his attention once more on his breakfast. He’d just signed up to sleeping under the same roof as Camille and he had no idea how he was going to make this work.
Work out fine. What the hell was I thinking?