Jealous Boss (Jealous & Possessive #2)

Chapter 1

1

Ethan

I hate golf.

Like, really, really despise it.

Seriously, you whack a ball then trudge after it to whack it again.

And again? Don’t get me wrong. Fair play to those who have that sort of time.

I don’t. And with every bone in my body, I wish I wasn’t doing it now.

But I’ve learned to play the game.

And when the path to senior partnership comes with losing one Saturday morning per month to whacking the hell out of a small white ball and pretending to love it? Well, I can do that.

With gritted teeth and a ton of vile, silent cursing, but yeah…

So I line up my graphite driver—the one that cost me a shit ton of money, align my feet, and send the dimpled ball arcing through the air down the fairway with a satisfying grunt.

I pretend a keen interest in where it’s headed and then smile when it doesn’t wedge itself into a sand bank, bush or lake.

A firm slap on my shoulder makes me turn, my smile still in place as the two older guys I’m playing with watch with something close to envy.

“Damn, you’re getting better than us, Ethan.”

“Not even close, but I’ll take the compliment,” I reply, handing my club to the caddy.

Philip Hyde, the senior partner I’m hoping to impress—the one whose place I’m aiming to take when he steps down in six months—chuckles.

“Modesty doesn’t look great on you, boy.”

I laugh and shrug because, fuck it, it’s true.

My accomplishments have seen me rise from junior executive in Philadelphia’s number one venture capitalist firm to partner in record time.

It’s the ‘senior named partner’ label that I’m angling for now. The culmination of my hard work before I hit forty in a little over two years.

And Hyde is the way to get there.

I wait until both Hyde and Mason Tucker, the other partner, have teed their shots, then slow my stride as we head for the buggy that’ll take us down the fairway.

We talk shop for a few minutes, then Mason glances at me. “That China deal you pulled off was mighty impressive, son. Everyone at the club was talking about it this week.”

I pump an invisible fist but manage another modest nod. “Thank you, sir.”

Mason grimaces. “None of that sir crap, it makes me feel old. You’ve already got one foot and both hands in the door. It’s about time we got on first-name basis.”

“Thanks. And that’s good to know, Mason.”

He grins, his thick mustache dancing. “It is? Hell, weren’t you seen at lunch with that dick Lovells last week? If you’re trying to light a fire under our asses, I’d say you succeeded.”

I shrug, breathing a sigh of relief now everything is out in the open. Hopefully, sacrificing my Saturday mornings is about to be a thing of the past.

“I’m confident I can do even greater things for the firm as named partner,” I reply without admitting the Lovells thing was indeed a well-aimed shot across their proverbial bows. Glad they took note of it.

“You won’t get any argument from me,” Philip says. “This old dog is ready for his next adventure.”

There’s a touch of sadness in his tone but also a muted anticipation. I don’t know how to respond about old dogs and their retirement plans, so I stay quiet.

When we reach the next hole, he remains in the buggy. “Mason, give me a minute with Ethan, would you?”

Mason nods and heads off with his own caddy.

I keep my posture loose and relaxed despite the stirring of nerves in my gut.

Is this it?

My palms sweat a little, but I’m not a damn schoolboy so I don’t rub it on my thigh or anything.

I just keep my arm on the steering wheel. “What’s up, Philip?”

He clears his throat. “I have a favor to ask.”

I bob my head. “Sure. Fire away.”

“Barb and I are heading to our place in St Lucia for the summer. We were supposed to go in October but with her health issues, the doctor thinks the change will do her good so we're leaving sooner.”

It’s no secret that his wife’s ill health is partly the reason Philip is contemplating stepping down early. Before I can make a sympathetic response, his lips flatten.

“Anyway, the timing isn’t ideal but…we were also supposed to look after my niece while Rick was seeking help.”

I rack my brain and remember that Rick is his much younger brother who was tossed out of the firm a few years back. Because of a rampant drug, booze and general mayhem habit.

“I…uhh…” Sorry to hear that? Is that the right response for a perennial addict seeking help for the umpteenth time?

Philip holds up a hand. “No need to be diplomatic about it. Rick and Janice have been in one giant cycle of rehab and relapse. And their poor kid…” He shakes his head and sighs. “That girl hasn’t had a stable home since she was born. Anyway, she was supposed to stay with Barb and I while she interned at the firm, but we can’t.” He looks over, pins me with a serious look. “So I want you to keep an eye on her for me this summer, Ethan.”

That was… not what I was expecting. “I’m sorry…you want me to what?” I try to keep my voice even.

Philip hasn’t lasted this long in the venture capitalist world by taking shit from a subordinate. Even if what he’s asking of me makes the sharp fuck no trip to the edge of my tongue,

I hold it. For now.

“I know it’s unorthodox. And personal. But I trust you.”

I bite back another sharp retort. He trusts me…to act as babysitter for his niece? I’m doing something seriously wrong if I’m going around giving off babysitter vibes.

“Philip, I don’t think that’s a good…” I stop and clear my throat, knowing I’m threading a fine line between causing offense and politely declining this…whatever this crap is. “Interns have a designated junior partner to monitor them. I’m sure she’ll be in good hands with one of the dozen?—”

My words dry up as Philip firmly shakes his head. “I don’t want some faceless junior looking out for my niece. She’s a little…sheltered. Her parents threw her into some strict boarding school in the Swiss mountains where you can’t sneeze without asking for damn permission, and all but forgot about her for almost a decade.” His face tightens with quiet fury. “I had to put my foot down or they’d have left her there to rot.” He takes a deep breath. “Anyway, I’m the reason she’s coming here to intern. A way of easing her into the world, if you like. And I feel bad about not being around for her.”

I nod again, despite the irritation and mild alarm, but I try to speak evenly. “I get the predicament you’re in, Philip, but I still think she’ll be better off with one of the junior executives. I can look in on her every now and then in a supervisory role if it’ll make things?—”

“That’s not going to work for me, son,” he says bluntly.

Right. So we’re back to son , are we? What happened to being on first-name basis? I purse my lips to hide my irritation and meet his gaze, catching the ruthless edge that made him a formidable third of Lawrence, Tucker and Hyde, soon to be Lawrence, Tucker and Villiers if I play my cards right.

And it’s beginning to dawn on me that my next move in this conversation could be crucial.

“I need you to be her personal chaperone while I’m away. I’ve already let HR know that she’ll be working on your floor. She’ll be your responsibility, Ethan. You’ll make sure that she’s well taken care of. I’ll owe you a very big one if you take care of her for me.”

As much as I relish having a big Hyde favor in my back pocket, the silent ‘or else’ grates on my last nerve.

His gaze remains steadily on mine and my stubborn streak prevents me from backing down. But as the silence ticks like a bomb between us, I weigh the ask in the grand scheme of things with what’s at stake for my future.

Three months of ensuring the senior partner’s niece doesn’t fuck up the filing system at the seventy-year-old firm in return for cementing my place as senior, named partner?

Yeah, it’s unconventional as fuck, but it also feels like a no-brainer I’m kicking off about for no reason.

Hell, it’s a job my assistant Maggie can do in her sleep. And I have every intention of passing this off to her at the first opportunity.

So I keep my gaze on Philip’s and I nod. “Sure. Okay. I’ll keep an eye on your niece. But on one condition.”

A wry smile creases his lips. “I think I can guess what that is.”

“I’m sure you can. But just to be clear, I’d like it spelled out that the day you get back you announce my new position as senior partner. And my name goes on the wall. No more fucking around, pardon my French.”

Philip laughs and holds out his hand. “You got yourself a deal, Ethan.”

I let out a slow, relieved breath as we shake on it, triumph almost choking me.

For a kid who grew up on the wrong side of the tracks in South Philly, I haven’t done badly for myself.

Philip steps off the buggy, his smile even wider with relief. I’m about to step off myself when he turns to me.

“Oh, one more thing. I’ve rented the condo beneath yours for her. I figure it’ll be easier for you to get her into work and back and still keep an eye on her when she’s not at the firm. No need to thank me.” He slaps me on the shoulder.

My jaw grits and irritation turns into serious vexation as I watch him stride away.

I’m fully aware that I have no one to blame but myself for not double-checking the small print before agreeing to land myself as a twenty-four-hour babysitter for some snotty teenager.

Fuck me.

* * *

I’m still in a shitty mood when I arrive at work on Monday.

Maggie, my PA and troubleshooter extraordinaire, eyes me as I throw her a curt nod and stride into my office. She follows at a slower pace, a mug of piping hot Java Black in her hand.

“Is this a ‘stay clear of Ethan’ day?”

I eye her and huff out a breath. “Is she here yet?”

She frowns. “Is who here?”

“Philip’s niece. The one I’m supposed to fucking babysit.”

Her eyebrows disappear into her bangs. “I’m one hundred percent sure I’ve missed at least the prologue and a few first chapters of this riveting story.”

I drag my fingers through my hair and give her highlights of what transpired at the golf course on Saturday.

She’s fighting laughter by the time I’m done, but she knows better than to give in to it. She’s the best PA I’ve ever had, but I’m still her boss, and I wield enough power to make a serious dent in her next bonus if she doesn’t stay onside.

She sets the coffee down in front of me and takes a few steps back. I reach for it and gulp down a mouthful, relishing the stinging heat. Hell, it matches the seething fury which hasn’t dissipated since Saturday.

“The normal procedure is for the interns to go through orientation this morning before their assignments are handed out. So she might be in the building, but she won’t be up here for another couple of hours.”

I slice Maggie a glance, which she rightly interprets. She starts to lift her hands in protest, but my resolute look drops them back down.

“You want me to take care of her, don’t you?” she mutters with resignation.

I wave my hand at myself. “Do I really look like the babysitting type to you?”

She huffs out a breath. “No, you don’t,” she replies, then sighs. “Is this where I ask what’s in it for me, and you tell me you’ll up my Christmas bonus by thirty percent?” she says with fake nonchalance, examining her impeccable crimson nails.

“One of the many reasons you’re invaluable to me is because you’re always in lockstep with me. Except for the thirty percent part. That’s uncharacteristically optimistic, even for you. Let’s settle at a more reasonable seven percent.”

“Ten percent.”

“Seven and a half,” I counter.

She rolls her eyes and turns away. “Deal. As long as you don’t try to pawn her off on me in the evenings too, I’ll accept those terms.”

Relief plows through me. That was easier than I thought it would be. “Great. And Maggie?”

She turns at the door, eyebrows raised.

“Do me a favor and keep her the hell away from me unless strictly necessary, please?” I say, confident that the last part won’t ever happen. I haven’t needed to be around interns since my second-year executive days.

“I don’t think that’s what Philip had in mind,” she quips.

I frown into my coffee. “Yeah, maybe he should’ve listened when I said I wasn’t the right person. If you want to earn that seven-point-five percent, make sure she’s occupied at work, and get one of the firm’s car service to make sure she gets home safe after work.”

Maggie frowns, her disapproval clear. “So you’re really not going to see her at all?”

I drain my coffee and set the mug down with a thump. “Not if I can help it.”

My phone rings, and I reach for it, more than ready to start a productive day.

I’m in a much better mood by lunchtime. I’ve closed one deal, and two more are simmering along nicely.

Maggie orders lunch from my favorite sushi place, and I’m washing it down with a soothing glass of sparkling water when I spot the group marching through the department.

I hide a grimace and reach for the remote that activates my privacy windows.

I’m confident Maggie will carry out my instructions, but I don’t want Philip’s niece to report to him that I actively ignored her. Better they all think I’m unavailable.

I wait until they herd into another partner’s office for the customary introduction to the upper echelons, then aim the remote at the door.

My finger freezes above the button.

Then the remote drops from my nerveless fingers.

My arm thuds back onto my desk. Alarming weakness invades my whole being, and I wonder if I’m being struck down by some illness.

I’m hallucinating. I must be.

No human being is that perfect.

Unless they’re thoroughly airbrushed in a glossy magazine. Or they’re a by-product of some Hollywood CGI-had-a-baby-with-an-AI crap.

The girl hurrying down the hall isn’t part of the intern group. But she’s out of place.

Hell, she’s out of this world.

She looks momentarily lost until she sees me gaping at her like a stunned freak and halts mid-step. We stare at each other with thirty feet and two panes of glass between us. I’m not sure which one of us moves first, but she unfreezes as I start to rise.

In a heartbeat, she appears in my doorway and snatches the breath from my lungs. The weakness engulfs me again, and I drop back into my chair.

Jesus Christ.

She’s the most breathtaking thing I’ve ever seen.

She has curves on top of curves, and her face would make the Madonna weep. Her skin is the smoothest cream, and her chocolate brown hair is made for a man to fist while plundering those ruby red lips, digging out her secrets as she sent them both to heaven.

Her face is completely devoid of makeup, and her long lashes flutter like the wings of a butterfly as she watches me with gorgeous deep blue eyes.

I manage to stagger back to my feet. Take one step, then another, my feet directed with a compulsion I can’t help but obey as her fingers reach for the doorframe, as if to steady herself.

Is she overwhelmed too? I sure as fuck am overwhelmed by her beauty. Her presence.

Her lips part on a shaky breath, and my cock twitches and starts to harden.

She blinks and looks around again before meeting my eyes, and in that nanosecond, I want to weep for the absence of her attention.

“Hey there… umm, I’m sorry to bother you, sir, but I’ve lost track of my group. I went to the ladies’ room and when I came back they were gone.” The hand not gripping the door darts up to tuck a strand of errant hair behind her ear.

She sounds American, but there’s the faintest hint of a European accent… French, maybe?... which makes it sexy as hell.

God, could she get any sexier?

My dick is at full mast, and my jaw is refusing to move as she stares at me.

I want to kiss her just to see how redder those lips can get.

I want to lay her on my desk, spread her wide, and fuck her just to see how many times I can make her come before I lose my mind.

I want to?—

“Sir? Do you know where they went?” she prods nervously, huskily.

I want her on her knees, looking up at me while calling me sir and begging me for all the nasty things I intend to do to her.

Her flustering intensifies, and heaven help me if that doesn’t turn me on even harder.

I take another step toward her.

Just as Maggie appears out of fuck knows where—since she wasn’t at her desk to intercept this glorious angel—and steps between us.

She eyes me with a peculiar light in her eyes before she spins to face my visitor.

“Hi, I’m Maggie. Are you one of the interns?”

The angel drags her gaze— with effort , I note excitedly—from mine. She smiles at Maggie.

With twin deep fucking dimples I want to tongue while she giggles and writhes beneath me.

“ Oui … sorry, I mean, yes,” she responds with a husky laugh.

Ah… French.

And yep, turns out she can get sexier.

My dick is harder and jetting spurts of excitement in three seconds flat, and the shock of it snatches the breath from my lungs, because when was the last time that happened?

Not for a while, for damn sure.

Yes, I can get it up when there’s a beautiful woman involved. But this kind of raging erection at the drop of a dime? Not happened since my rampant teens.

Maggie throws me another half-puzzled, half-perplexed look over her shoulder before gesturing with a motherly arm. “Come on, I’ll show you where they are.”

I barely register that I’m still moving toward the door, gravitating to this incredible creature.

Who happens to be one of the interns.

Who just let slip that she speaks French.

Who, on second thought, shares a shade of blue eyes I recall.

Oh… oh… fuck.

Didn’t Philip say his niece had been thrown into some school in Switzerland for the last decade or so?

I swallow the knot in my throat that’s come out of nowhere as I trail Maggie and the girl to my colleague’s office. I linger a few steps away, unable to tear my gaze from her.

She’s wearing a skirt suit and heels.

It would’ve been professional and decent. Except… the skirt is clinging to a very curvy, very delicious ass, and the slit at the back shows a hint of the back of her thighs with each twitch of her stride.

It makes my fingers itch to trace her creamy skin, and the heels shoot images of me holding those sexy, delicate ankles wide apart, my entire world focused on what’s between those thighs as I pump, pump, pump into her pink innocent flesh.

And I know she’s innocent.

I’m a fucking shark.

I can sense prey from a thousand miles. And this magnificent goddess is as innocent as they come.

Maggie ushers her into the room, and a dozen heads turn.

I grit my teeth as Harris, one of the four other partners on this floor, rises, his eyes darting all over her as he steps forward to shake her hand.

He says something to her, and even from the hallway, I see her blush.

Irrational jealousy and fury surge within me, and my fists bunch as I close the distance to his office.

Just in time to hear Harris say, “Welcome to the firm, Pia Hyde. I hope you enjoy your internship. My door is always open if you need anything.”

Every cell in my body goes cold. Then hot.

Maggie walks toward me, frowning again.

I ignore her as I try to grapple with what’s unraveling before me.

The most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, who made my cock stand to attention just by being on the same floor as me, is Philip Hyde’s niece.

The girl I’m supposed to watch for three whole months.

The girl I want to bend over my desk and fuck more than I want my next breath.

Fuck. Me.