Free The Boss's Orders: Alpha Male Billionaire Office Romance by Cat Carmine Page B

going.
    “You can afford to be a little late, right?”
    She considers this. “I think that would be acceptable.”
    I grin and then we’re at each other again, writhing and trembling like rabid animals.
    Eventually, after I’ve made her come twice, Claire drags herself out of my bed.
    “I really have to go.” She smiles coyly at me. “So much for making me beg, huh?”
    “What’s that?”
    “You told me that you were going to make me beg for it, when you finally fucked me. I’m not sure I was the one who did the begging last night.”
    Her tone is only flirtatious, but her words cut through to me.
    She’s right. I lost control last night. A mistake I shouldn’t have allowed to happen. It’s exactly that kind of weakness that leaves you vulnerable.
    “There’s always next time, right?” I try to keep my tone casual, so she won’t know how I’m starting to seethe.
    “I hope so,” she says softly.
    I kiss her on the lips and see her out the door. After I close the door I bite down on my tongue, hard, hoping the pain will distract me from how pissed I am with myself.
    I check my phone and am relieved to see James has texted me back and is indeed up for some racquetball.
    Good. I could really go for smashing some balls right about now.

    * * *
    S tupid .
    Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
    That’s all I can think while we’re on the court. Every time the ball connects against the wall, the word echoes in my head.
    Stupid.
    I knew I shouldn’t have taken her to dinner. Whatever this thing is between Claire and I, it should start and stop at the office. Whatever we have, it should start and stop at fucking, pure and simple.
    James is leaning over trying to catch his breath. “Geez, Godrich, what’s got into you? Business deal gone bad?”
    “Something like that.”
    Last night, at the restaurant, we talked. We cuddled a little. We did normal couple stuff, date stuff.
    And what’s worse, I liked it.
    Fuck me, I liked it.
    I liked being with her. I liked talking to her. I liked that I could smell her hair when I was sitting next to her in the booth. When is the last time I sat next to someone at a restaurant like that? Probably not since I was a teenager and took a girl to the Shake Shack.
    I also should have never brought her back to my place. I never fuck girls there. That’s been my rule for I don’t even know how long. That’s why I do all my fucking at work. At work, I’m powerful. I’m a billionaire. I’m a bastard.
    I’m the boss.
    And that’s how I like it. Nobody gets any funny ideas.
    Letting Claire into my home — into my bed — was a mistake. First thing Monday morning I would have to set her straight. Because I knew what happened once girls got it in their head that you liked them. One day they catch you fucking someone else or you don’t want to spend as much time together as they do, they suddenly get pissed.
    Which reminds me…
    “Lila’s cheque finally cleared,” I say, in between serves.
    “She cashed it?”
    “They always do.”
    James sighs. “You know, Will, one of these days you’re going to come up against someone who doesn’t just want your money. You’re going to come up someone who actually wants to hurt you. What are you going to do when the non-disclosure agreement isn’t enough, and they run to the press?”
    I slam the ball hard against the wall to show him exactly what I think of that.
    “My relationships are none of your business.”
    James swings back at the ball and misses. As he runs to retrieve it, he continues with his schpiel.
    “I’m telling you this not just as your lawyer, but as your friend, Will. This whole company you worked so hard to build? Every time you get mixed up in one of these ‘relationships’, as you call them, you’re leaving yourself vulnerable. Lawsuits, scandals. You might not think it’s such a big deal, but some of your investors — especially the ones in other countries — are not going to be forgiving when they find out