Free Senior Advisor to the Boss: Billionaire Obsession Dark Romance (Managing the Bosses Series Book 9) by Lexy Timms

thoughtful.
    Mark waited for her answer to his question.
    “As far as finding out her ring size, your best bet is probably taking it off a ring that she already wears. You could also try getting Jamie or someone to chat with her about rings, but that might be kind of obvious, and sometimes those conversations don’t go exactly as planned.”
    “I’ve never seen her wearing a ring.” Mark sighed. Then he paused. “You could talk to her about it.”
    “Me?” Christine’s eyes widened. “In case you hadn’t missed it, I’m not exactly the greatest conversationalist.”
    “What do you mean? You’re a great conversationalist. I’ve heard you on the phone.”
    “That’s different.” Christine looked down at the bar. “I just don’t have a lot of experience talking to people without upsetting them. At least not in a non-professional setting.” Her eyes lifted to his face. “When I’m working here it’s like a script. I feel like someone else. So it’s easier. As myself I’m not always sure what to say, because the things I would have said before aren’t things I can say now.”
    It was Mark’s turn to reach out and take Christine’s hand. “I didn’t know you before, so I don’t really know what you were like. But I know you now, and the you I know is a good person.”
    The smile she gave him was a little unsteady, her eyes a little wet. “That really means a lot to hear someone say.” Her voice caught. “Thank you, Mark.”
    He smiled back at her. “What are brothers-in-law for?”

Chapter 9
     
    With Emelie on leave, Jamie ended up carrying a heavier workload than she’d been used to since she started back at Reid Enterprises, and it was wearing on her more than she would have expected.
    Back before the twins were born it hadn’t seemed like so much, she was sure. Or maybe it had and she’d just forgotten. She did remember her early days on the job and how hectic they’d felt, the day that she’d fainted in Alex’s office. At least this time it was only work she had to deal with and not her family trying to drag her into every bit of drama they could manage to stir up. That was one positive. The other was that, unless she was the embezzler, Emelie would be back soon and Jamie would be able to go back to three days a week at work and four off. Back to having enough time with her children.
    Children who were currently, thankfully, asleep. As much as Jamie missed them during the day, she was tired enough to be grateful that they had an early bedtime. It meant that she could enjoy a little time curled up next to Alex on the couch, only half watching the television.
    “Do you have the information from Emelie’s laptop yet?” she asked as the show transitioned into a commercial.
    Alex shook his head. “We’ve got the check on her cell phone back, and there’s nothing, but the laptop will be one more day.”
    “So do you think she did it?” Jamie shifted back a little so that she could look up at Alex, his perfect features sending a thrill of heat through her the way they always did. The way she hoped they always would. “If they didn’t find anything on her phone?”
    “I think that it’s less possible than it was before I knew that, but I’m not ruling it out completely until we know if there’s anything in the laptop. And even then… There’s a chance she could be outwitting us and the techs.”
    “Maybe I’m biased, since I kind of like her,” Jamie said, “but I don’t think Emelie did it.”
    “What makes you believe it isn’t her?”
    “She just doesn’t seem like the type.”
    Alex laughed. “I don’t think that really counts as evidence, baby.”
    “Well, no,” Jamie agreed. “But when the evidence comes back you’re going to find out that I’m right anyway.”
    “Is that so?”
    The mood was shifting, and Jamie smiled to match it, not wanting it to go back to the kind of depressing subject of whether or not Emelie was stealing from them. Neither of them