Page 23 of My Forbidden Boss
I smiled, pleasantly caught off guard by the casual candor.
Her eyes instantly flashed my way as her cheeks again burned red. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. I…”
My grin widened, and I relaxed again, feeling my position in the room returning to normal. “It’s okay! Hey, listen. Alice is a titan in this business, nobody knows her stuff like she does, but she is also a class act. Oh, I’m sure that she was more than a little peeved having someone as young and pretty as you barge in and give her a nice kick in the ass. Still, I can bet you that she probably let it all go as soon as whatever you said started to make sense.”
She was looking at the table, clearly regretting her statement, but looked up with me suspiciously when I mentioned her attractiveness. I didn’t miss a beat, staring back confidently as I felt my chest swell and flex.
I started to ramble on, letting my confidence and charisma take over as I trusted in charm and bragged about the company. I talked myself up, shining and polishing the story of a lone entrepreneur who made it on his own by sheer strength and willpower. I took less stock of the girl’s expression as I relied on memory to tell me which lines had worked in the past, impressing one good-looking girl or another.
If you had asked me at the time, I wouldn’t have cared if it worked one way or the other. She was clearly a valuable addition to the corporate team and, as a blonde beauty who had already succeeded once in taking my breath away… new to town, new to me… I was happy to make a pass and find out just how eager she was to make it more than just all business between her and me.
Tisha
He was good looking. There was no doubt about it. But, god, he was an asshole.
“You see, it’s all about recognizing talent and commitment. It’s a skill that I have perfected over the years… one of the many reasons why the company and all who work for it have been allowed to be so successful.”
I sat there listening, trying not to squirm and grimace as he just kept going on and on. He was impressive, professionally as well as physically. Still, it made my teeth grind the way he acted, all smooth and suave. Clenching my hands together in my lap beneath the desk, I had to squint and blink again and again as I fought the urge to roll my eyes.
“And it’s always been me, all on my own. I’ve been alone for so long, relying on myself to get the job done. From a young age, I had the courage to put all that weight on my own shoulders. That’s one of the reasons why I work out so much. The balance between body and mind is a powerful thing. Weight-lifting keeps me strong… it keeps me sane, really. I don’t know what I would do without it. But it keeps my brain going, too. I didn’t need a degree to be successful, but I haven’t let that stop me from expanding my mind, as well as my muscles. A couple of years ago, I got bored with the same old music while I worked out, so I started listening to audio recordings, lectures, and speeches, even whole textbooks: philosophy, history, economics, world politics, and trade. I don’t get to do much cardio anymore, but I’ll tell you, a man in my position has a responsibility to bulk up in as many ways as he can. It is survival of the fittest, after all.”
I smirked, barely containing a smile broader than any he had seen so far. He beamed in response, showing off his handsome stubbled jaw and perfect white teeth. I didn’t hate to look at him, by any means, but his overwhelming confidence in the face of scientifically sticking his foot in his mouth… all while touting his own splendor and genius. It was too much for me to contain my laughter.
He froze, his eyes sobering above his cocky grin as I could see his mind churning, trying to figure out what humorous words he had spouted that could have unlocked such a response.
“What… What did I say?”
My eyes gleamed. “Oh, no, it was nothing. Please, go on. You were telling me about your brilliance and… erm… bulkiness, I think? Oh yes, and using Darwin to describe… your company, I presume? Although I’m hoping that you could expound on that point a bit more, assuming, of course, that it won’t strain your great strength or overburden the weight on your shoulders.”
His eyes shifted as his mind searched for the answer, trying to correlate my words with the apparent warmth and congeniality in my tone and expression. “Uh… Sure, of course… um… What exactly is it that you want to hear more about?”
I fought back more laughter as I grinned. “You were talking about your brain and your body… bulking up… then you brought up the survival of the fittest. I wondered how you connected descent with modification, genetics, hereditary traits and advantages, reproduction… It’s obvious how important and impressive you are, sir, but I hope that it isn’t too much trouble for you to explain how all of that connects to you or your business. I want to understand, but it’s just so, so hard. I guess that’s why you’re the big boss, and I’m just a lowly worker girl.”
I poured honey all over my inflection as I spoke, dropping my smile into a simple frown of someone empty-headed and in desperate need of pity.
His brow furrowed to the point of poignant concentration as his pupils dilated and shifted back and forth, searching for some kind of comprehension. When the silence between us became too pronounced to run from any longer, he spoke slowly and carefully.
“I would be… very willing, and… uh… I would be happy to help you understand, but I… uh… To be honest, you’ve lost me, and I’m… not really sure… how best to explain.”
My eyes lit up. “Oh, okay… Let me see if I can make it a little clearer for you, then. You were talking about working out both your mind and your body. You were saying how bulking up in more ways than one was essential for anyone… I guess… capable of reaching whatever pinnacle you consider yourself to have reached via your success. Are you with me so far?”
He nodded but kept squinting, obviously unsure of what he was precisely agreeing to.
I happily recognized his affirmation and continued.
“You basically said that ‘bulking up’ or fitness was why you and your company were successful. You said that your physical and mental fitness was why you’ve survived so well, correct?”
He nodded once more. “Yeah. I mean… not just that, but yeah. Being a smart businessman has everything to do with the business's survival, and, as I said, one of the things that makes me so successful is that my physical strength is great enough… it only adds to that. As I said, I’m thinking and learning while I work out, doing reps with my mind as I’m pumping my arms, legs, or chest. The brain’s just another muscle, you know.”
My cheeks were starting to hurt from grinning so fiercely. “Yes, but Mr. Fleming… That isn’t what that means.”
He looked absolutely dumbfounded. “Which part? And please, call me Hollis.”
“Survival of the fittest.”
“What do you mean, it has nothing to do with that? Of course, it does, it…”
As much as I was looking forward to taking his ego down a notch or two, I didn’t have any intention of really hurting my new boss’s feelings or making him feel embarrassed. Knowing that the longer it went on, the dumber he would feel, I cut him off and started to explain.