Page 73 of My Sexy Boss
“Don’t let my mom bother you. She’s very protective of me. Ever since my dad died, Ryan and I were her world. Then when Ryan went missing, all her attention was focused on me. She thinks every woman is after my money. When she sees we’re in it for the long haul and that we are really in love, she’ll embrace you.”
“I hope so. Did your grandfather chew your ass out good about our relationship?”
He laughed. “He’s a feisty one. He was so fucking mad, but I didn’t back down once. I don’t want you to think he was angry with you. He laid the whole thing on me. Grandpa really likes you a lot, but he was incensed that I’d ignored the policy he’d put in place.”
“What did you tell him?”
He kissed my temple. “That I didn’t expect to fall in love, especially with someone at Velocity, but it happened and there was no way I was sorry about it.” Love curled up and around me and I nestled closer to him. “We went round and round about it, and I finally told him it was a done deal. There was no way I was ever going to leave you alone. I reminded him how he felt about my grandmother when he was my age.”
“Did that piss him off more?”
“No. I think it struck a note with him. He then told me we have to come clean at work and not let rumors circulate about us. I’m pretty sure there’s some going around even though we’ve been careful to stay apart at work.”
Thinking about the intimate encounters we’d had at the office the previous week, I nodded. “I’m positive there’re rumors about us, but I don’t care.” And I didn’t really. In the beginning, we tried to be as professional as we could and not let our passion for each other get in the way of either of us actually getting our jobs done. Mostly, that involved avoiding the heck out of each other, but we failed miserably. It just seemed like every time we were in the same room together we couldn’t keep a lid on our passion. I was pretty sure at least a few of my colleagues in the advertising department had figured out something was happening between us as I continually found excuses to head upstairs and “drop stuff off” in his office for half an hour at a time, but they kept their mouths shut and no one dared challenge Trace on the nature of our relationship. I hadn’t breathed a word to anyone except Sofie, and she’d die before she’d say anything.
“Well, I’ve decided to quash all that. We’re not going to hide in the dark anymore. I’m also going to get rid of the no fraternization policy. It doesn’t make sense to keep people apart if they feel something for each other.”
“And Mr. Linder is good with that?”
“Not exactly, but he needs to learn to trust me. I’m at the helm now, and some of the policies and practices will be changed. He just needs to let go of the reins a bit more, but he is getting there.”
I rested my head against his chest and wrapped my arm around him. I never thought I’d ever fall so deeply and completely in love with any man. I’d begun to reconcile myself to the fact that I may never find the right man to complement me in a loving and healthy relationship. We’d come a long way from that night at Beta when I viewed him as nothing but an arrogant, selfish, asshole. How wrong I was.
Trace came into my life and swept me up in a whirlwind and I was hooked. I didn’t just love Trace, I was in love with him, and that was something I’d never experienced before. I felt more at home with him than I’d ever felt in my entire life. And when I was feeling the blues or was cranky beyond reason, Trace still loved me completely, no matter what. We never grew tired of each other’s company; we just loved being together. And even if we didn’t fill the silence, we were content just being together. After all this time, I’d found a man who loved me for who I was.
Trace caressed my back and I scooted down and lay my head on his lap. He meant the world to me, and as he stroked my hair, my eyelids grew heavy and sleep began to overtake me. I snuggled deeper into his lap, loving the way he made me feel so warm and cozy. And in that moment, I just knew we’d always be together. He was my soulmate. I used to think it was corny when I’d hear people say that, but now, I knew exactly what they meant. Trace and I were connected through love, desire, friendship, and respect.
With him on my mind and in my heart, I slipped off to sleep.
