Beauty And The Boss (Happy Endings Book 4) Read online

  “We’ll be working closely together, Miss Morris. It’s good that you familiar with me, don’t you think?”

  I start to respond, but it feels like I can’t get air.

  “I—”

  “Are you okay, Miss Morris?” he asks, when I just stand there, frozen, unable to speak.

  Luckily, the phone buzzes, saving me from complete embarrassment.

  Well, not really, because I make a bigger fool of myself.

  I look at the office phone, then back at Mr. Stone. The phone rings again. Our eyes stay locked. He doesn’t make a move to answer it. It rings again.

  “Uh…”

  “The phone has automatically been forwarded into here because I didn’t have an assistant,” he says.

  “That’s nice,” I respond.

  “Usually my secretary answers the phone and then transfers it to me if I’m available,” he explains.

  “That’s nice,” I respond again, making a complete fool of myself.

  Then, Stone Greer does something that I never expected. He smiles. I’ve never seen him smile. My co-workers all said he couldn’t that his face was as immovable from that disapproving look he always carries as his name implies. Yet, clearly it is, because I watch as he laughs quietly under his breath. His lips stretch into a relaxed stance that’s definitely a smile. It softens his eyes and causes these crinkles to show up in the corners.

  “You’re my secretary now, Jessa,” he reminds me.

  “Yeah,” I exhale, loving the sound of my name on his lips. I’ve never really liked my name. Not until this minute, that is.

  “Yeah,” he says as the phone rings, his smile broadening.

  I wish I could say I realize then why he’s laughing. Sadly, I cannot. I have to make a bigger idiot of myself first.

  “You have a really nice smile,” I tell him and that makes Stone Greer throw his head back in laughter—as the phone rings again. “And laugh,” I add, because he does, even as I’m trying to figure out what he finds so funny.

  “Are you going to get the phone, Jessa?”

  He used my first name again. It sounds really nice.

  And then it hits me. Why he’s laughing. What he’s asking. And definitely what and idiot I’m being.

  “Oh God,” I groan, reaching for the phone.

  “Mr. Greer’s office, can I help you?” I ask, in what I hope is my best professional voice. The caller drones in my ear, and I know I should pay attention, but instead, I’m watching my new boss smiling at me.

  4

  Stone

  Two Days Later

  Jessa’s adorable and sexy. How one woman can embody both of those qualities I don’t know. Until Jessa, I would have told you it wasn’t possible. It’s clear that she is unlike any woman I’ve ever met. But then, I knew that years ago.

  I asked her to keep my door open so I could watch her. It brings me peace to see her moving around her desk or typing on the computer. Frank told me she was extremely organized and a hard worker. I’m pretty sure that after just two days of watching her, he was understating those traits. There’s only one problem.

  Her workstation is in the next room and not in my office. I want her here with me. I want to be able to touch her, to see that smile she gets when she drifts off into her own thoughts.

  And her eyes.

  Jessa has the most expressive eyes I’ve ever seen on a woman. They’re as blue as the sky and she laughs I think they twinkle. She’s guarded around me, and that bothers me. I need to come up with a plan to soften her. I need to tread carefully, however. I’m her boss. I need to make sure the interest is entirely mutual before I continue. I don’t want her to feel pressured. I want her to see me as a man—her man, not her boss.

  Well, that’s not entirely true. I want her to know I’m definitely her boss in the bedroom—or anywhere else I decide to take her.

  Just the thought of that makes me feel completely alive for the first time in my life.

  This isn’t working though. I need to get Jessa alone. I need to get her away from everyone. I need to be alone with her…

  An idea blossoms and I grin as a plan starts forming. It’s time to make sure Jessa begins to see me in a different light.

  I hit the intercom button, anticipation taking over.

  5

  Jessa

  “Wow,” I gasp, taking in the beauty around me, unable to really process it all.

  “You like it?” Mr. Greer asks.

  “I’m not sure like is the right word. It’s breathtaking,” I respond, awe in my voice.

  I watch the waves lap against the shore, hear the sea gulls, and take the salt air into my lungs. The ocean is unending, going on forever.

  We’re at Stone’s house, that is right on the shore of the beach. I’m not sure I could call what we’re standing on a deck. It’s all uncovered and open, but it’s more like a stone landing that is connected to the house and has a pool, a hot tub and…the ocean.

  I’ve heard people live like this, but I’ve never actually known anyone that does. There are these decadent loungers and chairs with thick cushioning that are so luxurious, I’m pretty sure I could sleep out here all night and be happy. Heck, I could live out here. This part is bigger than my own apartment! The house is all glass behind us. The glass doors are over twenty feet long and slide back silently with just a push of a button on a remote. The doors lead to a huge living area that has a large white leather sectional, facing them—and therefore the ocean. The room has a soft blue paint and gray tile covering a fireplace and accent wall. There is one wall that contains nothing but shelves and books. If I had to design a room, it would look just like this. The ceilings are high and coffered and to prove the room is big, there are two ceiling fans that are sleek and modern above us. I don’t see a television, but I’m not sure you would need one.

  “You act as if you’ve never seen the ocean, Jessa,” Mr. Greer says, and I turn to look at him.

  It’s then that I realize he’s standing so close to me. I scoot sideways, creating a larger space between us. I didn’t realize I had moved so close to him.

  “I haven’t,” I admit, turning my gaze back to the ocean.

  “Not once?” he queries.

  “Nope.”

  “Surely you’ve taken family vacations, Jessa.”

  A slight chill moves over me when Stone says my name. I’ve never liked my name, but hearing it spoken in his voice it sounds beautiful. I rub my hands over my upper arms, wondering what is going on with me.

  “Not really. When my parents were alive we didn’t really have extra money for vacations. Mom was struggling with a disease that affected her vision and balance, along with other things. We may have vacationed when I was younger, but I can’t remember.”

  I hear Stone hiss under his breath, but I don’t turn to look at him. I think I’m too afraid to.

  “What about your grandmother? Didn’t she take you on trips?”

  “My grandmother?” I ask, jerking my gaze to him, then, because I’m too surprised not to.

  “My grandmother?”

  “You lived with her right?”

  “How did you know that?”

  I watch as his brow creases, but he smiles and gives a little shrug. “It must have been in your personal file.”

  “Oh,” I frown.

  I didn’t realize it would be. I don’t remember answering any questions in an interview or filling it out in my employee paperwork or application. They do credit checks and things like that here, though. I had to sign the waivers. So, maybe it turns up through addresses and things like that. It’s not like it matters. It’s not something I’ve hidden. It just surprised me.

  “Didn’t you go on trips with her?”

  “To visit her sister or brother occasionally, yeah. But they live in Kansas and Colorado,” I tell him, with a timid grin. “There’s not a beach around,” I add unnecessarily.

  “We’ll have to make sure to do some sightseeing while we’re here,
” he says, surprising me.

  “You don’t have to worry about me, Mr. Greer. You concentrate on your work. I can always venture out when we’re done.”

  “Absolutely not,” he nearly growls, throwing me for a loop.

  “I’m sorry?”

  “You won’t be out on your own. It’s too dangerous.”

  “I…I’ve been on my own for several years now, Mr. Greer. I know how to take care of myself.”

  “Maybe you do, but you aren’t alone now, Jessa. You have me.”

  We stare at each other, my breath frozen in my chest. He probably doesn’t mean that the way it sounded to my ears. But for just one minute….

  I pretend he did.

  6

  Jessa

  “This will be your room, Jessa.”

  I look around the room once Stone opens the door. I can’t breathe. That seems to be a reaction I have often around Stone. I don’t know when he became Stone instead of Mr. Greer in my mind, but he has. Maybe it’s because he’s been so nice to me. He’s turning out to be unlike any of the rumors at work. I haven’t seen his anger at all. He’s intense, but he’s been very nice to me.

  I look at the room and can’t believe how beautiful it is. I expected nice—after all I had seen parts of the house already. Still, I’m completely and utterly wowed. It looks like a bedroom that a princess would have. The bed is a huge with plush lavender fabrics and darker throw pillows in the same hue. The walls are a pale gray, but it’s the golden accents that make it feel royal, as if on the cover of a magazine.

  “St—Mr. Greer, this is too nice. I…I wasn’t expecting this.”

  “You started to call me Stone,” he points out, having caught my slip.

  “I—I’m sorry.”

  “I’m not. I want you to call me by my name, Jessa. It would make me very happy.”

  “It’s not very professional,” I reply, slowly bringing my gaze from the room back to him.

  My breath comes in rough pants, because it feels like my heart is beating away with me as he turns and then puts a hand on either side of me so that I’m facing him.

  “I don’t want to be professional with you, Jessa,” he purrs, his voice husky and full of feeling.

  “You…You don’t?”

  “Not at all. Do you know what I do want, Jessa?”

  I wrack my brain to come up with an answer and grasp the first one I can think of.

  “To be my friend?” It’s hard to find the air to answer and even when I do, it’s so quiet that I can’t be sure that he can hear me.

  “No, not that, Jessa. I want so much more than that.” I wait, expecting him to say more, but he doesn’t. “Get unpacked and relax a little, Jessa. I’ll meet you by the pool around one for lunch and then we can tackle some letters I need you to get out for me.”

  I nod, unable to speak. Then, Stone continues to surprise me. He reaches out and tucks a stray strand of my hair behind my ear. I moisten my lips anxious to see what he does next. He just walks away however, leaving me even more confused.

  Did I dream the tension between us?

  Did I imagine everything that Stone Greer just said?

  7

  Stone

  Did I say too much, too soon?

  That question is one that has replayed in my mind since I left Jessa standing at the door to the guest room. The problem is I’ve waited so long to make my move that now I don’t want to let another moment pass me by. Still, I don’t want to scare Jessa away either. I stand, looking at the ocean waiting for her to join me and I find myself questioning everything. This is not who I am. I usually just take what I want. I suppose it’s different when what you want is a woman. I need to be gentle with her, but I’ve never had much gentleness in me. I’m not sure it’s a trait I can learn this late in the game—even for Jessa.

  “Am I late?” Jessa asks. Her voice is still timid and when I turn to look at her, I can tell she’s blushing.

  She’s wearing a beautiful white sundress with thin straps. It flutters in the wind. Her long sandy blonde hair is pulled back and gathered high on her head in a ponytail, making her look like an innocent angel.

  Even with her hair pulled up like that the tip still falls low on her back. I itch to wrap my hands in it, twist it around so that she’s at my mercy, holding her still while I do whatever I want to her. Jessa most likely has no idea what filthy things I want to do to her. She dated in high school and I fucked up and let that moron in the office get close to her, that’s true. But you don’t have to be a virgin to be innocent to the dark desires I have for her.

  “Right on time, sweetheart. Are you hungry?”

  “I am, I shouldn’t be though.”

  “We haven’t had anything since a quick breakfast on the way down here. Why shouldn’t we be hungry?”

  “I normally skip lunch. I’m trying to lose weight.”

  “What in the hell or?” My voice is laced with anger and it comes out more like a snarl. I see Jessa flinch and I try to reign in my anger. Her answer was so jarring to me, that it’s not easy.

  “I’ve been on a permanent diet since I was about sixteen,” she says, her eyes downcast. She lifts her hands up, giving her shoulder a helpless shrug. “It doesn’t help much, but I try. My grandmother tells me I was blessed with baby-making hips.”

  Christ. My hand literally trembles with her words. Jessa has to be completely innocent or she wouldn’t say that to me. It’s like waving a red flag at a damn bull. I want to charge her, throw her over the table, pull her dress up, grab her hips and plant that baby inside of her. My baby.

  All of this is completely foreign to me. I’m too old for Jessa. I shouldn’t desire her, need her like I do. I was best friends with her father and Jessa is young enough to be my daughter. Yet, that’s not how I think about her. It never has been. It never will be.

  “I happen to love your hips, Jessa.” Her eyes dilate with my words, as I walk to her. She looks at me like a frightened doe in a spotlight.

  “You do?”

  “I think you have a spectacular body, sweetheart.”

  “Mr. Greer.”

  “Stone. Remember? You must always call me Stone.”

  “But—”

  “Are you attracted to me, Jessa?”

  “I…What?”

  “Are you physically attracted to me?”

  I watch as she bites down on her bottom lip. She has no idea how sexy I find that. There’s no way she could.

  “Mr. Greer—”

  “Jessa.” I say her name as a warning, while reaching out to touch her hair.

  “I…Stone. I’m not sure we should have this conversation.”

  “Why is that?”

  “Because you’re my boss.”

  “That’s why you don’t want to talk with me about this?”

  “It’s not right,” she says.

  I frown, pursing my lips as I look at her, thinking about what she said.

  “Fine then, you’re fired.”

  She gasps, her mouth dropping open in shock.

  “Fired?”

  “If that’s what is holding you back, then yes. You’re fired.”

  “But, I need my job, Mr. Greer.”

  “You’ll still be employed, Jessa. Your employment doesn’t hinge on if we pursue a relationship,” I assure her.

  “But you just fired me,” she says, sounding annoyed as hell. I grin, because I’m starting to get past Jessa’s shyness and see the woman beneath.

  “Only as my personal secretary, not from the company. You were up for a promotion in accounting. You can take that position instead.”

  “I was?” she gasps. “I can?”

  “Of course. You’re a valuable asset to the company Jessa—to me.”

  “You’re confusing me, Stone.”

  “It’s quite simple. I want you Jessa and I mean that in the very biblical sense.”

  “Oh,” she whispers, the word little more than a puff of breath from her sweet, full lips.
/>
  “But, if you’re not attracted to me then it will end here. We will part ways and come Monday morning, you can report to accounting.”

  “I…You want me to decide now?”

  “Do you need more time?”

  “I…Yes. Yes, I think I do.”

  “Fine. Then, we will spend the next two weeks getting to know each other.”

  “But what about work?”

  “There will be some to do,” I allow. “But for the most part, these two weeks will be about the two of us, Jessa.”

  She studies my face and I fully expect her to tell me no. To turn around, walk back to the house and pack. I’m all over the place with her. I was just cautioning myself that I needed to proceed slowly and then…I go at her full force. I’m about to apologize and figure my own damn head out where Jessa is concerned. She couldn’t appreciate what a huge loop she has thrown me into. I’m never unsure of how to deal with people—especially women. Then, again, I’ve never wanted a relationship before. With Jessa, I want everything.

  Just as I start to back down and tell her that I didn’t mean to scare her, Jessa surprises me.

  “Then, let’s go eat,” she says, reaching out her hand. I take it, our fingers intertwining.

  “I had the staff fix us lunch on the beach,” I tell her, loving the feel of her hand in mine. “I hope that’s okay.”

  “It’s perfect,” she says, and I turn to look at her, smiling.

  “You’re the one that is perfect, sweetheart,” I murmur, kissing her forehead, and breathing in her scent that reminds me of wildflowers, after the rain, the scent carried in the Texas rain.

  Everything about her, is made for me.

  I just need to convince her.

  8

  Jessa

  A blanket in the sand, a picnic while the waves crash on the shore and Stone Greer stretched out beside me, while we watch the water. It’s surreal. I feel like I might be Alice in Wonderland and have fallen through the rabbit hole. If you would have told me a week ago—heck, even one day ago—that I would be with Stone like this, I would have asked you how much you had to drink.