Grumpy Boss

Book 4 - Chapter One Madison

I was running late, exhausted from doing an extra shift at the call center and then spending a long night trying to get a presentation ready for my new boss at my day job. Even if I was only the personal assistant to the CEO of a small stationery company in Meridian, Idaho, I wanted to impress him. I wanted him to know everything about the place, and I had no doubt that William, the former CEO, would have left most of the important things out.

The strange part was I didn’t know even know his name. Everyone thought that because I was the PA and would be spending most of my working day with him, I would know who he was. They had a point. But William wanted to keep it a surprise.

I didn’t get it.

No one did.

William said it was time for him to retire, move on from the company he’d built up from scratch, to spend time with his wife… which everyone would have believed if she hadn’t died three months ago in a tragic car accident.

He had a mistress—a young one—and his wife had nearly caught him in the act when she’d had her accident.

There were so many rumors going around about what really happened to his wife, why he was really retiring. Too many.

If I didn’t have my own issues to worry about, I would have gone to the bar after work to talk about all the day’s gossip. I couldn’t afford to lead a life like that, because I didn’t just have one job—I had two—and I was also a single mom. Half the time I walked around like a zombie because I was so tired.

“He’s here,” Rachel blurted out as I walked into the office. “He’s so hot. I can’t wait to get a taste of him.”

There wasn’t one man in this department or any other she hadn’t slept with.

No man can function in this office until they’ve had a taste of me!

Her words, not ours.

Before I could even ask her or even anyone else his name, his door opened.

I did a natural fall to the ground as my heart stopped beating. My mouth was wide open, and my eyes nearly popped out of my head. Was I seeing things? Would blacking out on the floor make my new reality go away?

“Mina,” I heard repeated over and over again.

Only one man called me by that name. Hunter James. The guy who broke my heart.

My new boss.

This day couldn’t get any worse. I had to stick with this job—it was the only one in town that allowed me to leave at four, and while the pay wasn’t great, it wasn’t bad, either. It allowed me to get some rest before starting my other part-time job at night.

Then again, it had been a while since I’d looked for another job. Maybe things had changed. Anything had to be better than working hand in hand with my ex, right?

All the reasons why I should resign on the spot were flooding through my head, but then the same green eyes that used to make me weak at the knees were staring back at me, and he called me by my pet name. One that made me feel special, back in high school… but that was over ten years ago. A little while to some, but here it was a lifetime.

I didn’t care if age had made him even more refined like a fine wine.

He still looked like Channing Tatum, and I hated him even more for keeping his looks. I’d put on a few pounds, and I wasn’t the girl he met back in high school. He couldn’t still call me “Mina” and then swarm into my life.

He could forget it. I’d fallen for his charm once. As he extended his hands to help me stand up, my hand, of its own accord, snuck up and traced his biceps. I immediately chastised myself.

Madison Young, you need to resist him. He’s the one who broke your heart, and he’s your new boss.

Two reasons not to fall for him again.

I forgot I’d been talking to Rachel before he’d opened the door.

“Do you guys know each other?” she asked as Hunter pulled me in closer.

“No,” I blurted as I pushed him away.

His lips curled as he said, “Yes.”

I was in big trouble.

But I’d gone through childbirth. I was a tough chick now. I had to resist. I had Alex to think about, not Hunter James.

I’d been in love with him once, but that was the past. Over and done with. I wasn’t about to make the same mistake twice… no matter how hot he looked in his light-grey suit and pink tie. No matter how much his hot, musky scent had me getting wet.

Nope.