More Than My Boss

The Celebration

CHAPTER 1: The Celebration

Tonight was supposed to be a celebration.

We’d just landed one of the biggest portfolios the firm had ever seen—something we’d been chasing for months. After five years with the company, I should’ve been used to high-pressure wins like this.

But tonight felt different.

Maybe it was the promotion.

Executive assistant to the CEO.

Ethan Blake.

Or maybe it was the way my life had quietly, dangerously started to revolve around him.

Which would’ve been complicated enough—if he weren’t dating my best friend.

Katie.

My coworker. Vice President of Sales. The woman currently curled into his side like she belonged there.

Like she had every right to be.

I didn’t need the reminder.

And yet, I couldn’t stop looking.

“I’m telling you, the client was this close to walking,” Katie said, laughing as she reenacted part of the meeting. Her hand rested easily on Ethan’s arm, her body angled toward his like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Maybe it was.

For her.

Ethan watched her with quiet focus, a small smile playing at the corner of his mouth—like whatever she was saying mattered more than anything else in the room.

My chest tightened.

I looked away, staring down into my glass like it suddenly required my full attention.

“Abby? Hello? Anyone home?”

I blinked, startled. “Hmm? What?”

Katie laughed. “Wow. You really checked out on us.”

Before I could respond, Ethan spoke.

“Abby’s the reason we didn’t lose the entire portfolio,” he said easily. “She’s the one who kept everything from falling apart.”

Heat rushed to my face as every eye at the table shifted toward me.

I forced a small smile, glancing up just long enough to meet his gaze before dropping mine again. “I just did my job.”

“That’s not all you did,” he said.

Something in his tone made my stomach flip.

I ignored it.

I had to.

People started standing, drifting toward the bar as the conversation shifted. Chairs scraped softly against the floor, laughter carrying through the low hum of the restaurant.

Katie slipped off her stool and immediately tucked herself against Ethan’s side, her arm looping through his like it belonged there.

Like she belonged there.

“See?” she said, glancing back at me with a grin. “I told you she’s indispensable.”

Ethan’s gaze flicked to mine—just for a second.

But it lingered.

“Absolutely,” he said quietly. “We’d be lost without her.”

I let out a light laugh, shrugging. “I just keep things organized.”

It wasn’t a lie.

It just wasn’t the truth either.

Because I did more than organize his life.

I anticipated it.

Smoothed it out.

Held it together in ways no one noticed.

Including him.

Especially him.

Or at least… that’s what I told myself.

I stayed back while the rest of the group moved toward the bar, grateful for the space.

For the distance.

For the chance to breathe without watching them together.

It didn’t last long.

“Long day?”

I turned too quickly, startled.

Ethan stood beside me, holding out a drink. I hadn’t even seen him walk over.

Thank you,” I said, taking it. Our fingers brushed briefly.

It shouldn’t have mattered.

It did.

“Are you okay?” he asked, his voice lower now. Softer.

I nodded too fast. “Just tired.”

He didn’t look convinced.

“You push yourself too hard,” he said.

If only you knew.

I lifted the glass slightly. “Someone has to keep you both out of trouble.”

His smile came slower this time. Less casual.

“I’m glad it’s you.”

The words settled somewhere deeper than they should have.

Before I could stop myself, I looked up.

And just like that—everything else in the room faded.

It wasn’t dramatic.

It wasn’t obvious.

But it was there.

That pull.

That quiet, dangerous shift that said this wasn’t as simple as I needed it to be.

My breath caught.

His eyes flicked to my lips—just for a second.

Then—

“Ethan!”

Katie’s voice cut clean across the room.

The moment snapped.

Gone.

He stepped back immediately, turning toward her like nothing had happened.

Like there hadn’t been anything to begin with.

I stood there, frozen, my fingers tightening slightly around the glass.

Because moments like that?

They were the problem.

They were the kind of thing that made you believe something might be there when it shouldn’t be.

The kind of thing that made you hope.

And hope…

I swallowed hard, forcing my expression back into something neutral as I watched him walk back to her.

Hope was dangerous.

Because if I wasn’t careful, I might start believing he felt it too.