Dirty Boss: An Office Romance (Dirty Series Book 3), V.T. Do [pride and prejudice read .TXT] 📗

we are the most sought after by the top one-percenters in the world to work on projects.”

I leaned back against my chair, not sure what she wanted me to say to that. I resisted the urge to fiddle with the hem of my shirt, a nervous habit.

“Don’t let that charming smile fool you. On top of being a highly respectable businessman, he is also a known player. If you let him get close, you’ll find yourself out of a job, and a broken heart to boot,” she sneered, and I didn’t think she was telling me this because she was genuinely concerned about my well-being. No, this felt catty…

I wondered if she and Dereck had ever slept together. That was a depressing thought. Even so, she wasn’t telling me anything I hadn’t thought of myself, yet to hear it out loud from an outsider’s voice put all of it into a chilling perspective for me. I moved my hands over my arms, rubbing away some of the coldness I was suddenly feeling.

“Nothing is going on between me and Dereck, Ms. Tracy,” I said firmly, the lie turning my cheeks hot.

“Dereck? Since when are entry-level employees on a first-name basis with one of the founders and CEO of the company?”

Blood rushed to my ears at my little mishap, and now Josephine Tracy was suspicious, and I didn’t know how to fix it. Oh God, don’t pass out. Don’t pass out.

I said nothing.

Her eyes narrowed a little as she took me in, and it looked like she might know.

When she realized I wasn’t going to say anything, she scoffed and walked away, the click, click, click of her heels on the floor like a dagger to my heart.

If it got out that I was seeing—fucking—Dereck, how would I ever be taken seriously by my colleagues again? What a mess I had made of things.

And yet… where was the regret?

Why didn’t I regret spending time with him? And why the hell was I looking forward to spending my evening with him?

We had made plans to meet up tonight. He was going to drive me back to his house, and we would have an early dinner. I had an overnight bag packed and stashed away in the back seat of that impractical sports car of his.

I should know better, shouldn’t I? I shouldn’t invest so much of my time, heart, and energy into a relationship that would only end in heartbreak.

But it didn’t feel like heartbreak when he held me in his arms last night.

It didn’t feel like heartbreak when he made me breakfast this morning, or when he held my hand in between shifting gears on our drive to the office.

No, it felt like the promise of a lifetime.

8

Dereck

The numbers in front of me blurred into nothing but indistinguishable shapes. I couldn’t focus to save my life. Thank God I could count on my partners to pick up my slack when I really needed it. It wasn’t like I slacked off a lot, or ever.

Which was why my behavior in recent weeks was getting noticed, not just by Jaxon and Danny, but by Callum and Lucas as well, the other partners, albeit silent ones, of our firm.

My phone dinged, and I almost fell off my chair trying to get to it. Disappointment set in when I realized it wasn’t Lily who’d texted. I should have known better. She wouldn’t have contacted me during work hours.

I frowned when I saw a text from Katy, telling me she was lonely. Another text came through, and this one was a picture of her, showing only a side view of her face, but the rest of her body was on display. And she was naked.

Letting out a tired sigh, I deleted the picture and blocked her number. Katy and I met in college, in Lucas’s class, of all places. I had thought she had a thing for Lucas, but only a week in, she turned her attention to me.

We saw each other on and off during our four years at Columbia, and even years after. But we were never in a relationship. She was a good fuck when I needed some distraction to clear my mind, but I wouldn’t keep her around, and I had told her numerous times that I didn’t see a future with her.

She was manipulative and catty. And she didn’t like Abby, Lucas’s wife, which was a mark against her in my book. The last time we met up had been several months before. I’d heard she got engaged to some millionaire philanthropist who was old enough to be her great-grandfather.

I had no interest in resuming our affair, especially now, when I had found Lily. I wouldn’t do anything to fuck that up, and something told me Lily wouldn’t be forgiving if I saw other women.

I smiled a little at that. My girl was just as possessive of me as I was of her. Besides, she had nothing to worry about. She had a firm grasp on my dick and heart in those little fists of hers, and she didn’t even know it. She was still so unsure about our relationship.

But I wasn’t worried. It was my job to make sure she understood that she was it for me. And I would gladly live the rest of my life proving that to her.

I leaned back and closed my eyes. Katy might be a problem if she didn’t go away on her own. And I didn’t need this. Not when Lily and I were already on shaky ground. I needed a way to get the message across that I wasn’t interested without making it sound like a game or a challenge, which was just great. More shit to take care of. As if I had a lot of free time on my hands.

And I was supposed to meet Abby for lunch today.

Abby and I met on her first day of school freshman year. She had been lost going to class, and I couldn’t