Page 50 of The Boss
“Go ahead.”
I sat up straighter, annoyed at the lack of emotion in her voice. I didn’t want this bland version of her, not after I’d seen how passionate she could be.
“Not on the phone. Come to my office.”
Another two beats of silence. “Mr. Kordell was clear that I keep my distance from you, and I agree that’s the best course of action.”
“And if I don’t agree?”
“I suggest you speak to Mr. Kordell. Is that all, Mr. Lexington?”
“For now.” I hung up before she could.
Dammit. This wasn’t going to be as easy as I’d anticipated. She’d managed to reduce my name to something without even a hint of the sensuality that she’d put into it this weekend.
It didn’t seem possible that our first date had been just three nights ago. We hadn’t had nearly enough time for me to get bored with her. I wasn’t ready for things to be completely done.
Sure, I’d behaved…poorly this morning, but she had to understand where I was coming from. Whatever she wanted from me, she had to ask for it so we could be on the same page. Acting like she’d done me a favor when she could’ve just sent me away wasn’t the way the world worked.
The business part of me knew that Finley was right, knew that Ashlee and I had to keep our distance from each other, but my libido said it didn’t want any distance that meant I couldn’t see her naked.
I waited thirty minutes before leaving my office for the A&R department. I generally liked reaching out to Stu and Suzie after any large event, but I typically summoned them to my office or took them out to lunch. Today, I felt like going to see them.
It had nothing to do with Ashlee.
And it didn’t annoy me that she got up and left just as I reached her desk. Nope. Not at all.
I didn’t pause at her desk or even glance in that direction, just in case she was watching to see if I was going to look for her. I wasn’t. I was working.
When I got back to my office, I had an email from Finley waiting. I scowled as I opened it. If he was going to scold me for going to A&R, he and I were going to need to re-evaluate who was in charge of what. Fortunately, that wasn’t the case. Unfortunately, however, his email still pissed me off, though not at him.
I spoke with Miss Webb, and she informed me that whatever happened between the two of you this past weekend wouldn’t happen again. I don’t believe she’ll cause any problems here. She seems like a decent girl.
She was more than a decent girl, but that didn’t stop me from being irked at her for telling Finley that she and I were done, as if it were some unilateral decision that I had no say in. I’d never force a woman to have sex, but it wasn’t right for her to make the decision to end things without at least talking to me about it.
My hypocrisy came back to bite me in the ass less than a minute later when I realized that in every single relationship, arrangement, and understanding I’d ever had, I’d done just that. I’d decided that things had been over, and I’d informed the woman. I’d never sat down and talked to any of them about it.
Shit. Had this been what it’d been like for all of them?
I imagined that it’d probably been worse for a lot of them because I wasn’t as invested in this thing with Ashlee as, say, Roma had been in me. Not that I was disillusioned enough to think that Roma was in love with me. Maybe two or three of the women I’d been with had fooled themselves into thinking that they were in love, but most of them had been just as opportunistic as I was. We’d all gotten something out of our various arrangements.
That had to be the problem.
Ashlee hadn’t said what she wanted, so now she was keeping me at arm’s length until she saw what I had to offer. Two nights of great sex was fine when fucking was the only goal. That’s what I wanted more of. Ashlee didn’t strike me as the sort of person who was only after sex, though. If that was all she wanted, she wouldn’t have stayed a virgin so long, no matter what excuses she gave. She could find another man to fuck her, just not one who could measure up to me.
My chest tightened at the thought of her in some other man’s bed. I wasn’t going to accept that. Not until I was done with her. Not unless she spelled it out to my face. I’d been an ass earlier, and I’d make that up to her. After that, if she didn’t want us to hook up anymore, then we’d both walk away.
Now that I had a plan in place, it was easier for me to focus on real work. Easier, but not as much as it should have been. I still kept glancing at the clock on my computer screen, waiting for it to get down to the last half hour before everyone went home for the day. I refused to give Ashlee any room to wiggle out of us talking. Thirty minutes would give her enough time to finish whatever she might be doing for Stu and Suzie but not enough for her to ask for something new so she could avoid me. And if she somehow managed to get away, I’d visit her apartment again. Sober this time.
One way or another, she and I were going to have a talk.
Thirty-One
Ashlee
As soon asI picked up my phone, I regretted it. I’d guessed that it’d be Nate, but I hadn’t realized how perfect his timing would be.
I was only a few minutes from finishing the last thing on my list from Mr. Hancock, and he’d told me I could leave when it was done. He hadn’t mentioned anything about Friday night, but I knew he’d heard at least some of the gossip because he’d given me things to do that allowed me to be away from people. I was pretty sure that was why he was going to let me cut out early, so I wouldn’t be caught up with everyone else as they left.
