Page 43 of Hating the Boss

“Doesn’t matter. I still have to answer to my father and the board. If we lose our biggest client, I could lose it all.”

“You just signed a huge client! Skydiving, remember?”

“It’s not enough…” He shook his head.

I shifted in my seat, and looked down at my hands tangled in my lap. In the very short time I had known Brad, I had never seen him like this nor imagined him being like this. Gone was his tough exterior. His all business attitude. This was a more vulnerable version of the man I was just barely touching the surface of knowing. Part of me wanted to hug him, he looked so lost. I thought back to how solid he felt after jumping out of the plane. He looked like he needed solid ground.

“I’m going to ask something of you, and I need you to have an open mind,” he said, looking up at me.

“Okay…” I said hesitantly.

“I need you to pretend we are in a relationship,” he blurted.

“What?” I choked.

“If it looked like I had a girlfriend—a fiancée even—then they would get off my back.”

“No way.” I shook my head.

He couldn’t be serious. Could he?

I studied his face, waiting for him to crack a smile. Waiting for him to tell me this was all some big joke.

“It would just be until we secured the signed contract with Music Now,” he said. His voice was pleading. I wondered if he had ever pleaded for anything in his life.

I looked down at my hands, trying to gather my thoughts that were jumbled and whirling together. I didn’t know which way was up. This wasn’t the job I had signed up for. Was this why he had hired me in the first place?

I wanted to be angry, but something was fluttering inside me as I imagined what it would be like to pretend. I wanted to feel his arms around me. His lips on mine. Maybe more…

And then I snapped out of it. I was being ridiculous.

I looked at him sharply. “You hired me to be your assistant. Not a prostitute.”

“Please. Sarah. I’m not asking you to do anything but act. Just pretend to be my fiancée. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.”

“I’m not an actress, Brad!” I stood up, throwing my hands up exasperatedly and began to pace in front of his desk.

“I’ll pay you a generous bonus. Under-the-table. No one will know.”

“Oh, and that’s not shady,” I said, rolling my eyes.

“A million dollars,” he said.

I stopped abruptly and looked at him wide-eyed.

“On top of what you’re making already,” he assured me with a nod.

“This is insane,” I whispered. “You’re insane.”

“I’ve been called worse.” He chuckled and the laugh rumbled through me.

Why the hell did he have to be so charming? When he turned it on, he really turned it on. I could think of worse things than posing as his fake fiancée, but still…

This was…a lot.

“I need to go,” I said, my confusion overwhelming me and making me feel lightheaded.

“Sarah…” He stood from his chair and looked at me with concern in his eyes.