Page 2 of Misadventures With My Billionaire Boss
“Yeah, MeMe,” Violet teased.
I rolled my eyes knowing I'd never live that one down. “Here's the story in a few words: boss, business trip, hot kiss, mistake.”
Goldie's shoulders wilted. Clearly, she’d been hoping for more of a hot man story than that. As far as I knew, there wasn't a man in Violet's life. So, Goldie wasn't getting any juicy details from her. It was obviously open season on man tales, which sadly, I only had one. And it didn't have a happy ending like most romances.
“Business trip?” Goldie asked, hanging lingerie once again.
“I'm a graphic designer. We were pitching an ad campaign to a potential client.”
I hadn't done much dating recently, my promotion at work kept me too busy, or that was the excuse I told myself. In actuality, no guy had interested me in a long time. Not since Sam. Since that night in Seattle. The business trip. I sighed just thinking about him—tall, blond hair, smart, funny, sexy—and that time when we?—
“You can do the covers for Violet's books!”
One thing about Goldie, she didn't linger at conversational dead ends. Violet and I stood next to each other, facing her in the middle of the store, frozen in place. Violet's mouth was open, practically hitting the floor. I had no clue what Goldie was talking about.
“Goldie,” Violet said, her voice reminding me of a whiny five-year-old. “I wrote that short story because you pestered me into it, not to get it published. I can't do that! I'm a school teacher.”
I didn't know what Violet had written, but I could see Goldie driving Violet bonkers until she gave in, just to get the woman off her back. I turned and eyed my friend.
“Romance book,” she murmured, her mouth turned down in a frown.
I nodded my head slowly and said, “Ah.” Not that I still had any clue what they were talking about.
“Romance?” Goldie fanned herself with a pair of cherry red panties. “I'm getting a hot flash just thinking about how steamy it was. Veronica wrote some, but it was sweet, not hot and sexy like Violet's. I let Veronica off the hook because she found her own romance with Jack.”
Violet sighed. “She pestered me all the way to the end because I don't have a guy.” Violet's voice turned from frustrated to humored fairly quickly. “I think she was hoping I'd meetsomeone in the middle of the book like my sister. Maybe the next one, right, Goldie?”
“That's the spirit, Violet.” The bells on Goldie's earrings jingled with enthusiasm. “Say you'll do her cover.”
“Um, sure.” I hadn't done a book cover design before. I'd seen many a bodice ripper paperback at the grocery store though. It would definitely be fun—and different from the ad work I did now.
“Can I read your book?” I asked Violet, curious.
“Sure,” she said and shrugged.
“Stop by for that fancy vibrator first. You're going to need it,” Goldie added.
Violet looked at me and laughed. “So that hot guy, Em. Any chance for another date with him? Because he could replace that vibrator Goldie's talking about.”
Goldie chuckled and pointed. “That's good thinking, Violet. I always like the real thing better than a substitute. Take that sugar stuff in those little pink packets. That's notrealsugar.”
Just the thought of using Sam to temper my lust after reading an erotic novel made me hot all over. I swallowed at the picture my dirty mind had made. And it didn't include a vibrator. It had Sam doing things to me with his hands and mouth that would make Violet's story look like a children's book. Maybe use some of thatrealsugar, too. I cleared my throat. “He hasn't been my boss since I got promoted. In fact, he no longer works at the company. I haven't seen him since he left about two months ago.”
Another bit of lingerie went on a hanger beneath Goldie's nimble—and practiced—fingers. “That's a surprise in such a small town. I run into someone everywhere I go.”
I had no doubt about that.
“Where are you having lunch?” Goldie pulled a turquoise lace thing—it was miniscule and tangled—which could be anythingfrom a pair of panties to an obscenely small teddy, and placed it on a hanger. I still couldn't tell what it was.
As Violet wound a very long gray scarf around her neck, fringed ends hanging down past her waist, I answered. “At that new Mexican place around the corner and then shopping for a white elephant party present for tomorrow night.” I put my hat back on as I looked down and saw the snow melting and dripping onto the carpet that was better suited in a Las Vegas casino than a small business in Montana.
“Remind me again what a white elephant party is?” Goldie asked, her forehead crinkled up.
A customer came into the store followed by a gust of frigid air and asked after glow-in-the-dark condoms. “Back wall on the left,” she told him. “Let me know if you need anything else. Oh, I love this song.” Turning around, she fiddled with the mouse on the laptop on the counter, adjusting the volume of a popular Christmas carol. She was impressively literate when it came to technology. No vintage eighties stereo system for her.
“Well?” The question was accompanied by another wave of lace, this little tidbit as black as midnight.
“What?” I asked. I'd forgotten what the question was, a little scattered since Sam had come up in conversation and my brain was thinking naked thoughts even though the only thing we’d done was kiss in the hotel elevator. And not a high school peck either, but an up-against-the-wall, NC-17 rated surveillance video kind of kiss.