Forever the Boss: Billionaire Romance ~ Hot and Steamy (Managing the Bosses Series Book 10) (19 page)

BOOK: Forever the Boss: Billionaire Romance ~ Hot and Steamy (Managing the Bosses Series Book 10)

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Unlocking the front door with her code, she walked down the narrow corridor and up the flight of stairs, avoiding the horrifying elevator she was certain was going to plummet and kill everyone the moment she stepped foot inside of it. Besides, taking the stairs was something good for the body. Walking up them, she ran into the other fairly reclusive and quiet neighbors she shared the building with. They would offer blank stares or soft smiles as they continued on their way. None of them were overly interesting, but all of them were unique in their own special way. There was little-dog-woman and hat-guy whom she saw on a regular basis. They were also fellow stair-dwellers as well. She liked that she had begun to recognize them.

On the fourth floor, she headed down the short hallway and passed the three doors to her little section of the apartment building. The door before hers belonged to Mr. Vargas, the grumpy, quiet old man who would stand out on the small balcony that he had and glare at everything. She didn’t know if he was maybe sensitive to the sun, but he’d just squint at everything, hunched over in his faded, mustard house-robe. The other room across the hallway belonged to Amber and Josie, who were sharing their little apartment with each other as they pursued their various careers with a rather haphazard approach.

Amber was a blonde goddess who worked at a club, tending at a bar that brought her hundreds of dollars in tips that she usually paid rent with, then partied the rest away. How a woman as beautiful, seductive, and personable as Amber was always without money always boggled Leslie’s mind. As for Josie, she was a struggling artist who refused to give up on the dream that one day she would make it famous. Until then she worked as a customer service representative at a call center, which let her come and go whenever she wanted and paid her just enough to contribute to rent and pay the bills. All in all they were fun, and Leslie loved living next door to them. They never asked her about her past or her future.

They’d developed a sort of open-door policy where they would meander into each other’s apartments without much concern to modesty or class. If they were drunk, coming home off of a particularly fun night, they always felt inclined to see what Leslie was doing. Since she was usually up writing or watching some sappy, sad movie on Netflix, they’d drop onto her sofa or raid her fridge as they regaled her with their stories, always vowing to take her out with them next time. She never pressed.

By the time she had her key in the door, she could hear movement across the hall and knew she wouldn’t be alone for long. As far as they were concerned, Leslie worked as a struggling cookbook writer and freelance article writer who just barely made enough for her apartment’s rent. But she suspected that Josie was beginning to question that, because though her apartment was small and it was in a pretty lame apartment building, it was still nicely furnished and she was always able to buy dinner, or lunch, or brunch, or a late night snack. None of them woke up early enough for breakfast. That was beyond question.

“Leslie!” Amber shrieked from her door, like she was calling to a long lost pet that had finally returned.

Leslie smiled and tossed her keys onto a small table that was sitting near the entryway. “Hey, Amber!”

Her apartment was minimal and tight. Immediately walking in, she passed her closet and was given the option of walking straight to her tiny living room/dining area or turning left into her kitchen that was small enough that she couldn’t do anything really fancy, even if she actually wanted to. Her bedroom and bathroom were accessible off of the living room, and were small enough that there really wasn’t much she could do with it. But, thanks to the gods of Pinterest and sheer boredom, she had made it her own and drawn the attention of Amber and Josie.

“Leslie!” Josie called out, excitedly rushing through their apartment and heading across the hallway to follow Amber into Leslie’s apartment. “So, how was it?”

“How was what?” Leslie asked, furrowing her brow and looking over her shoulder at Josie and Amber who were already raiding the wine she had and grabbing glasses.

“You’re all dressed up,” Amber added. Clearly they had been conspiring about what could possibly have drawn Leslie out of the apartment so well dressed. It was fairly common that Leslie, though she had a phenomenally toned body, only believed in wearing things she referred to as comfy clothes. There were always exceptions to this new-found rule in her life and that was when she went to the gym. For Amber to make the money she did in tips, she needed to be irresistible to the men at the club, so she would frequently go with Leslie to the gym, dragging along Josie, who thought of exercise as something torturous to someone like her who was given the glorious gift of a high metabolism. All in all, Leslie had simply dressed as she always had once upon a time, and this was obviously a cause of note for the two spies across the hall. “Was it a date? An interview? Oh shit, are you moving out?” Amber’s mind darted to a million scenarios.

“No,” Leslie laughed. “Just taking care of some business.”

“I’m not buying it,” Josie said with certainty in her voice. “Who is he? Is he that cute Asian guy from the gym?”

“Samurai?” Amber asked with a sad, defeated tone in her voice as her shoulders slumped. “I knew that he was checking you out and not me.”

“Shut up,” Leslie shook her head. “He was watching you non-stop.” She grabbed a Mickey Mouse cup and let Amber fill it with wine. “What are you two doing today?” She glanced at the clock and saw that it was only two in the afternoon.

“Work,” Amber made a snarl.

“Nothing,” Josie said, glancing over to the wall where Leslie had built shelves with her own two hands. The shelves were lined with books that she had picked up while living in New York. She’d built those shelves, intending to fill them up, and when she finally had she built more in the living room. Essentially, she’d lost her security deposit, but Leslie wasn’t going to sweat a thousand dollars.

Leslie watched Josie, knowing she was looking for a hint as to what she did for a living. Josie didn’t buy the article writing gig. Leslie was surprised that Josie still hadn’t noticed the letter of acceptance on the one shelf next to her diploma and degree that she had strategically laid down between plaques. She hadn’t hung it, as it reminded her of the day of the funeral when she’d taken it down from her old house.

“What’re your plans?” Josie asked, distracting her from the past.

“I don’t know.” Leslie took a long drink of wine. “I should work, but I’m not feeling it today.”

“Come to the club,” Amber begged. “Please, please, please! You never come and Josie always ends up bored at the end of the bar, getting hit on by guys while she doodles. Everyone’s miserable because you won’t come.”

Leslie let out a long sigh. She had never gone to Amber’s club, and for good reason. There was something about a dimly-lit cavern with lots of strobing lights, black lights, and a DJ blasting her ears that made her feel exhausted already. While she had been invited a hundred times over, she’d always found a decent reason not to go, but it was hard today to think of one today.

She was going to have to start living her life again at some point.

Amber was adventurous and wild, the kind of girl who would gladly make out with the cute guy checking her out and have a doomed whirlwind romance that inevitably imploded two weeks later, but gave her amazing stories to tell. Leslie had given Tiffany Black some of those adventures in her stories.

“Maybe,” Leslie shrugged.

“Maybe? Are you freaking kidding me?” Amber looked at Leslie, baffled, perplexed, and extremely pumped, like Christmas had just come early for her. The look was so adorable and so completely captivating that Leslie felt like she was obligated to go just so the expression wasn’t wasted on a false hope. “Josie, go get her the dress.”

“The dress?” Leslie lifted an eyebrow nervously. What had she just gotten herself into?

Josie drained her glass and ran across the hallway, her auburn hair flying as she raced with all her speed, no doubt making Mr. Vargas feel compelled to complain to the superintendent again that the three gorgeous women around him were making too much noise. The Super, Mr. Rutherford, usually told him to enjoy the view and stop complaining. He embodied the thoughts Leslie had on the situation completely. Half of the time, Amber and Josie were showing more skin than they were clothes and they were always nice to him. What more could an old bachelor want?

When Josie returned, she was holding a true red dress that was going to show off more than Leslie was ready for. She could already feel her heart palpitating at the thought of going out in it, but there was something inside the back of her mind that screamed,
Ooooooh, pretty!
Inevitably, it won out as she took it from Josie.

“Whoever said redheads shouldn’t wear red was an idiot,” Amber said sternly. “You’re going to look incredible in it. I promise you. If you don’t, I’ll buy you two slices.”

“Three,” Leslie bartered, chewing on her lower lip nervously. “My hair’s auburn. Not red. It’s brown with just hints of a reddish color.” She swallowed hard. “Fine, I’ll go.”

End of Excerpt…

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