Chapter 11

M y boring little life has become anything but.

I spend my days with my BILF, have a new date scheduled with the sweetest guy ever, and will have my bestie around for the weekend. Things are looking good, aside from the boss situation.

Lex and I rarely interact, but it's still hard to ignore his presence, so close I can touch him if I want. Thank God the desk is large enough that we aren't overlapping each other's spaces, and our legs have no chance of accidentally touching.

One thing I really appreciate about him, though, is how much he respects my abilities. He clearly has a natural inclination toward taking charge and being in control, but he is remarkably respectful of my aptitudes and wisdom regarding this project. I'm the lead on this, and while he supervises and weighs in on decisions, he never hesitates to give me some responsibilities. It makes sense since it's my app, but I'm still a junior employee, so this is quite gratifying.

I'm positively jittery all morning on Friday. Kate's arriving soon, I might sell my app, and to celebrate it all, I have a date tonight. What a day.

The whole thing is so exciting that, for the first time since we've started sharing an office, I almost forget about my boss's existence, right there on the other side of our wall of flat monitors.

That is, until he bluntly utters, "Will you stop?" out of the blue. It's clear that I'm getting used to his manners because I barely flinch. He catches himself, though, and adds, "Please."

"Stop what?" I ask, confused.

"The leg thing. It's distracting. "

Only then do I realize I'm anxiously bouncing my knee, making the sole of my shoe repeatedly tap on the floor. "Sorry," I say with a wince, instantly ending it.

I check my phone for the tenth time in so many minutes, expecting to see an update from Kate. Nothing. It's been radio silence since her text to let me know she was in the car on her way here. I'm struggling to focus on my script when Alexander's desk phone rings. He picks it up with a frustrated sigh, not speaking into it as always, and I can't quite make out what the person is saying.

Lex lets out a vague, "Hm" and hangs up. "There's someone for you at reception."

My baby!

Excitedly, I roll my chair back and jump to my feet. "I'll be right back!"

I practically sprint downstairs and immediately locate Kate standing by the reception desk. My hasty journey only stops when I harshly crash into her to hold her in a tight embrace. "I can't believe you're really here!" I squeal.

"I know. I've missed you so much, boo!" We let go after a moment, and she takes in the sight of me, smiling. "Well, it's nice to see Seattle hasn't changed your sense of fashion."

I look down at my purposefully awful "Team Edward" T-shirt and give her a smile. It's hard to believe she owns an equally bad "Team Jacob" tee, given her attire. She's wearing a very professional pantsuit with stilettos, her wheat blonde hair neatly styled in supple and natural-looking waves, and she has on two simple pearl earrings. Her discreet makeup is as perfect as ever.

My girl is here for business, and I love to see it.

"You're early!" I say with enthusiasm.

"I wanted to surprise you so we could have lunch together," she explains. "When do you get off?"

"My break is in ten minutes, but we might as well go now. I just have to get my things."

"Lead the way."

She tells me about her trip on our way upstairs, and we come across Tami in the corridor. I quickly introduce them, and we chat for a couple of minutes. Because she was so close to my family growing up, Kate is familiar enough with ASL to carry out a solid conversation.

Then, the two of us continue our journey to my temporary office.

"Wait here," I urge Kate. "Do not move," I insist before going in. Lex is still working, forever focused. "Hey, is it okay if I leave for lunch now?" I ask him, gathering my things. "I'll come back earlier."

"That's fine. The meeting starts at two. Just be on time for it. "

This means an extra half hour of break. Awesome .

"This office is amazing," Kate says from behind me. I whip around, only to find her standing in the middle of the room. I send her a threatening look, which she purposefully ignores.

Lex Looks up from his screen, stands from his chair, and walks up to us. Using her business voice, she introduces herself, "Hello, I'm Katherine Knox, Andy's best friend and counselor."

Lex shakes the hand she extends. "I'm Alexander Coleman. Andrea's boss."

"Oh, I know. I've heard about you." Once more, she ignores my warning glare.

Lex gazes at me with curious eyes. "Have you, now? I hope it wasn't all bad."

"Not all of it, no." Her tone is way too suggestive for my taste. Elbowing her would only draw more attention to me, but if she doesn't stop, I'll commit Kathricide.

"If you'll excuse us," I say, eager to leave the room. "We're going out for lunch." I take Kate's wrist and pull her behind me. "I can't believe this! Five seconds in, and you do this to me!" I protest as soon as we're out.

"Oh, will you calm down… He already knows you find him hot."

"Doesn't mean you should bring it up."

"Well, trust me, the man is used to women swooning. My God, that jawline… And those eyes! Too bad he has to wear glasses—they hide his smoldering gaze."

"I like the glasses," I mumble.

"What was that?"

"He doesn't always wear them. How about Italian for lunch? There's a nice place around the corner."

"Fine by me. I'm craving pizza."

The place is crowded but they still find a table for us. Despite being in the heart of Seattle's business area, it has a cozy and authentic vibe I love. Ninety percent of the clients are wearing suits, but the furniture, decoration, and smells make it feel like a traditional family-owned pizzeria. There's a large window allowing the clients to see the pizzaiolos in action, and every time we come with the guys, we watch them spin and throw the dough around to flatten it, hoping to see one of them fail and let it fall. It's never happened, but none of us are giving up hope.

As we eat our cheesy dishes, Kate and I talk about her stupid ex, whom she dumped about six weeks ago after finding him cheating. Stefano was a cocky and pompous corporate lawyer I always hated, so it's great that they're through. I'll never understand why she wasted eight months of her life with that imbecile.

I have to hold back from rolling my eyes when she explains she's ready to find a new man. I love her with all my heart, but her constant need to be in a relationship prevents her from finding a genuinely good guy. She always jumps into the arms of the first hot idiot she encounters.

"Maybe you could wait a bit longer," I suggest. "You need to recenter yourself a little. When was the last time you had something genuinely good going on with a man?" I ask, already knowing the answer. Clarence, over five years ago.

"I guess it was with Clar."

"There you go. It's been prick after prick since him. If I were you, I'd wait and see. Maybe something will happen without you even looking for it."

She shrugs her shoulders, apparently skeptical about my perception of things. "If I were you, I'd try to fuck that sexy boss of yours," she says nonchalantly.

"That's because you're drawn to assholes like a moth to a flame."

She doesn't even deny it. On the contrary, she smiles with amusement, ripping a piece of bread from the basket and slipping it between her lips. "I am. Can I try to fuck him, then?"

"No." I answer that one too fast and too seriously, which she immediately notices. That was clearly a test, and I failed miserably.

"You like him!"

"No. I just don't want to end up in the middle of some shit between my best friend and my boss," I pretend. I can tell she isn't convinced by my half-lie, so I switch topics. "Now, if we're done with the men ruining our lives, how about we talk about the sale of my app?"

W e're almost ready for the negotiations to start, but I need a moment alone with Andrea before that. That's why I leave Kevin with the lawyers and head to my office, hoping she'll be there. I meant to talk to her before, but her early departure for lunch and late return got in the way.

I swiftly enter what used to be my oasis of tranquility, and my eyes immediately land on the object of my search. The relief of finding her is instantly dismissed as I realize she's in the midst of changing out of her ugly T-shirt, which had a collage of some pale, sickly man apparently named Edward on it .

Instead of it, she's halfway slipping on an off-white blouse, her white bralette exposed underneath. Just as shocked as I am by this unexpected encounter, she stays immobile for about a second before she tugs at her shirt to shield herself from my gaze. She's quick but not quick enough, and I turn around—also too late. I had enough time to notice the brownish circles of her areolas, visible through the thin cloth of her bra.

I internally curse. Fucking hell, the image is now seared into my brain. I didn't need that. Not when I'm already obsessing over what her body would look like under mine, how her small breasts would bounce with every intense thrust into her tight little—

"Maybe you could knock?!" she scolds with a shaky voice. I can hear the ruffling of silk, her fingers probably fastening the buttons of her blouse.

"To enter my office?" I muse, sardonic.

"We share it."

"It's an office, Andrea. Not a locker room."

The moment stretches, and the absurdity of it has me sighing. I'm getting a semi, which is ridiculous because I barely gazed at her breasts, and she was almost entirely dressed.

"Are you done?" I ask, irritated. "I have better things to do than this."

"Only two buttons left. No, three. Fuck, I put them wrong. Stay like that."

I huff disapprovingly. "What made you think this was a good idea?"

"I meant to change in the restroom, but you weren't here when I came back, so I thought you were busy somewhere else."

"I was."

"Clearly not busy enough," she mumbles.

The next thing I hear is the zipper of her jeans being pulled down, and I almost want to curse. This woman will drive me mad. In a vain effort to generate blood flow that isn't in my crotch, I clench my fists and flex my arms all the way. It doesn't have time to work before she pulls the zipper up again and says, "All good."

Very slowly, I spin around, my expression closed off so she can't guess the turmoil she just unleashed on me. My gaze drops for the briefest instant to her now-covered chest and then back to her face.

"We need to talk," I say after an awkwardly tense moment.

Dread fills her eyes, and she hurries to say, "I'm sorry. I promise it won't happen again."

"No, not that. I mean—Yes, don't undress in here again. But I wanted to talk with you about the sale."

"Oh? Is everything okay?"

I come closer to speak with a lowered voice .

"As I told you before, I'm the one who determined the worth of your work. I estimated five hundred thousand dollars, which is still too little, in my opinion. They will start the offer much lower, probably under one hundred thousand. No matter the first offer, do not go for any less than four hundred. It's their job to make us save money, but they have been instructed to accept four hundred. Alright?"

She nods, vaguely confused. "Can't you just decide the price and be done with it?"

"Kevin is in charge of finances and investments. I can advise him, but he's the one who makes the final decisions. And he wouldn't understand."

"Understand what?"

Understand why I'm helping you out so much. Why I need to do this for you. Why you're so special.

"Kev isn't into computers," I say instead. "Coding might as well be Chinese to him. He wouldn't understand the extent of your work and what it's worth."

She takes a few steps back, setting some distance between us. "This isn't some weirdly elaborate way to scam me, right?"

"No. I wouldn't do that, Andrea."

Silence settles, and I'm tempted to take two steps forward to get rid of that distance she set between us. "Is it all clear to you?" I ask. She nods again. "Good." I'm about to head off when I'm abruptly reminded of something. "Don't speak of this."

"Yeah, no, for sure," she promises.

After one last hesitant glance toward her, I disappear into the hallway. Kevin won't like this, but I don't really care.

Andrea deserves to be rewarded for her incredible work. And unlike what my business partner would think, it has nothing to do with the fact that helping her means that maybe she'll dislike me a little less.

I stay there for a couple of minutes after Lex's departure, processing the information. Four hundred thousand dollars is so much money. Almost half a million in my bank account.

Someone knocks on the door, startling me. When I open, I find Kate's petulant self. "There you are! They just told me they're ready to start if we are." Then she notices I'm a little shaken. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, sorry. I was just thinking." I join her in the hallway, closing the door behind me. We silently walk to the meeting room until I feel compelled to warn her. "Kate?"

"Hmm?"

"I can't really explain why, but you have to trust me for the negotiations, ok?"

She nods, intrigued, but doesn't argue.

I could explain. I could tell her Lex is looking out for me. But I promised him I wouldn't tell anyone, and I don't want her to read into things. It isn't like that. He isn't doing it for me in particular but because of his personal code of conduct.

When we enter the conference room, Alexander and Kevin are already there with two old-ish men. Their suits and serious demeanor make it all dawn on me. This is a real, important transaction. I've never done anything like that, but I need to nail it.

We all take our seats and start right away. They pull out a bunch of documents, explain how the afternoon will unfold, and the fastidious talking starts. After barely ten minutes, I thank the gods Kate is here. It's my first time seeing her practicing, and I'm impressed by her seriousness and professionalism. This side of her is a novelty to me.

Then, when the time comes to talk about numbers, nearly an hour after we sat, I feel much better than I expected. I know exactly what to do. The oldest-looking attorney clears his throat. "Miss Walker, after considering your offer, my clients are willing to propose seventy-five thousand dollars for the sole ownership of your work."

A small smile stretches my lips, but I bite it down. "This app is the fruit of hundreds upon hundreds of hours of work. All in all, I'd say it's worth… five hundred thousand dollars," I state with audacity. Kate turns to me with round eyes, and the lawyer flinches a little.

"Miss Walker, the application you've developed certainly is convenient for my clients, but the price you're asking for is very high. We'd be willing to consider increasing our original offer by twenty-five thousand dollars, to one hundred thousand dollars."

"There are companies out there willing to pay what it's worth," I say truthfully. "Google, Meta, or Avoss will certainly have better offers for me, given their immense capital. I love Kelex's values, so I would rather sell here. But I won't settle for less than I deserve either."

I feel like I'm in The Wolf Of Wall Street . Thanks to Lex, this is unexpectedly fun.

The lawyers speak among themselves, and then one bends toward Kevin. My eyes meet Lex's on the other side of the table, and I can swear there's an amused sparkle in his eyes. The man is done speaking to Kev, who nods and turns back to me .

"My client will agree to an extra fifty thousand dollars. If I were you, Miss Walker, I would take the offer now and leave this room one hundred and fifty thousand dollars richer before my client removes himself from the equation."

"Four hundred and fifty, or I walk," I say gravely. Okay, now it's definitely a smile slightly stretching Lex's lips.

Once more, the other side of the table breaks into intense whispers, trying to get the last word. Kate pulls my arm before getting closer to my ear. "What are you doing?!" she mutters.

"Trust me, blondie. They'll go for four hundred." After a quick scan of my eyes, she warily nods and releases me.

They are still actively talking in front of us, and I decide to voice an idea that's been growing in my mind for the past hour. "I will also accept three hundred now and one hundred in Kelex stock. Also, regardless of the price we agree on, I want ten percent royalties on the revenues my app will generate."

I have no idea where I found the guts to ask for that, but I'm glad I did. Given Lex's plans for my app, ten percent will turn into much more than four hundred thousand dollars. My app is currently focused on American Sign Language, but the coding only needs small adjustments to work with sign languages from around the world. My app is a gold mine, and I'll be damned if I let them profit off of it without me.

As for the stocks, I hope I'm making the right decision here. Kelex has been steadily climbing since going public two years ago. The stock is now worth over twelve times what it was then. If the company keeps performing like this, I'll be set for the rest of my life between the stock, the royalties, and the payment.

"Ninety percent of the profit is better than a hundred percent of nothing," I hear Lex say to Kevin. "I think we should take it before someone else swoops in and beats us to it."

It takes a while, and they almost make me believe I won't succeed. But eventually, they accept my demands and offer me two hundred and seventy-five thousand fucking dollars, and one hundred thousand in stock, and ten percent in royalties. To my right, Kate is hyperventilating, and the lawyers before me seem displeased by the turn of events.

I got the last word and won. Lex nods humbly when I give him a discrete smile, and the slight grin on his lips makes something flutter low in my stomach.

"Well," Kevin says once everything is signed and the lawyers are gone. "I hope you're as good a programmer as you are a negotiator. That is one expensive app we just bought."

"She is," Lex intervenes, joining us. The compliment makes me blush, but I focus on Kevin .

"In the end, we both got what we wanted, so it's a good day," I point out.

"Very true. How about we celebrate it properly? Maybe in some overly expensive restaurant?"

"Tonight?" Even though I ask, I already know the answer.

"Yes, tonight. Lex, are you in?"

Fuck, no. My date with Oli…

Alexander shrugs, impartial. "Only if we don't go to that horrible molecular restaurant you liked so much. The textures were…" He doesn't finish his sentence, but his repulsed expression is enough.

Kevin lets out a laugh. "I'll tell you what, you choose the restaurant, and I'll make the reservation. Andy, is that good for you?"

My eyes helplessly travel between the two men. I just got an obscene amount of money out of them. I can't refuse, can I? If they weren't my bosses, then maybe, yeah. But asking for a rain check would make things weird.

Hoping Oliver will understand, I nod. Kevin then turns to Kate. "Miss Knox, will you be joining us?"

"I would love to, but I have plans," she answers, shaking her head.

What?! My head whips to her, my eyes pleading for her to change her mind. "Ah, what a shame," Kev says.

"Maybe another time," she replies with a polite smile.

What the fuck? Am I seriously having dinner with my two bosses? Including the one I constantly drool over? How do I keep getting into these situations?

On our way out, I cross Oli's path. To say I'm ashamed when I tell him about the change of plans is an understatement. But, as supportive as ever, he tells me to go, stating we have plenty of time to have our first date.

By the time Kate drives Tami and me home, she has lost most of her best friend privileges. She's letting me go alone to that dinner, and nothing can change her mind. I still feel like shit about Oli as I shuffle through my dresses to find something for tonight. This should be for him, not for my bosses.

Kate gasps behind me. Shoving her hand into my wardrobe, she takes out a hanger with a dress on it. "I can't believe you still have this one!"

Upon getting my first paycheck, Kate dragged me on a shopping spree, and I impulsively bought it. The lower half is an A-line skirt that reaches three inches above my knees, and the top has to be tied behind the neck. The entire back is exposed all the way to the waist .

Kate looks at the dress, then me, then the dress, and a mischievous smile claims her lips. Oh, no. She isn't winning this one. "Forget it, I'm not wearing this," I say, returning to my closet's inspection.

"Are you sure? You would look so hot in it."

"I want to look professional. Not hot."

Kate shrugs her shoulders with a pout. "You're right. And anyway, Alexander will eye-fuck you no matter what you're wearing."

I almost choke on air at her words. "What the hell! Don't say things like that," I scold her with shock.

"Like what? True things?"

"There isn't an ounce of truth in what you just said, so shut up." I take the dress from her and put it back on the rack. With angry gestures, I keep scanning through my clothes.

"You really are that blind, aren't you?" I don't need to look to know she's analyzing me with her intense blue eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean your boss wants to fuck you, and you're too clueless to realize it."

My entire body stills, and then it warms up.

She's being ridiculous. Lex doesn't want me. On good days, he ignores me, and on bad days, I annoy him with my antics, like earlier this afternoon. Nothing sexual about that. "I honestly don't know where you get these crazy ideas from."

"Well, I got it because I have something you don't."

I roll my eyes, unimpressed. "And what is that?"

"The ability to see him whenever you're not looking at him. And do you know what he does whenever you look away?"

I shouldn't ask. I really shouldn't. But she piqued my curiosity, and now I need to know. "What?" I say so low it's almost a whisper.

"He devours you with his eyes. I-want-to-fuck-her eyes," she explains, her tone confident.

I try my best to remain calm and unaffected, but her words are wrenching my guts. It isn't so much the fact that Lex might want me but rather how far from the truth she is. "You misinterpreted," I counter.

"I did not. The man wants you, Deedee."

"Will you stop already? He's so out of my league we might as well be on different planets."

That's when I recall the nude he received on our first encounter. Maybe it's a girlfriend, a fiancée, an ex… The answer doesn't matter. I'm not his type. Not even close.

Kate grabs me firmly and forces me to face her. "Andy, look me in the eye and tell me this. How did you know you could ask for so much money and get away with it? "

The answer would only reinforce her ludicrous ideas, so I say nothing and avert my eyes to look at the wall with a frown.

"I know you. I know you won't accept what I'm saying until his tongue is shoved down your throat. And even then, you might argue he slipped," she says as she releases me, visibly annoyed.

"I'm not that dense."

"Mind putting my theory to the test, then?" I squint my eyes at her, trying to guess where she's going with this. Not waiting for my answer, she fishes out the black dress and hands it to me. "Put this on and see how he stares at you."

"I won't."

"Why? Are you scared I'm right?"

"It isn't appropriate."

"Oh, come on! Celebrities on red carpets wear so much worse than this," she argues, rolling her eyes.

I look at the dress like it's poisonous. It isn't vulgar since it shows no cleavage and isn't too short. It's just the back that's exposed, but it isn't indecent.

I don't want to prove Kate right. What if her ridiculous claims turn out to be true? What am I supposed to do then? Keep going to work, and act like I don't know my boss wants to fuck me as badly as I want to fuck him?

Kate notices my hesitation, and it's over for me. With a victorious smile, she pushes me to the door. "Go shower," she orders. "I'll find what you need to accessorize this baby."

Clearly, she's determined to win this one, so I clench my teeth and obey.