I slip off my shoes as soon as I walk into my apartment and throw them across the room.

“Bad day?” Jewels asks, dodging my flying shoes.

“You will never believe who my boss is.” I drop my purse on the floor and slump down on the couch, feeling defeated.

She sits down beside me and rakes her fingers through my hair. “Who? Is he hot?”

I cover my face with my hands. “The guy from the bar. My one-night stand.”

She roars in laughter. “That had to be awkward,” she says, then proceeds to snort.

“It’s not funny!” I smack her hard in the chest with a throw pillow.

“It kinda is.” Tears of laughter are forming in the corners of her eyes.

“Gah!” I yell and try to stand, but she wraps her arms around my waist.

“I’m sorry. Give me a minute.” She snorts one more time before wrangling herself under control.

“What am I going to do?” I throw myself back on the couch.

“What do you want to do?”

“I’d like to keep my job, but every time I’m close to him my libido seems to run rampant.”

“Do you have feelings for him?” She wipes the tears from the corner of her eyes.

“No, other than that it was the best sex I’ve ever had. I don’t even know the guy.”

“Then you need to focus on the job and not the boss.”

“You’re right. His employees say he’s barely there. Maybe I can avoid him when he is there. Besides, I’ve been without sex before, I can do it again.”

“That’s the spirit. You may want to restock your battery supply.” A suppressed giggle bubbles to the surface, setting both of us laughing this time. She always has a way of making me feel better.

“I’m starved. Let’s order pizza.” I start toward my room to change out of my work clothes.

“If you’re not going to sleep with him then can I?” The couch pillow zooms by me.

“No, you may not!” I slam my bedroom door.

Morning comes way too early. Sleep never came, so I left for work early and hit the coffee shop on the bottom floor of our building before making my way up to my office. Several people are already tucked away at their desks working like busy bees. I get settled in my office and jump back into my network research.

I study my computer for any breaches. There were several attempts made, but the firewall shut them down. I log in some computer codes to backtrack and locate the hackers. Most of them appear to be amateurs playing a game to see what they are capable of doing. One is a credit card company, looking to steal information. I program in new codes to block them from entering our system.

One of them, however, is a bit more elusive. I blow a lock of hair out of my face and dig deeper, oblivious to my surroundings. My fingers absentmindedly strum on the desk while my brain kicks into overdrive. I take out a piece of paper and jot down runs of codes. It doesn’t make any sense. I excitedly click my pen. In, out, in, out.

“Are you taking a break anytime soon?”

I nearly jump out of my chair, not sensing Connor standing next to me looking over my shoulder. “Damn, how long have you been standing there?” I whirl my chair around.

“Long enough to know that you talk to yourself and the deeper in thought you get, you have a crease… right there that draws together.” His index finger touches between my eyes.

I draw away from him. “Do you make a habit of coming into rooms unannounced?” His close proximity has me feeling warm.

“My curiosity got the better of me when I kept hearing a clicking sound.” He walks around to the front of my desk, shoving his hands into his trouser pockets.

I lay the pen down. “I think if I’m going to continue to work here, we need to set some boundaries.” I cross my legs.

“Like how many times a week I can fuck you?” A dark, seductive smile shadows his face.

I clear my throat, trying to prevent a lustful sound from seeping out. “No. I mean like boundaries of you not saying stuff like that. You’re my boss and I’m your employee.” I clasp my hands together on my desk.

He leans way forward. “You like when I talk dirty don’t you?”

My head screams yes. “No, and I don’t think you are grasping what I’m saying.

He stands abruptly and chuckles. “You say no, but your entire body answered yes.”

I get up from my chair, walking around him to shut my door.

“Now we’re talking,” he smiles.

“No we’re not. Look, I’m attracted to you, but that’s it. Nothing more. We don’t know one another and I’d like to keep our relationship professional. This is my first real job and I don’t want to lose it before I’ve even started. I don’t need my co-workers to think there is anything going on between us.”

He chews on his bottom lip. “We could get to know one another.” He suddenly looks vulnerable.

“Yes, we could, but we still need to keep our relationship professional.”

He takes a step closer to me. “I don’t know if I can do that with you.”

“Why not?” I scan his eyes, trying to figure out if he is serious or not.

“I don’t know, but I can’t get you out of my head. I want you more every time I lay eyes on you.” He doesn’t blink.

I don’t dare tell him I feel the same way. “We can’t.” I take a step back. “As long as I’m working for you, I need to keep my distance.”

“I could fire you.”

“You could.” I don’t waver.

“Alright, you win.” He walks out and I unleash the breath I was holding.

That was so terribly difficult. I wanted nothing more than to let him fuck me on the desk, blinds or no blinds on my windows. I shake it off and go back to work.

A few minutes later I hear the door at the end of the hall slam and Connor stomps by my office without looking my direction. I guess I made myself clear - too bad my body doesn’t understand.

I refocus my thoughts on my work. The hacker has done an excellent job of covering his tracks. Not even a clue was left behind about what they were looking for in our system. I make notes and continue with my security system checks. Before I know it, the day is over. Connor never returned to his office and I’m slightly disappointed, but I’m better off with him not coming into my office any time he feels like it.

The streets are bustling with people ending their days. When I can’t hail a cab, I decide to walk over several blocks to the subway station. Every face in the crowd surrounding me seems lost in his or her own world. Across the street, I catch a glimpse of Connor entering a building. He’s wearing shorts and a sleeveless shirt. The sign on the building is small and hard to read, but as I squint I can distinguish the black letters: “Kid Power.” No logo, only a small sign.

He smiles at a woman with long, slender legs walking towards him in a black, fitted dress. She’s carrying a gym bag on her shoulder. A twinge of jealousy hits me when he kisses her on the cheek.

The walk signal flashes from the other side of the street, unknown to me as I stare at Connor until the crowd bumps into me from behind.

“Sorry,” I say, and walk to the other side. When I turn around to look again, he’s gone.

The subway doors are closing just as I run up to them. I pull my phone out of my purse and search for the name on the building. Kid Power brings up several links, and it takes several minutes of searching to find the right one. It’s a self-defense business, specializing in kids ages eight to twenty-one.

Why would Connor be there? I know he’s not married, at least I don’t think he is. Maybe he has a daughter. A Google search of his name reveals several articles naming him one of Boston’s most eligible bachelors, but nothing about an ex-wife. Very strange. I’m not sure what to make of it.

I lean my head against the window and close my eyes. I want to ask him about it. Mainly, I want to ask about the woman, but I have no right. I made my own bed when I set down boundaries with him. Me delving into his personal life would cross the line I drew between us.