I was an asshole for ignoring my mom’s calls since quitting the magazine. But ignoring her last night, after utilizing the stunning poker face I’d never have without her, was especially shitty.

“I’m so sorry, Sara. I feel like it’s my fault,” Lia sighed as she slid a tray of chocolate-coated truffle molds into her industrial freezer. It was barely 8AM and we were in the kitchen of her shop. She’d been in the Hamptons with Lukas last night, so she was unavailable to properly receive my ranting and raving over the latest bombshell on my week.

As much as I hated to admit it, I was pissed.

I was actually extremely and thoroughly upset about what Julian dropped on me last night at the end of my first day of work.

But you accepted this job for the perks, the connections, the incredible money to make up for being unemployed. It’s not like you took this job to be close to Julian. It’s not like you wanted to work with him because you wanted to be with him. I told myself that.

And I believed it, too. But after a long walk home from Hoult Tower, since I apparently needed time to process the no-sex clause, I’d come to a much more honest assessment of myself – and the truth was that while I had plenty of good reasons to accept the job offer, I had said “yes” out of pure sexual attraction.

I’d let my damned libido make a major life decision and now, as I so clearly deserved, I was paying the price.

“It’s my fault, Lia, trust me. You didn’t tell me to take this job offer.”

“Yeah, but I did try to set you up with Julian.”

“And it might’ve worked if I didn’t decide to become his subordinate. Now he’s probably already ceased all sexual attraction for me like the work-addicted robot he is.”

“Psh, right. Lukas said he’s never seen Julian look at a girl with the intensity that he looked at you.”

“Yeah, because I’m an element of his job now,” I snorted. “He salivates over me because he can’t wait to utilize me for the purposes of this stupid contract with the Perv Bros. I’m as good as a stapler to him now. Or an extra-sturdy paper clip.”

“Oh, shut it. You know that despite that stupid rule of his, he definitely still has sexual thoughts about you. I mean he admitted as much in the elevator yesterday, right?”

God. Yes, he did. And it had taken everything in me to carry on as usual after that – to stroll into his stunning, double-height office and professionally greet his assistant, Colin, despite the fact that my face was burning hot and my panties were soaking wet.

In my own defense, how else was I supposed to react?

I had just spent an entire elevator ride watching everyone in the building stand at attention for Julian Hoult. He was revered and respected, a presence that even the most intimidating of people yielded to.

And he’d just taken a knee in the elevator to run his tongue all over my clit.

“Earth to Sara.”

I was vaguely aware of Lia waving in my peripherals but I didn’t break from my haze till she waved a fresh lavender truffle in my face. I blinked and smirked at her.

“Thanks. I needed to snap out of that.”

“Yeah, that was uncomfortable for me. You looked like you were seconds from the big O.”

“Shut up. And cut me some slack. I’m dealing with an absurdly hot boss who’s done everything but fuck me, and now that we work in the same office, I get nothing. I also have no idea how to un-turn myself on when I so much as think of him.”

“Let me help. Your mom’s calling. Again.” Lia held out my phone. I shook my head till she put it back down.

“I can’t right now. I suck at lying to her and I’m pretty sure she’s calling because she has a sixth sense when it comes to me. She definitely knows I did a bad thing this week.”

“A bad thing?” Lia giggled. “Which of your many bad things are you referring to? You’re like a different person this week.”

“Hey, don’t you talk to me about abrupt transformations – you went from celibate for three years to having sex with Lukas in a public bathroom.”

“Sara!” Lia laughed so hard she snorted something legitimately startling that had us cracking up harder. “Oh God. You need to get out of here or I’m never going to finish this batch,” she wheezed. “And don’t you have your super important meeting with the Perv Bros today?”

“Yes. But I can be a little late. I have to pick up lunch for the meeting from some restaurant in SoHo.”

“And you’re wearing that?” Lia asked, nodding at my outfit.

“Totally,” I said as we both turned around to peek at ourselves in the mirror. We were twins in butter-smudged aprons, our messy topknots stuffed into yellow hairnets to protect the chocolates. If there was anything sexy in the room, it was the chocolate. Next would be the stainless steel fridge. “I brought a change of clothes, obviously.”

“Okay, phew. Then get your cute butt going,” Lia giggled, nudging me toward the door. “And girl, you better kill it ‘cause I’m pissed at Julian on your behalf and I want you to torture him with how hard you bring it for this meeting.”

“Trust me, I’m well prepared, and I have every intention of making it hurt for him today.”

“Atta girl. Is that what that thing is about?” Lia grinned, nodding toward the garment bag I’d hung in her office.

“Mm-hm,” I smirked as I shed my hairnet and apron.

The one bright side of having worked for a magazine was having had access to clothes I’d never dare to buy, and today’s dress most certainly qualified as one of those “I could never” get-ups that I was finally working up the nerve to wear. With it, I was prepared to rock platform heels a full two inches higher than I’d ever walked in, and matte lipstick so lusciously berry-hued that it was almost audible in the way it screamed sex.

On most days, the prospect of wasting my one tube of MAC lipstick, or maybe falling flat on my face was enough to deter me from dressing like this. But today, I had all the motivation to be fearless. In every way – the way I looked, the way I spoke, and the way I commanded a room. I was meeting with the infamous Turner and Carter Roth, but on top of that, I had a gorgeous prick of a boss who talked dirty to me one second and shunned me the next. Irritating to say the least, but nothing I couldn’t get over by simply hitting it out of the park today and leaving him as stunned as he left me yesterday.

With a kiss on Lia’s cheek, I grabbed my bags and said bye, shaking out my hair and heading breezily for the door.

Julian Hoult, today’s swagger is dedicated to you.