Three weeks after the mountain retreat, Gage and I had managed to separate our work and personal lives so successfully that we were acting like we were in high school and sneaking around like Romeo and Juliet.

We’d flirted relentlessly, had lunch together more days than not, dinner a handful of times, and logged a few epically hot make-out sessions on the leather couch in the corner of his office after everyone had gone home. For all that I complained at the retreat about working long hours, it seemed less of a hardship when my boss’s exacting hands and lips were on me.

But we still hadn’t gone any further than second base, leaving me perpetually hot and frustrated. Honestly, I wasn’t sure who I was getting more attached to—Gage or my battery-operated boyfriend.

At my, um, employer’s request, I began testing Happit on my phone. In the past week, I’d successfully scheduled my self-love sessions into a routine. And I’d been on time for work—mostly.

“Did Nikhil see us leave together last night?” I asked Gage one morning, my hands clutching the side of his door tightly.

I wasn’t sleeping with the boss—yet, but I still didn’t want to have a reputation. We’d spent too long talking at the end of the day, then even more time on the couch not talking. By the time we left, my stomach was growling and I was breathless from kissing. I hadn’t noticed that Nikhil was still there as well, until he waved as we passed his open office door.

Gage beckoned me to his desk.

I glanced behind me, but nobody was there. Phew. Wait, why was I sighing in relief? I could walk into my employer’s office without guilt or shame, couldn’t I? For god’s sakes, my desk was right outside the door! Rolling my eyes at myself, I went up to his desk, careful not to put my hands down and smudge the freshly cleaned glass.

He crooked his finger again, a smirk toying with his beautiful, addictive lips. Damn those lips. I was powerless against them.

“Well? Did he?” I rounded the desk to where he sat in his big cushy chair like a real billionaire. Someday I had plans for him and me and that chair.

So much for stealth dating. Everyone probably heard my loud squeak as he tugged me on to his lap, my arms flailing as the chair back reclined underneath us.

“What are you doing?” I scrambled to get off him, but his arms were wrapped around me like iron bands. “Someone might see us.”

“Who cares?”

“I care! Jesus, Gage. I thought you wanted to compartmentalize! You know, no ‘us’ at work?”

We both glanced over at the couch that we’d been entwined on the evening before, necking like teenagers.

“I think that ship has sailed,” he said, his fingers walking up my spine and his lips on my neck.

“Hmph.” I clambered off, almost falling on the ground in my effort to get away his Kryptonite mouth.

His smile was ten kinds of amused as he watched me adjust my skirt. “What, do you want to meet under the bleachers after school instead? Should I put a note in your locker?”

“I just thought we were backing up a bit.”

“No, Madeline, we’re just going slow. Too slow,” he added with a scowl. “By the way, I want to expand your job description.”

“To what?” I eyed him suspiciously.

“I’d like you to start coordinating all the office communication.”

“I thought I was only supposed to write your letters?”

“It was clear to me from the retreat that good communication is important for the company’s success, internally as well as externally.”

“But…” I didn’t know what to say. Was it a promotion? I narrowed my eyes at him. “Is this a way to give me a raise so I’ll owe you sexual favors?”

He held up his hands. “No, not at all. I just know that you can handle more responsibility.”

I snorted. “Yeah, sucking you off under your desk is a huge responsibility, Gage.” Which I had not yet done, regardless.

His glare was truly frightening, and not for the first time I cursed my impudent tongue. “Talk like that again, and I’ll blister your beautiful ass.”

Shocked into silence, my gaze flew to the floor. The way my belly flipped at his words startled me, but it was a sensation I was getting used to. Gage made me want to try all sorts of things; he already had. I dreamt sometimes about his rope tricks at the lodge and how he’d unraveled me.

“Come here,” he ordered. My feet moved before my brain did. When I was close enough, he grabbed my hand. “Look at me, Madeline.”

I looked up. He was totally serious, and refrained from pulling me onto his lap again. Instead, he kissed my knuckles but still kept me at arm’s length.

“I wouldn’t ask you to do it if I didn’t have full confidence in your abilities. You are smart and capable. It’s time for you to recognize that and take some control over your life.”

I was horrified to find my eyes filling up, and tried to blink it back. My throat was tight. “Ironic advice from a man who just threatened to spank me.”

“That was a promise, not a threat. I respect you, and I expect the same consideration.”

“How does—” I whipped my head around, but there was still no activity in the outer office area, so hopefully nobody listening to us. “How is spanking me respectful, sir?” I hissed. My insides fluttered, and I realized I would have to change my panties at lunchtime—again. I had begun keeping extra in my desk.

“Oh, it’s not,” he agreed grimly. “It’s a last resort. But I imagine you would respect me more for punishing you for your smart mouth if said smart mouth is running yourself down.”

My mouth fell open as I backtracked over his words again. “God, no wonder you need me to communicate for you.” Was that supposed to be some kind of compliment?

“Exactly.”

I wanted to bang my head against his desk. Or bang him. The two impulses were constantly at war within me these days. “I need to get back to work,” I said.

“By all means.” He dropped my hand after nipping the knuckle on my middle finger. “I’ve already sent an email to Susan about changing your job title and official description.”

Wonderful.

The rest of the week dragged, and the next one after that. Susan was only too happy to dump a ton of personnel information on me so that I could get to know every staff member on paper, for the purposes of effective internal communication.

And now I was being copied on almost every single email that went around the office, including banal stuff. In fact, Gage pointed to the banal stuff as what I could work on streamlining within the system.

My desk was a mess, my inbox was exploding, and the only time I spent on Gage’s couch was for a catnap on Thursday at lunchtime. He didn’t even join me, just sat there in bemusement at his desk, working through lunch and probably watching me sleep. It might have been creepy if he hadn’t also put a blanket over me and made sure nobody came into his office and disturbed me.

Because it never rained but it poured, in addition I was starting to get somewhere in my search for my birth mother. Unfortunately, Jones was a pretty common last name, so I’d found at least a dozen people in adoption registries online and through correctional services that had the same name as my mother. Now all this extra work was distracting me from my goal, which was very frustrating.

I was used to letting things like work and school float around me, like I was dragging my hand in a lake while sitting in a canoe. Now Gage had handed me the oars and demanded I row. By Friday afternoon, I was absolutely, one thousand percent ready for the weekend.

“Maddie!”

I looked up blearily from my screen to see Bobbie’s smile and shock of black hair. My mouth curved involuntarily. “Hi! Have you got the weekend off again?”

We’d traded a few emails and text messages, mostly on a superficial level. One quick coffee while she was in town the weekend before last was the only face time we’d managed, but I was enjoying getting to know her.

“Yep.” She looked thoughtful. “I probably won’t come as often when the snow hits, so I’m making it count now.”

“I’m sure Aaron appreciates it,” I said mischievously. Then I glanced back at the closed office door behind me. “Does Gage know you’re here?”

“Nope, and let’s keep it that way if possible. I don’t want to hear the lectures about how a four-hour drive is too far for a ‘booty call.’ I just came to pick Aaron up.”

I couldn’t help laughing, imagining Gage’s reluctance to believe that his little sister and his best friend were capable of hooking up. I could already see the worried scowl on his face and the deep crease above the dark slash of his eyebrows. That line on his forehead had been deepening all week.

“Your secret is safe with me. How’s it going with you guys?”

“Amazing.” She sighed, clasping her hand over her heart dramatically. “I haven’t had a lot of luck with guys before. I’ve dated too many dickheads. Maybe it’s because I knew Aaron before, but we’re getting along like a…”

“House on fire?”

“Couple of horny minks.”

“TMI, Bobbie!”

We giggled together then hushed when we heard movement behind Gage’s door.

“How’s it going with big bro?” she whispered to me, jabbing her thumb in his general direction.

“He gave me a promotion. I think.” I still wasn’t sure if he was just spanking me with extra work, euphemistically speaking.

Bobbie raised her eyebrow in an eerily similar manner to her brother. “I guess that’s one way to get a raise out of him.” Then she jerked her pelvis forward and made a crude gesture. I almost choked in embarrassment.

“It’s not like that,” I protested, my face burning. It was almost true.

“Sure it’s not.” She must have seen my face fall, because she quickly said, “I’m just teasing. Actually, I think you’re good for him. You got him to take the stick out of his ass.”

I had? He was still a little too rigid and had high expectations, but I also loved getting to know the man who texted me silly jokes and had ordered my lunch all week. And he remembered to get my salad dressing on the side. I supposed from his sister’s perspective, Gage was mellowing.

She didn’t see the heat in his eyes when he looked at me. That heat threatened to spark into a raging fire soon. I knew there was a chance I’d get singed, so I’d been keeping some distance and myself protectively doused. Well, okay, my dampness seemed to be pretty constant with Gage around, looking at me all sexy-like.

“Hmmm. Taking stuff out of his ass is more of a fifth date thing, actually,” I joked. “We’ve only been on four.” Officially.

Bobbie clapped a hand over her loud snort, sending us both into giggles again. Her eyes danced with merriment. “TMI! TMI!” she echoed my earlier protest. We both froze, tamping down our laughter when we heard louder movements in Gage’s office. “I’m out,” she whispered. “Coffee Sunday before I head back?”

I nodded. “Text me.”

A smile lingered on my face even twenty minutes later, when Gage poked his head out his door to find me. “You almost done for the day?”

Hell, yeah! I was done for the week. Almost… “Just about. Have you got a second?”

“For you, I have a whole minute.” He flashed white teeth at me wolfishly and lured me into his lair.

Leaving my heels abandoned under my desk, I padded into his office in my stocking feet and locked the door behind me. The sound of the click made him whirl around in surprise.

“Miss Jones, whatever are you doing?” he asked archly.

“It’s time for a performance review, sir.” I’d been thinking about what he said about taking control over my life. I had a tendency to be spontaneous, to act first and think later. This was one of those times. “Since you threw me in the deep end, I’d like to show you what I’ve learned about effective internal communication.”