Tempted by the Boss (Tempted Series Book 1) Read Free Page B

best champagne I’ve ever had,” I said, tilting the
glass in front of me.
    “I’m glad you like it.” He raised his hand towards the
bartender. “Jaime, will you send a bottle of Veuve over to Table 16?”
    “Of course, sir.”
    I stared at him. “How did you kno-”
    He stuck his hand out. “Nice to meet you, Plus One.”
    “Ella,” I said, reaching for his open palm. As he shook my hand,
I swear it felt like he was pulling me towards him, and I teetered on my tip
toes as I tried to stand my ground. “Nice to meet you, too…”
    “Will. And I assure you the pleasure is all mine. Now if you’ll
excuse me for a moment.”
    He walked past me and I turned to watch him. His suit pulled
perfectly between his shoulders with every step as he made his way towards a
woman with a headset and a clipboard at the end of the bar. She looked slightly
impatient as if she’d been trying to get his attention for a while, but I
hadn’t even noticed him see her. It had felt like his eyes had been on me the
whole time.
    I floated back to the table in a daze.
    “Are you okay?” my Mom asked. “You look… flushed.”
    “I’m fine.”
    “Was that William you were talking to?”
    “I think so.” I pulled my chair out. “He’s going to send a
bottle of champagne to our table.”
    “I told you he was lovely, didn’t I? Didn’t I tell you he was
lovely?”
    “You did.” I sat in my seat and took another sip of champagne.
“I thought he’d be older.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “I mean I thought he’d be old.”
    “He’s too old for you.”
    “He’s not too anything for me.”
     She squinted at me. “Very funny.”
    “He does look really young, though.”
    “Of course he does,” she said. “When you have as much money as
he does, what do you need wrinkles for?”
     
     

Chapter 4: Will
     
     
    As the host of the party, I didn’t have the luxury of playing
favorites, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t have one. And tonight there was no
contest.
    I couldn’t take my eyes off Ella. Every now and then she would
hike her tight little dress up when she thought no one was looking, and I
wanted so badly to help her out of it and into something more comfortable. Like
my whirlpool jacuzzi.
    I didn’t have to know everyone at the party to know she had more
personality than anyone in the room. The way her face lit up when she found something
amusing drove me crazy all night. I wanted to be the one making her smile. I
was especially jealous at one point when someone made her laugh so hard it
looked like she may have choked some champagne bubbles into her nose because
her eyes started to water as she gasped for breath.
    I wanted to be the one making her gasp for breath.
    Fortunately for me, I had a seat right on the stage during the
entire raffle so I could keep my eye on her. At one point she noticed me
looking in her direction, and I saw her blush from across the room.
    I felt a tap on my shoulder. I swear if I had a dollar for every
time someone tapped on my shoulder- well, I probably did- but that’s not the
point. Someone always wanted my attention for something, and it was especially
apparent now that the only person who wasn’t asking me for something was the one
person I was prepared to give whatever they wanted.
    “It’s time for your closing remarks in three minutes and fifteen
seconds, Will.”
    “But I won’t be ready for at least three minutes and twenty
seconds, Emily.”
    “That’s hilarious, sir. Be sure to tell some more jokes when you
get the mic, but maybe not that racist one you told to the Russians.”
    “Noted. I think you should take the day off Monday, Em.”
    “Another good one. You’re really breaking me up. I think I just
peed a little.”
    I smiled. Emily had been my right hand woman for the last ten
years. She was around fifty years old and ran my schedule like a drill
sergeant. One time after a particularly taxing evening, she even informed me
that my underwear was inside