Tangled With Her Arrogant Boss

Blair was so grateful to be home. She just didn't understand the demon that had possessed her boss during their recent business trip. He had driven everyone hard. They arrived home one day earlier than planned, but she was glad to be away from him.

She had expected to return to the office with him. To her surprise, he gave her the rest of the afternoon off. Maybe he'd decided they both needed a break. That was fine by her.

Lately, he'd been a real shithead. Short-tempered and demanding. When he dropped her off at her front door, she almost flipped him the bird. She paused, unsure whether he'd catch the gesture in the rear-view mirror.

Roman had this uncanny ability to sense everything. It was almost like he had eyes in the back of his head. You'd think being gorgeous would make him a bit easier to work with. But no. If anything, it made him more of an ass. He was hot, and he knew it. Almost everyone always fell at his feet trying to please the man.

She didn't know what was going on. Roman had seemed more irritable in the past few months. He'd been rubbing her the wrong way. Of the two years she'd worked for him, these last two months had been the worst. If he didn't pay her so well, or if she didn't need the job so badly, maybe she would tell him where to go.

Blair shook her head. That wasn't true. Despite his sometimes shitty attitude, Roman did look after his staff. The benefits at Kingston's were great. People put up with more for the right perks.

The office offered excellent medical and dental coverage. There was also childcare within the building, and the company was cutting back on maternity leave taken. It was a win-win for Kingston.

Blair picked up her case and headed for the front door of the townhouse she shared with her fiancé, Dan, and her cousin Laura.

She checked her watch as she reached the front door. Dan wouldn't be home for a few hours. She planned to surprise him with a romantic dinner.

Laura was rarely home at night, always out partying. Her cousin was a model...not a supermodel, but still gorgeous. She knew how to make the most of it. Blair, on the other hand, wasn't interested in clothes or makeup. She was more into books.

They had both moved to the city for different reasons. Laura was to follow her modeling career, and for Blair, it had been a chance to work for a great company like Kingston Industries. Working normally under the great man himself, Roman Kingston. The company had their fingers in so many pies, Blair was never bored. Even when Roman was being his most demanding. She loved her job.

Fishing for her keys, she juggled her briefcase, handbag, and suitcase. Once the key was in the lock, it turned easily. Blair pushed the door open. Stepping inside, she put her handbag and suitcase down at the bottom of the stairs, before heading into the lounge room where she kept a desk. She set her briefcase on top.

Blair turned to make her way to the kitchen, pondering what to prepare for dinner. As she walked past the foot of the stairs, a sudden noise from upstairs caused her to halt in her tracks. Was there someone else in the house? Had she returned home to an intruder? Filled with panic, Blair took a step towards the front door, ready to flee.

However, at that moment, she realized something. Laura. Unlike Blair and Dan, Laura didn't adhere to their typical working hours. She often slept late and stayed out until the early hours of the morning. It wasn't the first time Blair had found her slumped on the front steps as she was leaving for work in the morning. Blair wasn't sure if she should call out now. What if it wasn't her cousin?

Her eyes scanned the room for something to defend herself with... just in case. Her gaze landed on her late father's baseball bat, which she always kept near the front door when she was home alone at night. It made her feel safer.

She grabbed the bat, weighing it in her hand for a moment. Before she set foot on the stairs, she paused, wondering if any of them creaked. She couldn't remember. Taking a deep breath to steady her racing heart, Blair ascended the stairs slowly, step by step.

When she reached the landing, she stopped, straining to listen.

"Please be Laura. Please be Laura, and not some masked man waiting to jump out at me," she muttered under her breath.

The hallway stretched ahead, with four doors. Three led to the bedrooms, and one opened to the shared bathroom. The only door ajar was the one to her and Dan's bedroom. The others were shut. But to get to her bedroom, she'd have to pass the other doors.

That's when she heard it, the unmistakable sound of a giggle from Laura, followed by a low, male groan. Relief flooded her chest. It wasn't a burglar. Laura had brought someone home.

Just as Blair was about to turn away and leave, she heard the voice of the man Laura was with.

"God, yes," the voice groaned.

Blair froze, her heart pounding. No. It couldn't be.

"Laura, you're so-" Dan's voice.

Her eyes widened. Dan. In their bed. With Laura. Blair's stomach lurched.

This couldn't be happening. She moved quietly down the hall until she stood outside her bedroom door, praying this was all some kind of terrible misunderstanding.

With a trembling hand, she pushed the door open.

The sight that greeted her was like a punch to the gut. She staggered backward, her mind unable to process what she was seeing.

They were tangled together in her bed, unmistakably intimate, unmistakably unclothed, and unmistakably not stopping.

Blair lifted a hand to her mouth to stop herself from crying out. No, no, no, no.

Everything felt like slow motion, Laura straddling him, Dan's hands gripping her, their voices low and breathy, their bodies moving with a familiarity that made Blair's stomach twist.

She had never seen Laura unclothed before, not that it mattered when she was currently on top of Blair's fiancé.

How could she do this? They had both watched Laura's father, Peter, cheat repeatedly on Laura's mother, creating a toxic home life. Blair had lived with them after losing her parents in a plane crash ten years ago. She had thought if anyone would understand the devastation of betrayal, it would be Laura.

This had to be a nightmare. Blair pinched herself, hard, as the sting registered immediately. Not a nightmare.

Dan had always hated Laura. He'd called her a slut. Mocked her outfits. Said she was shallow, incapable of real conversation.

Was it all a lie? Had he been jealous of the men in her life? Was that why?

One thing was certain, Dan's mother, Paula, would never accept Laura as a suitable wife for her son.

But none of that mattered now. What was she supposed to do? How did someone handle this? It was like a scene from a B-grade movie.

She couldn't pretend she hadn't seen it. She didn't want Dan anymore... not now, not after this. Taking him back would be disgusting.

How long had this been going on?

They had been living together for five months. Dan had moved in with her and Laura to save money before the wedding. Had he been sneaking around with Laura the whole time?

Laura let out another breathy whimper. Dan muttered something low and intimate back to her.

Blair's heart stopped. Did she know Blair was standing here? Had she said it on purpose?

Blair bit into her hand to keep from making a sound. She had given Dan her virginity. He had known what that meant to her. Knowing that he had done this.

She hadn't even planned to be home today. She had wanted to surprise him.

The surprise had been on her.

She felt sick. A cold sweat broke over her skin.

Her other hand came up, gripping the door frame for balance. Something solid pressed against her palm. The bat.

For a fleeting second, she thought about using it. Smashing the bed, the nightstand, both of them. But she wasn't that person. She rested the bat against the doorframe just in case she changed her mind and used it on them.

So instead, she straightened her spine. Let the rage steel her so when she finally spoke, her voice was calm. Icy, emotionless.

"While you two finish up, should I cook dinner?"