My Boss is Obsessed With Me

I adjusted my lipstick, giving myself another glance in the mirror. I looked great, nothing like a girl who had just been dumped by her high school sweetheart barely a day ago. I growled, letting go of my lipstick as a memory came to mind.

"Why did I even beg?" I muttered, grabbing my lipstick and putting it in my purse.

As I stared at my heels, I felt nothing. He was like a rock, someone I thought was safe and would never leave me. I thought we could be happy together, at least until he dropped that bombshell on me:

"I'm in love with someone else."

Like I would have begged him to stay if I was capable of falling in love with someone. It didn't change the fact that he would see me as a desperate woman, and I wasn't looking forward to running into him today. We were in the same department, was it even possible to avoid him?

My watch beeped and I stared at its small screen with wide eyes.

"Fuck," I muttered, dashing out of my house.

How did this happen?

I, Tyra Claude, the employee of the month six months in a row, was actually late. Knowing how quick rumours spread in my workplace, my co-workers would think I was late because of the break up. If only my boss would believe that.

My workplace was only a short walk from my house, a move I made so I wouldn't have to pay for the bus. Call me a cheapskate, but it worked. I dashed inside, ignoring the stares of everyone as I went to the elevator. I could hear the familiar sound of the door opening and mumbled prayers which were quickly halted when I crashed into a wall.

I stumbled, falling on my butt. I scanned the place, trying to determine how many people had watched me make a fool of myself.

"Are you okay?" I heard someone ask in front of me and let out a small laugh.

"If you consider fine as humiliating yourself, then I'm fuck-"

I cut myself short when my gaze shifted to the person who spoke. Dark grey eyes, shiny brown hair and a body that made any girl-besides me-swoon. I had just bumped into my boss, Ashton Pierce, and technically swore in front of him.

"Ms. Claude, you were saying something?" He asked, amusement clear in his tone as he cocked his head to a side.

He knew my name? Technically not my name, but he knew my last name.

"Y-you know my name?" I asked, instantly face palming as I realised what I had just asked.

"Of course I know your name. Who wouldn't know the name of their secretary?"

Secretary? I wasn't his secretary.

I quickly got up, dusting the imaginary dirt off my skirt. "I'm not your secretary." I muttered, slightly offended that he thought I was. "I'm in the first marketing team."

He leaned closer to me and it was the first time I noticed the stares of two other men clad in suits who were behind him. "It seems you don't read your E-mails. Starting today, Tyra Claude, you're my new secretary."

^^

"...How the fuck did that even happen?!" I yelled, glaring at my best friend, Joanne, when I heard her laugh. "This isn't funny." I said, my tone flat and my face not giving anything away.

She shrugged as she took a bite of her sandwich. "I mean, it kinda is. Maybe he likes you."

I gave her a disgusted look. "Nope, you're stupid. Besides, liking me isn't a valid reason for him to change my position. Being hot doesn't mean he can do everything that he likes."

I could see Joanne's face darkened, but it quickly went away when she looked at me. "D-do you still have feelings for Zeke?"

Ah... Zeke, my ex-boyfriend. Of course I didn't. A part of me didn't want to tell Joanne that, she was making me uncomfortable right now. What a random topic to switch to all of a sudden.

"I-I don't have feelings for him. I didn't break up first because he was safe... someone I didn't have feelings for, but I was still comfortable around..." I trailed off. The way Joanne could make me say everything on my mind was scary.

"Hmm..." She mumbled, taking another bite of her sandwich. My face twitched, the way she responded irked me.

"Look, I-"

"I'm going to the restroom," She cut me off and quickly left.

I blinked a few times and decided to ignore her weird behaviour. She was like that sometimes and it was something I needed to get used to.

A few minutes had passed and Joanne was still nowhere in sight. What could be taking her time? My lunch was finished and with break being almost over, I decided to check up on her. I ignored the stares I got as I walked down the hallways, rumours must have already spread that Ashton made me his secretary.

When I pushed open the door of the girl's restroom, it was empty. No one was in the stalls and I became confused.

"Where is she?" I muttered and left the bathroom.

I was about to leave and ask her about it when I saw her later, but that was when I heard something. Wait, more like two somethings.

"Moaning..." I muttered and looked around. Across the female restroom was the janitor's closet and as I pushed the door open, my eyes widened in shock.

Whoever said that ignorance was bliss, was right.

"J-Joanne, Zeke?" They pulled away from each other, the both of them refusing to meet my gaze. Joanne made slow steps towards me and attempted to hold my hand but I took a few steps back.

"Y-you don't need to explain or apologize." My gaze shifted to Zeke. "W-we broke up right? You can make out with whoever you want, even if it's my best friend."

I didn't wait for them to speak before I left. I wasn't in the mood to hear apologies they probably didn't mean. I bit my lip to stop myself from crying. Zeke, the person I thought of as my rock, was making out with my best friend. Were they screwing each other while we were dating?

My thoughts were cut off when I bumped into someone, the person caught me before I could fall, and through my teary gaze, I could make out Ashton's face.

"A-are you okay?"

I tried to speak but no words came out. Instead, I squeezed my eyes shut and shook my head. "I-I'm not..." I stuttered, only stopping when he let go of me. And without another word, I ran off.

How did my life end up like this?

I thought to myself as I swallowed another spoonful of my mint chocolate chip ice-cream. My not-so-kind boss was kind enough to give me the rest of the day off-which, now that I think about it, was weird. There was no kind of man who gave his secretary a day off because they caught their best friend making out with their ex. Maybe Joanne was right and Ashton did like me.

I shuddered at the thought and went back to scrolling my file explorer. Since I got home, I cried, ate ice cream and watched movies where the love interests couldn't get together. All in all, it was a very productive day. I stopped short when I got an Email, it was from work.

I looked at my Email app with small curiosity, I felt like it would be better to open the Email tomorrow, but with the stunt I pulled, I didn't have that right. Sighing, I clicked on the Email and my face twitched as I read the details.

"Work event? Mandatory attendance?" What was my boss thinking?

He expected me to attend a mandatory work event? I cringed at the thought. I couldn't. I wasn't going to walk in with puffy eyes and a food baby that looked like it was ready to be delivered any minute. I wasn't going to attend, no way. That was what I thought until something caught my eye.

"1200 dollars for attendance."

There was no way I was going to pass this up. I checked the time on my computer. I still had two hours before I needed to get ready, plenty of time to get rid of this food baby. At least I think that's how exercise works. After a bath and change of clothes, I made my way to the gym near my house.

It was a two minute stroll from my house and when I walked in, the receptionist, my neighbour, gave me this look like I had walked into the wrong place on my way to a fast-food joint. A few days ago, I would have given myself that look too. I mean, the last time I exercised was when I lived with my parents-if you consider babysitting my baby niece as exercise.

I walked around for a while, finally stopping when I reached the cardio place- or what I think it's called. I settled for an empty treadmill and turned it on, but stopped before I could get on, when I saw him. The same person I kept running into, my boss, Ashton Pierce.

What was he doing here? To me he never seemed like the kind of man to exercise, or at least that was before I crashed into his rock hard abs this morning. I shook my head and pressed my lips tightly together to stop myself from drooling. Our eyes locked and he gave me a small smile before he started making his way towards me.

This is bad. What was he doing? Did he think I would make small talk with him? The same man who had the power to fire me? The same man who had seen me cry before?

"Hello, beautiful," Ashton said, a fraction of a smile on his face.

Wow, seriously? Joanne seemed more right with every action this man took.

"H-hey," I stuttered and took a deep breath, as if that would help with the heat rushing to my cheeks. "t-that's not something that you say to your secretary."

He cocked his head to a side, a mischievous grin on his face. "Why? I'll compliment you even if you're my secretary," He leaned closer to me. "Besides," he muttered, his voice dropping to a seductive whisper. "It's the truth,"

I scoffed and rolled my eyes. Ashton Pierce, well-known playboy, he was probably trying to get me in his bed. "Thank you, but I'm not interested in hooking up," I turned and stepped on the treadmill, but the speed was unexpected and I lost my footing.

I yelped and closed my eyes, bracing for impact. So this was how it ended, a girl with so much potential, gone after a messy break up and rejecting her boss's advances. I yelped again when images of my mangled body came to mind, but the fall never came. I didn't realise what happened, until someone's biceps clenched under my torso and I was pulled away from the treadmill.

I could feel the person's breath on my exposed neck and my body went still.

"I wasn't asking you to hook up with me." Ashton's voice sounded and I squirmed, forcing myself out of his grip.

It never dawned on me that I needed to steady myself first, until my head collided with the floor. A pained groan sounded from me, and I quickly got up from the floor, adjusting my clothes. I glanced up at Ashton who only gave me an amused smirk. He irked me, I never thought that I could get angry at someone that I couldn't deny I was attracted to. I was ready to lash out when I felt something warm trickle down my forehead.

"Fucking hell?! I'm bleeding!" I yelled, giving Ashton an irritated glare. "This is all your fault!" I yelled again.

He raised a brow before laughing. "Sweetheart, you pulled away from me and do I need to remind you that it was you who set that treadmill's speed to the highest."

I felt heat rush to my cheeks. I'd only used a treadmill twice and I assumed the treadmill only had one speed. He was right, it was my fault, but stubborn me wasn't giving up so easily. "Well, when you caught me, you started saying all those things that... that..." I trailed off when he smirked.

He inched closer to me, his scent suffocating and alluring at the same time. "Those things that what, Sweetheart?"

I gulped and inched back. I felt a sharp pain from my head and everything around me started to spin. I lost my footing and tripped again, only to be caught by Ashton again. He wasn't smirking anymore and the worried look on his face made him seem more human.

"Tyra... we'll continue this conversation at later."

I wanted to give another snarky comment, but the world went dark as I opened my mouth to speak.

I entered the venue with my head throbbing, feet sore, and stomach in pain. Who knew it was possible to gain this much weight in two days? Says the girl who has been feeding on ice cream since she got home.

I spotted the other members of my old marketing department and walked up to them with a smile faker than my knockoff designer bag. They all returned it with their own artificial grins. Stupid bastards.

We weren't close. Heck, we wouldn't even talk if we weren't in the same department. They'd pick a million dollars over me any day, and honestly, I didn't blame them-I'd pick a million bucks over me too. I could be so annoying when I was alone.

"Tyra, I didn't think you would come after... what happened," Jenna said, and everyone visibly tensed.

I took a deep breath to stop myself from punching her into her next life and responded. "I didn't think I would come either, but after I saw that bonus, I just had to."

They all gave me a puzzled look, the kind you give a drunk person acting mad in the street.

"What are you talking about? We weren't given any bonuses."

I raised a brow, about to argue when they all exchanged quick, knowing glances.

"Tyra?"

I tensed, slowly turning to the voices behind me. Well, if it isn't the couple of the year-Zeke and Joanne.

"I didn't notice you were here," Zeke continued, flashing me a smile so fake it made me wish I could knock out all his perfect teeth without going to jail. And that excuse? Please.

"Well, I'm sure you didn't. Last I checked, I was the only one with ginger-red hair. Are you sure you didn't come here on purpose?"

His cheeks turned red, and Joanne wrapped her arms around his waist. Wow. I had to give it to her-I had never seen anyone turn into such a conniving witch in just a few hours. She pulled away, giving me an apologetic glance like she wasn't thinking about clawing my face off the same way I wanted to punch her right now.

"Tyra, we're sorry about what happened. We didn't know how to tell you without hurting your feelings..."

I rolled my eyes. The nerve of these two, trying to force me into forgiveness by playing the "we didn't want to hurt you" card.

Laughter erupted around me, and that's when it hit me-these idiots didn't even wait for me to accept their apology before moving on to small talk. Nothing good ever came from being the bigger person. I should have decked Joanne the minute I caught her making out with Zeke. These bastards were only going to push me further.

"Hey, sweetheart."

The voice, the scent, the strong arm wrapping around my waist-it all hit me at once. Warmth radiated through me as I subconsciously leaned into his touch, my body betraying me before my brain caught up.

"Hey," I said subconsciously, tilting my head up to meet my co-workers' stares and wondering why the ladies looked like they could kill me if it were legal. I shifted slightly, my body brushing against his, and a quiet exhale escaped his lips. A shiver ran down my spine.

He chuckled, lowering his head to my ear, his breath fanning my cheek. "If you keep this up, we might have our own party somewhere else."

His voice was smooth, confident-too familiar. That's when it clicked. The scent, the tailored suit, the presence that made everyone's attention snap to us the moment he spoke.

I tensed, my breath hitching as realization sank in.

"A-Ashton?" I questioned, tilting my head to look at him. For an elusive boss, he sure seemed to be everywhere that I was in.

He laughed, the sound enough to send shivers running down my spine. "Took you long enough, Sweetheart." He didn't wait for my response before pulling me away from the assholes I had once thought I could converse with.

"I'm glad you could make it." He said and spun me around to face him, his hand sliding to my waist.

"I wouldn't have if I..." I trailed off when I remembered my co-workers' expression when I mentioned the bonus. "You seem to be everywhere I am, are you spying on me by chance, Mr. Pierce?" I joked, but the look he gave me almost made me wonder if I was right.

He leaned his face closer to mine, his breath coming in contact with my face. "I am." He stated, no joking smile, he seemed serious.

The music stopped and he removed his hands from my waist, his eyes twinkling with mischief. "I'll see you some other time, Sweetheart." He flashed me a small smile and left.

I sighed, looking back to where my co-workers were. The idea of Ashton watching me made me nervous and excited me at the same time. I shook my head as if it would remove all the bad thoughts in my mind, and made my way to my co-workers. Joanne quickly held my hand when I reached them and I gave her an irritated glare. I didn't know if gaining witch powers made her dense because she just smiled at me and tightened her grip on my hand. What were we, five?

I wanted to scream at her-hell, slap her and humiliate her here but I had to stop myself because everyone was silent.

"Can I get everyone's attention?" I tensed, turning to the stage.

Here he was in all his glory, chairman of Roe Foods, Cameron Pierce, Ashton's grandfather. He was in his late seventies or so and I had to admit that he did not age badly, not that I could be attracted to him like that but damn I hoped I could look that young when I was old.

"Firstly, I want to thank everyone who attended this event. The whole purpose of this is to announce my retirement..." Murmurs filled the room and I rolled my eyes.

Yeah, it was unexpected, but not for the reason any outsider would have thought. The man was due for retirement a fucking decade ago, we all just assumed he would die while working.

"I would also like to announce that my grandson, Ashton Pierce, will inherit my company..." there was small applause as Ashton went to the stage, he looked more humble. The applause seized and the old man cleared his throat and continued to speak. "Ashton will inherit my company, provided that he can get married within the first three months after my retirement."

I mentally rolled my eyes. What was with rich people and handing out inheritances provided their children got married? It all seemed like bullshit to me. There was no urgent need for marriage in a business.

My gaze shifted to Ashton, he didn't seem angry or particularly surprised and I couldn't understand why. Shouldn't he have been angry that his grandfather was controlling his life? His gaze shifted to me and I froze when we locked eyes. Even from so far away, his dark green eyes still managed to have an effect to me.

He smirked again-the smirk that always felt like it was for me alone-and mouthed something. I couldn't get what he was saying, but before I could question him, he was gone.