Forbidden Attraction: An Office Affairs Romance (My Billionaire Boss Book 1) Read online

  FORBIDDEN

  ATTRACTION

  (BOOK ONE)

  OFFICE AFFAIRS ROMANCE

  GABRIELLE SNOW

  Copyright © 2020 by Gabrielle Snow

  All rights reserved.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination and used in a fictitious manner. Any similarity to actual people, living or dead, places, or events is entirely coincidental or fictionalized.

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  Table of Contents

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  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 1

  Nicole.

  “Asshole!” I shouted to the taxi driver who splashed water on me as I clambered across the street. The cold, relentless November rain was beating down on me and I swiftly escaped it inside the office building. I took a deep breath as my eyes skimmed over the glass doors and shiny marble floors. Watching my step in my soaked, slippery shoes, I made my way down the hall towards the elevators, inhaling the familiar scent.

  It was my last day working in this building, which I found hard to believe. I’d spent my post-college years here, after graduating with a Masters in Communication. Luck had favored me when I’d managed to get an internship right after college, which then turned into a permanent position. For the past three years of my life, this place had molded me into the person I was today. Even more than the place itself, it was the people I worked with: my coworkers had seen me grow both professionally and personally.

  Looking back, I cringed at the thought of the 24-year-old me, fresh out of college like a fish out of water. Truth be told, before starting at this company, I’d felt like a teenager trapped in a mid-twenties body.

  The elevator doors slid apart and I got in, pushing the button with my cold, stiff fingers. I wasn’t particularly fond of this time of the year in the city. But even that wouldn’t affect my mood today because on Monday, I’d be starting in a new, demanding position at a much larger company. I couldn't help but feel extremely overjoyed and happy that I, Nicole Miller, 28 years old, had been able to make the impossible possible. Against all odds, I had managed to nail the interview for my dream job, which had resulted in me getting hired on the spot! That moment, which had been the greatest moment of my life so far, happened last Friday. Hello corporate world, meet your new PR Executive!, I thought and smiled to myself.

  However, it felt weird to leave this place behind. This was where I’d made my first real friends after college. Not to mention that they had been there for me during tough times. The hardest of which was when my boyfriend of over a decade decided to leave me to go ‘kick it in Mexico and live a life free of responsibilities and commitment’. Yup, those were his exact words. Still, the real joke had been that right before he’d delivered this news to me, I’d been convinced that he was going to ask me to marry him. Turns out, that wasn’t the case and life as I knew it had shattered then and there.

  Yes, that was the naive Nicole back in the day. I was the type of person who always prefers to see the good in people and unfortunately with Jason it backfired, hard. That no-good guy had been my one and only boyfriend to this day, and I had steered clear of the opposite sex ever since that incident. There was no way I would let someone have that kind of emotional power over me ever again, just for them to turn around and use it against me.

  The elevator pinged as it arrived to my floor and I stepped outside, shaking off my beige wool coat and hanging it up. Before I had time to realize what was happening, I heard a loud yell.

  “Surprise!” I turned around, seeing all three members of my team gathered around me, beaming happily. My mouth opened in amazement. I hadn’t expected anything like this, even on my last day.

  Katy, my best friend was holding a bottle of champagne. “She has arrived!” She laughed and handed the bottle to me.

  I smiled and wrapped my free hand around her neck. “Thank you! This was completely unexpected.”

  “Well of course we had to surprise you! Today is a special occasion. Plus we’ve had a great time working with you.” Maria, the other member of our small team remarked cheerfully.

  “Although we’re all sad to see you leave, we are really happy for you and this amazing opportunity of a lifetime.” Lara, our team leader, chimed in, handing me a farewell card from all of them.

  “This is so sweet!” I managed to blurt out as tears of joy rose up to my eyes. Holding on to the bottle, I headed over to my desk, with everyone walking beside me.

  “Well, let’s get your last day here started so that we can pop that bottle when five o’clock comes around!” Lara grinned. “No one’s working overtime tonight.”

  Katy looked at her deviously and chuckled. “Nicole, I’m telling you, we are gonna give you a proper goodbye tonight. I just hope you took my advice and got some rest last night.”

  I let out a laugh and sat down in my chair, turning on my laptop to get the day started. I couldn’t wait for tonight.

  Chapter 2

  Chris.

  “Pleasure doing business with you Mr. Chase,” the man standing in front of me said as he shook my hand. He had just signed a contract to join my enterprise, a deal which would make him a very rich man indeed.

  “The pleasure is all mine. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to meet with my assistant about another meeting,” I replied hastily, giving his hand a squeeze and then proceeding towards my office.

  I pushed the door open, stepping into the typical CEO’s office in a high rise building. My assistant was already there waiting for me anxiously. “Sorry for my tardiness Linda, that signing of the contract took longer than I thought,” I explained. “He almost had second thoughts.”

  “No worries Mr. Chase, I’ve been your assistant long enough to know how things tend to go around here,” Linda smiled at me, pushing a strand of blonde her behind her ear. “Shall we?”

  I nodded and sat down in my chair as she pulled out a binder from behind her back. “As per your schedule, you have another meeting with Mr. Simmons at three, after which you, Tom and Josh will be having dinner with a potential client. I have done my due diligence and placed a reservation at his favorite dinner spot here in Seattle,” Linda said, looking very pleased with herself.

  “Well done Linda, you always exceed my expectations. I know I hired you for a reason,” I grinned. Truthfully, Linda was the best assistant I could’ve hoped for. She was always up to speed with everything and came more than prepared into every single situation. For a lack of better words, she was truly my right hand man.

  Upon hearing my compliment, Linda stared back at me smugly, closed the door and walked up to my desk, placing her hands on it. The open top button of her shirt revealed her cleavage in a white lace bra. I sat back in my seat, staring back at her confidently.

  “Is there anything else I can do for you Mr. Chase?” She articulated
suggestively, moisturising her red, plump lips with her tongue. For a fleeting second, her hand grabbed onto my tie, pulling me towards her bosom. I caught a whiff of her floral perfume. Almost as suddenly as she had grabbed onto it, she released it and walked around the desk to stand next to me.

  I flashed her a cheeky smirk and swung my chair a quarter turn so I faced her. Linda got down to her knees and started unbuckling my belt.

  I glanced at my watch and lifted my eyebrows at her. “I need to start preparing for my meeting in 10 minutes.”

  “Not to worry Mr. Chase, I’ll be finished before that,” she grinned, reaching for my boxers. She gave me a final raunchy look before diving down onto her target.

  I raised my hands behind my neck and looked up as I felt her lips surrounding me. Could there be a nicer Friday tradition?

  Chapter 3

  Nicole.

  I was finishing up my farewell email to everyone, when I heard a loud pop. I looked up from my laptop and saw Katy filling up glasses with champagne.

  “How many bottles did you get?!” I asked, glancing at the bottle I’d received from them in the morning, standing soundly on my desk. “Are you trying to get me drunk?” I raised my eyebrow and laughed. Katy grinned at me, continuing on her task of pouring the champagne.

  I hit the send button and got up from my chair. That was it. I was officially done here and for the next few hours I would be completely preoccupied with enjoying myself fully. And of course have some champagne while I was at it. I walked over to Katy’s desk and she handed me one of the glasses.

  “Maria and Lara, it’s five o’clock so turn off your laptops. We’re about to drink to Nicole’s last day at the fire station!” She yelled out.

  We called our small department the ‘fire station’ because it felt like we always had to put out fires caused by the other departments. But, I guess that’s what you get for working in Public Relations — making sure things look great to the outsider, however chaotic they are on the inside.

  Soon enough, Maria and Lara appeared from around the corner and joined us around the desk.

  “To Nicole, thank you for these years and for being an amazing team member to all of us. This department wouldn’t be where it is today without your valuable input. I’m sad to see you go but I know you’re absolutely gonna crush it! Now, let’s drink to it!” Lara finished and we all touched our glasses together.

  I took a sip of the champagne, feeling the bubbles tickling and then bursting on my tongue. It was exactly what I needed after a long week. Taking another mouthful, I made my way back to my desk and grabbed my handbag from under it. It was time to get ready for the night. I seldom went out, and on the rare occasions when I did, I loved to dress up properly. I took my things and walked into the ladies room.

  “I hope you know you’re not getting ready by yourself,” Katy said as she squeezed next to me in front of the mirror. She filled my glass up with more champagne and winked at me before starting to brush her hair.

  BY THE TIME WE ARRIVED at the club, it was barely 10 p.m. and I was feeling tipsy, not only from the champagne but also from the wine we’d had over dinner. After we had gotten ready at the office, the four of us had headed to a downtown sushi restaurant. The wine had been flowing and the food had been delicious.

  The club was a luxurious hotspot on a Friday, filled with business men in suits and women in their late twenties and early thirties, dressed in designer from head to toe. It definitely wasn’t my usual go-to spot, but the girls had managed to convince me to tag along. Apparently, as an executive I needed to get comfortable in settings like these.

  I was wearing an emerald green button up shirt, tucked inside a black mini skirt. My look was finished off with a pair of tights and a killer pair of black stiletto heels, plus my grandma’s golden bracelet that shined on my wrist. My wavy, auburn hair flowed freely just below my shoulders, and the natural pink lipstick I was wearing brought out my green eyes. Under Katy’s watchful eye, I’d managed to make myself look like the PR Executive I was to become on Monday.

  We made our way to the front of the line and the bouncer let us right in after Lara told him her name. As we stepped inside the club, loud music filled the air around me and the rumbling of the bass reverberated deep inside my chest. Lara lead us deeper into the club and up the stairs, all the way to a table with a bottle of champagne. She gestured for us to sit down in the black velvet couch, and we happily obliged. My feet were starting to get sore from the high heels.

  A waiter came by our table to check on us, filling up our glasses. I took mine and sipped on it, observing the scene. The dance floor was filled with people and every single one of them seemed to have a great time. My eyes skimmed over the scene, finally fixating on a person sitting at a table at the other side of the club.

  Their table was filled with business men and elegant women, the laughter that emanated from them almost audible through the loud music. However, this person was by himself, just watching people, deep in thought. He looked intriguing and mysterious, in addition to being extremely handsome. I blushed at the thought, feeling the champagne’s effects.

  The guy was dressed in a dark grey suit, his brown hair short but styled. His dark brown eyes were scanning the club intensively, when, all of a sudden, as if he had sensed me watching him, they shifted to mine. One corner of his lips stretched up into a half-grin and I quickly looked away, feeling like I had been caught from doing something I shouldn’t have been. My face felt hot from the embarrassment so I decided to distract myself from what had happened and just play it cool.

  “Erm, you wanna dance?” I asked Katy, getting up from my seat. I could still feel his stare burning on my skin and I desperately wanted to escape it. Katy nodded and I helped her up, guiding us down the stairs to the dance floor.

  The DJ changed the song just as we got there. “This is my song!” Katy shouted through the music and began showing off her best moves.

  As we danced, my mind kept racing. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had a proper night out. In all honesty, it must have been before Jason had left me a little over a year ago. It felt great being out with friends and I was determined to make up for lost time. I’m going to enjoy myself fully tonight, I thought to myself, a joyous grin spreading across my face. We danced as the lights flashed and the bass boomed.

  After a good while of wild dancing, Katy pulled me off the dance floor gasping, “I need a drink. I don’t know how anyone could argue that dancing isn’t a real workout.” I nodded in agreement and we got back to our table where the rest of our group were deep in conversation with two business men.

  “Hey Katy and Nicole, let me introduce you to Tom and Josh. They came over to talk to us from that table over there,” Maria pointed her finger to the table where the mystery guy had been sitting. Unfortunately for me, he seemed to have disappeared while Katy and I had been dancing. Bummer. Even though I had escaped his stares, it had been fun to have some flirty action, albeit it being rather short-lived.

  Tom and Josh made room for us on the couch and we joined in on the conversation.

  A few glasses of champagne later, I felt Katy poking me in the ribs. “Isn’t that the guy who was undressing you with his eyes earlier?”

  I glanced behind me and there he was, standing a few feet away from us, holding a drink in his hand. When he saw me turn my head around, he smiled, showing his perfect pearly whites and then made his way over to our table.

  “Hey, it’s Chris everyone! Come on, there’s plenty of room for you here,” Tom yelled over the music and gestured at the couch.

  Chris looked at the empty space next to me. “This spot is free?”

  I felt my cheeks turning red and hot, and tried to convince myself it was because of the alcohol and not because of his effect on me.

  “Yeah, go ahead,” I said nervously and shifted closer to Katy, who was grinning at me like she was in on a secret. I gave her a look which basically screamed ‘I’m warning you’, pro
mpting her to change the cheeky grin into a friendly smile.

  She turned to Chris. “So, what brings you here?”

  “Oh, you know, just a boys night out on the town. Nothing special,” Chris answered nonchalantly. “I’m interested in knowing what brings you here, and how is it that I’ve never seen you here before?” He asked, observing my face. I could feel his eyes on my skin, and the side of his thighs pressing onto mine on the couch. My legs felt tingly and my stomach suddenly found itself in a knot.

  “Well, it’s my last day at work, so we decided to celebrate that,” I answered, feeling flustered. I downed my drink, just to have something to distract me from his gaze. “But enough about me.”

  He glanced at my empty glass and reached for another bottle from the table, filling up my glass. “As you wish..miss..?” his voice trailed off questioningly as he moved the bottle over his glass.

  “Nicole,” I said, still feeling nervous for some reason. “And this is Katy.”

  Katy took his hand and shook it, appearing to be very pleased with my performance.

  “Well, nice to meet you both, Katy and Nicole. You probably caught my name earlier when Tom invited me over,” Chris grinned. “But in case you missed it, my name is Christopher, or Chris, which is how I usually go by.” He finished and winked playfully to the both of us.

  Suddenly, Katy stood up, grabbed me by my arm and looked at Chris, “We’ll be right back, just going to powder our noses!”. She pulled me up and lead me to the ladies’ room. It was more luxurious than I had anticipated, with a shiny, all black interior. Classy, I thought to myself.

  Katy settled in front of a full length mirror and reached inside her clutch, pulling out a lipstick. She applied a layer and then looked at me, her expression mischievous.

  “And what might be the reason for us fleeing the scene just now?” I joked, the bemusement clearly readable from my face.