Stranded for Christmas with my Boss (Forbidden Billionaire Boss Daddies)

2. Jensen

Chapter two

Jensen

O f course, this is going to happen. It’s typical at this point.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I mutter under my breath as I hit the emergency call button, waiting to hear from someone who can help us get out of here. I cannot be stuck in an elevator when I have an important meeting in thirty minutes. “Come on…come on.”

Alyssa breathes in deeply and pulls her hair away from her face and neck, which are both flushed, panic glinting in her eyes. “Someone knows we’re stuck in the elevator, right? Someone can get us?”

I jab the emergency call button again. “I’m trying to let them know. Why the hell isn’t this thing working?”

I don’t even hear a dial tone, much less a voice telling me that they’re going to fix this mess. All I’m trying to do is move through this January update plan as smoothly as I can and get everything done in time. That means hitting milestones on time and making meetings on time.

How the hell am I supposed to get anything done while I’m stuck in a metal box?

I pinch the bridge of my nose, tension forming in my temples. We’re in the beginning of December, and everyone knows that this month flies by until Christmas. Nothing can be pushed behind, or it’ll collide with the holiday.

That means this new assistant needs to keep up with me and not slow me down like the last two I had. They weren’t even just slowing me down, they were stepping on my damn feet, tripping me up, and screwing up my schedule so badly that no one knew where I was supposed to be and when.

“Do you think there’s actually a fire?” Alyssa asks as her blue eyes widen. She fans her face. “It does feel a little warm in here.”

Oh, great. I didn’t even think about that. I’d rather not die inside of a metal coffin.

“It feels warm in here because you’re freaking out,” I tell her. “Take a breath.”

Alyssa wrinkles her nose at me. “I’m not freaking out. I’m…making observations.”

I step closer to her, my gaze latching onto the pink hue on her cheeks. The quick rise and fall of her chest. Such subtle things shouldn’t be so captivating, but they hit me like magnetic waves. “Observations that are working you up.”

Alyssa’s lips part, but no words come out. Air puffs out of her nose in a frustrated manner as she purses her lips. “Is there any way to figure out if we’re going to burn to death or not?”

“Let’s see,” I say as I take out my phone, hoping that a call goes through. I tap on my CTO’s contact. If anyone is going to figure out a way to get me out of here, it’ll be my best friend since college and the co-founder of this company.

He’ll take a sledgehammer to these doors if the situation gets dire enough.

“Where the hell are you?” Austin’s voice immediately punches through the speaker of my phone.

Important questions first. “Is there actually a fire?”

“Firefighters are coming to check it out, but I haven’t heard anyone say anything about a fire or even seeing smoke. We’re all evacuating out to the street,” Austin tells me. “Someone probably just pulled the alarm.”

“Son of a bitch.” I shake my head as frustration crackles through me. “I’m stuck in the elevator with my assistant and the damn call button won’t work. Can you get someone to come get us?”

Austin lets out a dry laugh of disbelief. Only he can laugh at my misfortunes and not get fired. “Are you serious? Just hold tight. I’ll find someone.”

I hang up and turn to Alyssa, who glances around like she’s trying to find an escape. “The only other way out is up through the roof, and I wouldn’t recommend that.”

Alyssa shoots me a sharp look that catches me off-guard at first. “I’m not an idiot. If I’m on the roof and the elevator starts back up, I could be toast.”

Well, look at that. She came into my office all shy-like, and now she’s really giving me an attitude now. That should just piss me off, but her behavior just makes me curious.

I didn’t have a hand in the hiring process for her position because I trusted my HR people to find me the best fit. Evidently she didn’t even have the most experience and hadn’t worked under another big, notable name. She did have great feedback from references and killed it during her interviews, though.

There must be something special about her that made HR believe that she could do this job.

I would’ve been lying if I said she didn’t immediately catch my eye the moment she walked into my office. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a pencil skirt compliment a woman’s body like it does hers. A faint but unmistakable mixture of light freckles and a natural flush adorn her cheeks, contrasting the captivating iciness of her eyes.

She’s effortlessly sexy, but she’s here to work. That’s what I need to focus on, even if it’s hard to stop looking at her so closely when we’re trapped in such a tight space.

“It looks like you’re ready to claw your way out of here.”

Alyssa shakes her head and looks away from me, staring at the doors that refuse to open. “There’s not much else to do in here besides look around.”

She’s nervous. I can hear the slightest tremor in her voice when she makes her little, sharp comments. That’s where her agitation must be coming from.

I check the time on my watch and faintly curse beneath my breath. “We’ll have to push the meeting. Damn it…I can’t afford this.”

“I can do that when we get out of here,” Alyssa tells me as she turns back to me, crossing her arms over her chest and straightening up. “I can do anything you need me to.”

Ah, I see. It looks like I struck a nerve or two earlier by mentioning the typical work environment. I’m only being straight with her.

We’re a company full of people who believe in the product and are determined to make it bigger and better than ever before. This isn’t some temporary gig that people use to boost their resumes. Soul Flames has become one of the companies that people want to work at.

So, the people here work hard, and if someone isn’t willing to match the pace, someone else certainly will. In return for all the hard work they do, my employees are well taken care of and compensated.

Now, I just have to see what category she falls into: the ones who can hang, or the ones who don’t care to.

“Is that right?” I ask her as I angle my body to face her.

Alyssa doesn’t back up or even lean away. She holds her ground and offers me a smile that’s most likely sarcastic. “Of course, sir.”

Heat sparks within me as our eyes meet. She’s close enough that I can smell whatever sweet-scented product she put in her hair, mingling with something that reminds me of strawberries. Damn, she even smells edible.

“Does that include getting rid of that attitude of yours?” I question her as I tilt my head.

Alyssa’s smile wavers. Got her. She breathes in slowly through her nose and tucks her hair away from her face. “I apologize. This whole situation is…stressful.”

I step closer to her, prompting her to lift her chin to hold my gaze. I should just tell her to breathe and that someone will be here soon, but something about that sarcastic smile flipped a switch. Deep down, she wants to challenge me, but she cares about the job too much to give herself free rein.

I don’t want her to hold back. Hell, we’re stuck in this damn elevator for who knows how long. We may as well give each other a little bit of entertainment.

“Can you handle that? Because this job can be stressful at times.”

Alyssa’s face twitches, her shoulders stiffening. I want to hear whatever sharp comments she’s fighting tooth and nail to keep to herself. “As long as we’re not getting stuck in elevators every day, I’ll be just fine.”

Good answer. She’s quick on her feet and not easily deterred, which are certainly traits I need my executive assistant to have. Her witty attitude is admittedly pretty sexy too.

“Time will tell, right?” I say as the corner of my mouth turns up ever so slightly. “If you can keep your cool now, you’ll probably be able to hang in there.”

Alyssa steps closer to me and holds a hand up, her fingertips hovering mere inches from my chest. “Did I do something to make you have such little faith in me?”

I wrap my fingers around her hand and lower it, leaning a few inches closer as her eyes widen in surprise. I don’t even expect my own move, but we’re way too close to each other. Now she’s that much harder to resist. “I don’t want to get attached to such a nice view if you’re just going to choke and leave.”

Alyssa’s jaw drops in shock, her eyes sharpening. “Excuse me?”

“Is this too much for you to handle?” I ask, nudging her closer and closer to the line. To the breaking point. “Do I need to stop?”

Alyssa pulls her hand away from mine. Hell, I expect her to slap me in the face, but she grabs the lapel of my suit instead and jerks me forward. She leans up on her toes, crashing her lips against mine in a heated kiss that knocks the breath out of my lungs.

Fire lights within me, sparking my next movements as I bury my hand in her hair. I pull her closer with a firm grip, my free hand cupping her warm cheek as her body presses flush against mine.

Alyssa lets out a breathy moan as I take over, melting against me as our kiss intensifies. I hope she wasn’t expecting just a peck. I don’t kiss like that.

My thumb rests on her chin, tilting her head just right as our lips part. Just feeling the soft push of her tongue against mine makes aroused heat pulse through me. She tastes sweet and hot, making me wonder how good she tastes between her thighs.

As if I’m not already getting hard enough from kissing her. Thoughts like that don’t help.

Alyssa slides her hands up my arms, her fingers tracing the curves of my biceps. Her body presses against mine, needy and soft.

“Fuck,” I breathe out as I feel the weight of her breasts push against my chest. I grab her wrists and pin them against the back wall of the elevator, my thigh slotting itself between her legs.

Alyssa moans into my mouth as her wrists stay above her head. She subtly rocks her hips, grinding against my thigh like she has no control over herself.

I want her to let go, to lose control of the part of her that makes her behave. It’s thrilling plucking at her delicate little strings, making her unravel and show me what she’s truly thinking. What she truly wants.

I free up one hand, keeping her wrists together with the other one. I cup her cheek, my fingertips slowly trailing down her neck until they reach her breast. She automatically pushes her chest out as I squeeze her breast, prompting me to squeeze harder.

Alyssa pushes herself down even harder against my thigh, her fingers flexing as she aches to reach out to me. I almost allow her until we suddenly feel the elevator shift beneath our feet, making us freeze. “What’s happening?”

I don’t have to answer because the elevator starts gliding down toward the lobby like it was originally supposed to do. Oh, shit. I step away from her and take a deep breath, knowing that people are going to be waiting for us at the bottom.

I cannot be seen with an erection next to my assistant. Damn it, relax.

Alyssa hastily fixes her hair and blouse, her cheeks remaining flushed. She can chalk that up to anxiety, though. Her eyes flash to mine for a moment, fiery desire clashing with their chilly hue.

As the elevator doors slide open, something tells me that we’re not quite done with each other yet.