The Boss' Proposal

Riley stared at Mr. Cray’s tall, broad back, certain that she’d misheard her boss. She was sitting in his spacious office, his huge mahogany desk the only thing between where she perched on the edge of the cushioned chair and where Mr. Cray stood staring out the wall of windows. She continued to watch him, waiting for the punch line to his joke, as he looked out over the city.

Finally, she could take the silence no longer.

“I’m sorry, sir. I think I must have misheard you,” she said in a strained voice before clearing her throat. She shifted in her chair, glancing around the large office, but there was no one to help her. Mr. Cray had called her to his office just as she’d been cleaning up her area and planning to head home. By now, most everyone in the building would be gone or heading out themselves.

“You didn’t mishear me.” His deep voice was calm and collected, his hands clasped behind his back. When he glanced over his shoulder, his dark blue eyes met with hers for only a moment before he returned his gaze to the window.

Riley sat up straighter, frowning with concern. “Then I must have misunderstood you, Mr. Cray.”

“I doubt that very much, Miss. Richards.” His tone was dry now, causing her frown to deepen.

He turned around to face her, taking in her stiff posture, narrowed eyes, and pursed lips. She looked annoyed, and for some reason he found her expression adorable. With her deep brown hair, creamy lightly tanned skin, and bright green eyes, he found her incredibly attractive. The few times he’d seen her smile, she’d taken his breath away. She was also one of the most intelligent people who worked for him, all of which had drawn him to her more and more.

But none of those softer emotions showed on his face now. Instead, he faced her with a closed off expression, allowing nothing of what he was feeling to show through.

“You’re head of your department, and smarter than most people who work here. You didn’t misunderstand anything I said, and we both know it.” He actually had to fight a smile when she scowled at him. “But, I’ll repeat myself anyways.”

He moved forward, bracing his palms on his desk as he leaned down and met her fierce gaze. “I proposed that we have a child together.”

Riley jumped up from her chair and began pacing around the room, as though she could no longer sit still for this conversation.

“You can’t be serious, sir.”

This time, he couldn’t stop the corner of his mouth from lifting in a half smile. “But I am. Quite serious, in fact.” She cast him an irritated expression, ringing her hands together as she paced back and forth. She looked a lot like a caged animal to him, her movements jerky and her eyes darting back and forth.

“But you’re my boss,” she snapped, as though the fact had slipped his mind.

“I am aware of that.”

He nearly laughed when she made a noise that was eerily similar to a growl. “This seems like something HR would have a field day with. It must be some form of sexual harassment.”

“You’re not the type to go running to HR without hearing me out, are you?” he asked in a soft voice. When her head snapped around to spear him with a sharp look, he fought another smile. He’d had a feeling her pride and curiosity would get the better of her.

She paused in her pacing and eyed him quietly before taking a slow step forward. She didn’t return to her seat, but she did rest a hand on the back of the chair. “I suppose I should listen to what you have to say. After all, the most information I can give to Jessie in HR, the better.”

He chuckled before moving around the desk to lean back against it, crossing his arms over his chest. He didn’t get too close to her, fearing she might bolt if he moved too suddenly and closed the distance between them. Her eyes narrowed again at the sound of his quiet rumbled of mirth, but she didn’t move away from him.

“I’ve spent the better part of the last fifteen years building my business up. I started out in my parents garage after graduating high school, and spent nearly every moment I could making it into the well known, high demand business that it is today. I managed that by not allowing myself to get distracted by anything in life.”

She gave a silent nod to show that she was still listening, so he continued.

“I didn’t allow time for any serious relationships in that time, because the only thing that mattered to me was this business. But now it’s up and running and making me more money than I know what to do with. I could walk away today for an extended vacation, and the business would thrive without me still.” He shrugged when her sleek eyebrows slid up her forehead. “I’ve made contingency plans for lots of situations that can be put in place with a simple, five minute phone call.”

“That doesn’t explain anything about this idea of us having a baby,” she pointed out patiently.

The corner of his mouth quirked once more. “The point is, I’ve gotten pretty much everything I can out of my business and it can keep running smoothly without me pouring every moment of my life into it. So, I started thinking about other things I might want in life.”

“And you thought of a child?” she asked slowly.

“Yes.”

“And you thought of me to mother this child?” she continued, still speaking slowly.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

His head tilted to the side and his eyes slowly traveled over her body, causing a shiver to run down her spine at the sudden heat in his eyes.

“You’re attractive, intelligent, and I believe we would get along quite well. As you know, we ran an extensive background check on you two years ago when you were hired in. Since then, you have quickly risen to the highest level in your department, and the interactions we have had together have been promising.” He straightened away from the desk. “As a child would be yours as much as mine, our being able to interact well together is vital. I won’t have the mother of my child using that baby against me or neglecting our progeny until it suits her.”

The disgust on Riley’s face told him just what she thought about people who treated their children in such ways.

“I also won’t have the mother of my child using them as a meal ticket.”

Her gaze flicked back to his. “So I would be allowed to keep my job?”

His eyebrows rose at this. “Of course you could. Whether you agree or not, you’re job is not on the line here.”

“I just didn’t know if you would want it known that one of your employees had mothered a child for you.”

He waved a hand as if that didn’t matter. “It’s no one else’s business what goes on between the two of us. You’re merits and achievements will always be solely based on your performance, and I can even make certain I have nothing to do with any promotions or raises your might get in the future, should that be what you wish, so that there can be no claim of favoritism on my end.”

“So we would share custody of the child?”

“Yes. It’s not my wish to raise a child on my own.” He moved a step closer to her, but kept the chair between them. “I’m not proposing marriage or anything of the sort, but a partnership in bringing a child into this world. I want my child to have a mother and a father in their life, two people to look up to who respect one another. There haven’t been any serious relationships in my life, so no one I care enough about to consider marriage to. And to have a child in a romantic relationship where marriage is not on the table risks the child growing up with two parents who can barely stand one another.”

She nodded in understanding. “And that’s not something you wish.”

He shook his head. “I don’t want any child of mine growing up with a mother who might speak negatively about me in front of them.”

Silence descended on them once more as she watched him. He allowed her to examine him, knowing she was mulling over everything and weighing her possible decisions. When he caught the longing in her eyes, he had to struggle to keep the satisfaction from his expression. She was considering saying yes to him, and it looked like she might be leaning towards telling him yes.

“Have a child with me, Riley,” he coaxed softly, edging around the chair towards her.

“Mr. Cray…” Her voice came out breathless, her eyes widening as he slowly closed the distance between them until his chest nearly brushed against hers. She licked her lips and his eyes locked there, on those plump red lips that begged to be kissed.

“Call me Trevor,” he encouraged, still in the soft voice, his eyes still locked on her mouth.

She sucked in a quick breath and he nearly groaned when it caused her breasts to graze against him.

“If you wish…Trevor.”

The sound of his name on her lips caused something to tighten deep inside him. When she hesitated, her gaze dropping to his mouth for a quick second before she yanked it back up to meet his eyes, he had to curl his hands into fists to keep from pulling her against him. “Have a baby with me, Riley.”

She licked her lips again, her own gaze dropping to his mouth and remaining there this time. “So did you have a doctor in mind? You know, so we could get started on fertilizing my eggs soon, since I doubt you want to wait too long before trying to have a child.”

“Is that your way of saying yes, you will have my child?” he asked, his face a mask so she couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

Riley swallowed hard, forcing herself to meet those deep blue eyes of his. She’d never imagined she would be in this position, face-to-face with her gorgeous boss and listening to him convince her to have his child, but here she was. She pictured a little boy with his high cheekbones, wavy black hair, and sharp blue eyes, and she felt something clench around her heart.

Yes, she did want that. She didn’t trust herself to say anything though, so she simply nodded.

Trevor smiled, slow and wicked, before his hands closed around her hips and he pulled her against him. She gasped as their bodies melded together, her hands grabbing his wide shoulders as his muscles flexed against her.

“Actually,” he began in a soft, hungry voice, a heat in his eyes that told her a doctor didn’t factor into his plans at all. “I thought we’d try to do things in a more natural, old fashioned way.” His mouth closed over hers before she had a chance to say anything else, but her moan was answer enough for him.