Plush Book 1: A Billionaire Romance Read Online Free Page B

sit around gossiping on the clock.
    Bryce seemed to sense my unease and offered me a lifeline to change the topic. “I’m assuming by now, he’s blown up your email account with a laundry list of problems that you need to fix. Immediately, of course.”
    I nodded and opened my inbox to show him. He leaned over me and silently scanned through all the pages.
    “Need any help?” he asked when he finished reading the last one.
    “Well we should probably order me a new liver. ‘Cause I can already tell you, this man is going to drive me to drink. More than usual, I should say,” I added with a quirked smile.
    Bryce laughed. “Okay, I’ll see what I can do on the liver. But seriously, Allie, this would be a lot for even our most senior employees. The phrase thrown to the wolves doesn’t even begin to cover what’s happening here. I’m furious with Rita for letting this happen in the first place, but until I can deal with her, what can I do to help?”
    I buried my face in my hands. “I don’t know. He wants me to meet with the design team this morning and tell them everything I said yesterday when we met. But I don’t know how to do that without being a total bitch. When I made the comments yesterday, it was to prove a point to him, that I knew more than he’d expected.”
    “I’d say mission accomplished. The real problem with that strategy is that you made Rita look bad when you attacked her department and their previous work, and she’s pissed. She probably would have fired you on the spot except for the fact that her biggest client insists you, and only you, work with him now.”
    “Fuck my life. Three days in and I’m already on the shit list. Spectacular.” It took a moment, but slowly the picture shifted and I could see what happened. Rita had been in charge of the team, and in charge of trying to bring Mr. Brighton around to their concepts and ideas, and in one fell swoop, I’d destroyed all her work and humiliated her team of designers.
    No wonder she had handed me over to Mr. Brighton without a second thought.
    Another realization popped into my head and I gasped. “I’m so sorry, Bryce. I hope this didn’t damage your reputation, since you got me the job and all.”
    He hesitated and I could tell he was holding something back, but all he said was, “I know you didn’t mean to cause any harm. Right now, it’s my job to make sure you have the tools and resources that you need to fix things with Mr. Brighton. Once that’s done, we can all relax. So consider me your new Mr. Miagi.”
    I laughed at the reference. “Thanks, I needed that.”
    “No problem. Now, let’s get to work. Otherwise, Mr. Brighton will have both our heads, and we’re both going to be unemployed, and last time I checked, that doesn’t look too good on a mortgage application.”
    “Are you buying a house?”
    Bryce nodded and sank into the chair next to mine. “Well, condo actually. My boyfriend, Clay, and I have our eye on a new development downtown.”
    “Your boyfriend?” I asked, not able to mask my surprise. “I’m sorry, I just didn’t realize.”
    He laughed. “Don’t worry about it. Not a lot of people here even know. I try to keep that part of my life to myself.”
    I nodded. “I guess that makes sense.”
    “I’m not ashamed of being gay, if that’s what you’re thinking. I just don’t feel that it’s really anyone’s business. I keep my private life, private. If people have an issue with me, I want it to be because of my management style or business decisions, not because of my lifestyle.”
    I nod again. “Trust me, I totally get it.”
    He cocked an eyebrow at me.
    I glanced out the doorway of the cubicle and then, seeing the coast was clear, removed my jacket and pushed up the arm of my shirt to reveal my tattoo sleeves. “This is why I always wear long sleeves. I have more, but they are in places that would be tricky to show you here in the middle of the office.” I studied his face for