Shayne's POV
"You seem to be in a good mood, boss. Something you wanna share?"
I smirked at Theo, my sales and marketing manager, as we lifted weights after a tough cardio workout session in the company gym.
"Am I not allowed to be?" I said before putting down the dumbbells and drinking from my water bottle.
"Of course you are. It's just that word is going around that you have a date with that stunning brunette," Theo said, his grey eyes glinting.
"It's not a date. I don't do dates."
"Uh...I'm pretty sure it is. Sasha told me that you said, and I quote, 'Have lunch with me tomorrow'."
He said it in such a dramatic way that I had to battle myself against laughing out loud.
"You and my COO should just go screw each other and then get hitched. I'm tired of your stupid asses anyway."
No I wasn't, they made work much more interesting.
Theo and Sasha were the only people that didn't take my crap anyhow, but they did know when not to toy with me.
"I'd hope to get the first part through, but my hard headed boss might sack me for going against company regulations."
"Always remember that," I said as I stood and answered a call through my Bluetooth headset.
I was still talking to one of my investors when my eye caught something heart stopping.
My heart actually did stop.
"Damn," I heard Theo say as he too watched the stunning green eyed brunette come towards us.
She looked fucking incredible...and pissed?
"Shayne, are you still there?" my German investor said.
"I'll call you later, Mr. Fischer." I hung up as my eyes zeroed in on her snug little top.
"My eyes are up here, buster."
Buster?
She snapped her fingers in my face, and I reluctantly looked at hers.
She was wearing make-up. It wasn't too much, but it certainly brought out her stunning facial features.
"Olivia, you look..."
"Save it," she said, lifting her palm and directing it in front of my face.
I raised a brow at the action before noticing her eyes travel along the length of my sweaty body.
If I hadn't worn a vest over my sports bra and sweatpants, she would have had a lot more to admire.
I wanted to tease her about it, but judging by the deathly smoulder in her eyes, she was in no mood.
But I didn't know a woman's smoulder could be so fucking hot.
"What did I do?" I said darkly, praying for the life of me that I wouldn't attack her in front of my employees.
"I tried to stop her, but she's a tough one," a stupid voice said.
I rolled my eyes when I saw Sasha come up behind Olivia.
Seriously, didn't she know she always popped up when nobody wanted her?
"You told her exactly where I was, didn't you?" I said to her.
"Well, how could I ever stop someone from giving you a test of your own medicine?" Sasha said.
"For what?" I said, turning back to Olivia. I caught her eyes staring at my biceps, but the smoulder was still prominent in her eyes.
Okay, if she didn't stop that right now, obscenities would be committed in this very gym.
"I told you to put me down, Shayne, but your egotistical self wouldn't listen to me. Now, thanks to you, someone had the opportunity to take a clear shot of my backside and share it with the rest of the world."
I ignored her snappish and disrespectful tone, and instead focused on the importance of her words.
"Hold on," I said icily, and picked up my tablet.
It didn't take more than a second for the link of a picture to pop up on my screen.
I tapped on it, and behold, there was a perfect shot of a perfect ass.
It was anger that I felt, instead of amusement.
There was nothing funny or entertaining about depriving someone of their privacy or dignity.
Especially when it came to something that I wasn't willing to share.
"Theo, go down to the surveillance room, ask for the video of the café from yesterday, and then find out who took the picture. Sasha, call Jamal, and make sure he gets rid of any trace of that picture, I don't give a shit about how he does it."
This was one of those times when Theo and Sasha knew not to mess with their boss, because one look at my face and they were gone in an instant.
"What's the purpose?"
I turned back to Olivia, the demeaning tone of her voice still irking the shit out of me.
But she looked so damn inviting standing there with her hand resting against her full hip.
"What do you mean?" I said, torn between punishing her and kissing her senseless.
"I mean, it's not like the source of the picture is to blame here. It's your crazy and unthinking brain that's responsible. I told you to put me down, but no, your irrational..."
"Hey! Lose the fucking attitude, will you?" I snapped, and to my pleasure, the defiant demeanor instantly vanished.
But the beauty still had the nerve to roll her eyes and turn the fuck away from me.
What the...
I grabbed her hand and yanked it back so she could face me.
As a result, the force caused her body to collide into mine.
I almost growled at the contact.
She gasped loudly and tried to move away, but my arm went around her waist in a vice like hold.
"Shayne, let me go." She was wise enough to stay still and not wiggle against me.
I brought down my face to her ear and took in a deep breath.
Mmmm. Vanilla. Lilies. And chocolate?
She stood tensed with her hands frozen against her sides.
"If you ever talk to me like that again in front of my employees, I will make due on that threat I made in the emergency stairway. Do you remember it?"
She slowly nodded her head.
I let her go and revelled in watching the blush on her face deepen further.
"What time are you getting off for lunch?" I said, truly enjoying myself.
"Uhm...I-I can't d-do lunch," she quietly said.
She wasn't even looking at me, her eyes seemed to be studying her cute little feet.
"Why not?" She couldn't possibly have changed her mind because of the whole picture issue.
"Mr. Pierce thought it'd be best to start shooting during lunch."
Of course.
I looked at my wristwatch and looked back at her.
Her arms were folded over her chest in a reserved sort of way.
I wasn't going to lie, feisty Olivia was hot as fuck.
"Okay, then. Since it's ten fifteen, do you want to have brunch with me?"
She finally looked up at me with the most adorable confused look.
"Don't you have work?"
"I come to work at six in the morning, and leave at ten in the evening. I'm pretty sure my empire will still be standing when I get back?" I said, allowing a slight smile to slip.
She immediately looked away with a blush.
"So? Wanna have brunch with me?"
"Okay."
She bit her bottom lip and it made me want to do it for her instead.
"Wait for me at my office, I'll be there in a minute."
She just nodded her head and walked away.
Those jeans looked very good.
"Olivia," I said when she was a distance away from me.
She stopped and looked back at me.
"Yeah?"
"You look amazing."
"Th-thanks," she shyly said before turning back.
She slightly tripped over a stray dumbbell, but continued to bravely walk away.
I scratched the back of my head and chuckled at her cuteness before looking around the gym and seeing the wondering eyes.
"If you want something to look at, I have plenty of termination forms waiting to be filled."
Everyone immediately went back to whatever they were doing before the stunning brunette had walked in.
That's right.
...But seriously, I really liked feisty Olivia.