Boss Next Door Read online

  Copyright © 2020 by Beverly Evans

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  Boss Next Door

  Beverly Evans

  Contents

  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 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Also by Beverly Evans

  Chapter One

  Braxton

  Ten Years Ago…

  It’s a perfect night. The sky is clear, the moon is full and bright, there’s a slight breeze coming in off the Hudson that keeps the air cool, and I’m surrounded by some of the people I love most in the world. It’s one of those rare nights where everything about it is just perfect.

  And yet I’m still not satisfied.

  “Dude, why are you sittin’ up here all by yourself?”

  I look up and see Roman Kent, one of my best college buddies, grinning down at me. He roughly shoves a bottle of beer into my hand and pats me on the back. I’m sitting in the dark on an old fallen tree trunk on a small rise above the river while everybody else is down on the banks of the Hudson, laughing and dancing around the bonfire to Pink and Justin Timberlake. It’s yet another party in a seemingly endless string of parties as we all celebrate another summer break.

  But for a couple of my college buddies and me, we’re celebrating graduating, meaning this might be the last summer of parties on the banks of the Hudson with my boys. And I’ve got mixed feelings about that.

  “Just chillin’, man,” I tell him.

  “You look all morose and shit sitting up here in the dark.” He grins. “Well, morose and creepy as shit. I think you’re scaring some of the girls away. Despite what those sparkly vampire movies say, the quiet, brooding look isn’t really all that hot.”

  I chuckle softly and take a pull of my beer. I just graduated with both my bachelor’s and master’s, and of course I’m elated, but I’m also hesitant. I know my life is about to change, and I’m not quite sure how I feel about it just yet. There’s some excitement, of course, but there’s also some trepidation mixed in with it as well.

  I look at him sidelong and grin. Roman knows me well. Maybe better than any of my other friends. I don’t open up to people very easily and share very little of myself, but he’s always seemed able to read my mind and know what’s going through my head better than anybody else. He’s also been able to pull me out of whatever funk I’m in with ease. Most of the time anyway.

  I admit I can be a bit of a brooder. I guess that’s made some people think I’m cold and standoffish. Not that I really care what people think about me. I never have. I’ve always been content to do my own thing and not concern myself with the opinions of other people.

  A couple of us have family homes in the area, so for years, my buddies and I have spent at least part of the summer up here. Hyde Park is a historic, sleepy little town a couple of hours outside the crazed hustle and bustle of Manhattan. It’s quiet, peaceful, and almost feels like it exists in an entirely separate world. Things just seem to move a little slower up here. At least, it does until we get out for summer break.

  Once summer break comes around, college kids descend on Hyde Park to spend the next couple of months partying along the banks of the Hudson and making memories with friends they think will last for a lifetime.

  “She’ll be here,” he mentions after a long minute. “She always shows up.”

  “I know she will,” I respond, not knowing if I really believe that or not. “I’m not worried about it.”

  He gives me a knowing grin. “You’re not, huh?”

  A grin tugs at the corners of my mouth despite my best effort to control it. Roman knows that every year, I look forward to seeing her, even though I’m loath to admit it – even to myself. But try as I might, I can’t really deny that Chloe Dixon got under my skin a long time ago. I don’t even know who invited her to that bonfire all those years ago, but ever since then, I’ve searched for her every summer. And I like to think she looks forward to seeing me too.

  “You gonna seal the deal this summer or what, man?” Roman elbows me in the ribs and laughs.

  “What makes you think I haven’t sealed it already?”

  He gives me that ‘yeah right’ face and laughs. “Maybe I’m psychic.”

  I punch him in the shoulder and laugh. “Whatever.”

  Everybody down by the bonfire cheers wildly, their voices echoing out over the river, as the party – and everybody’s level of intoxication – gets cranked up another notch or two. I drain the last of my beer and look over the crowd of women out there, most of them wearing next to nothing, writhing around the fire.

  “You know, you could always amuse yourself with Mindy Green until she shows up,” he encourages me. “I know she’s still into you, for whatever reason.”

  “Yeah, it’s probably best to avoid opening that door again.”

  Roman grins and pulls me to my feet. “Come on, big man,” he laughs. “At least pretend to have a little fun tonight.”

  “I’ll do my best.”

  Roman leads me through the crowd of people bumping and grinding around the fire. I smile and greet some old friends – some I made at school and some I’ve made over my years coming out here for the summer. It’s strange knowing this is probably the last year we’re all going to have together, and I can’t quite shake the feeling that an era is coming to an end.

  I know it seems a bit dramatic to think of it in terms like that, but I can’t think of another way to put it. Once this summer ends, a lot of these folks are headed back to school, but for the rest of us, school’s over. For some of us, it’s time to grow up and start our real lives. Real lives that will be filled with real expectations and real responsibilities. For me, that includes heading out to Vegas, where I’ll be interning at the western territories HQ for Voight Designs International – my father’s company.

  I feel her behind me before she slips her arms around my waist, and a shiver runs through me when I feel her soft, warm lips on my neck. It’s purely a physiological reaction though because there is no emotional connection. Not anymore. I manage to extricate myself from her grasp and turn around to see her smiling seductively at me.

  “Hey Mindy,” I greet her. “How have you been?”

  “Fine. Just wondering when you were going to come down here and say hi,” she purrs. “Although, you looked kinda sexy being all dark and broody up there.”

  I clear my throat and look away, wanting to stop that train before it gets rolling. Mindy and I had a thing – albeit briefly – last year. It w
as clear early on that she was taking things way more seriously than I was. It was never meant to be an actual thing. As far as I was concerned, it was a summer hook up and nothing more. I thought we were on the same page as far as that went.

  But it quickly became obvious that we weren’t anywhere close to the same page because she went around town, referring to me as her boyfriend and trying to make plans for the future. I cut it off immediately after that. Mostly because I wanted to avoid anything – complicated, and partly because there was some small piece of me that had hoped Chloe would come around. Of course, I held onto that hope almost every year, and it never came to pass.

  Mindy was pissed for a while after I broke things off with her, but I heard through a mutual friend a few months back that she’s intent on pulling me into a relationship with her. Yeah, that’s not going to happen.

  She steps forward and takes hold of my hand. I try to pull it away politely – or at least gracefully – but she holds tight to me. I’m starting to get annoyed. I don’t want to be a total asshole, but the longer she holds onto me and won’t let me go is making that more difficult.

  “Listen, Mindy, I don’t think –”

  She puts a finger to my lips, and with that salacious smile still on hers, shushes me.

  “I’m not expecting anything. I just think we’re young, have amazing chemistry, are totally sexually compatible, and should enjoy ourselves this summer,” she tells me. “No pressure and no expectations. Whatever happens – happens.”

  It’d be easy to let myself get caught up in that. Mindy is a beautiful girl – tall and leggy with honey blonde hair and dark eyes. She’s got curves for days and one hell of a body. Yeah, with my cock stirring the way it is in my pants, it’d be really easy to take her up on her offer of a no strings attached, no expectations relationship.

  Except for the fact that I’ve thankfully learned to avoid thinking with my cock and can see it for the trap it is. When dealing with somebody like Mindy, there are always strings attached, and nothing is ever as clear cut as it seems. She’s used to getting whatever she wants when she wants it. I already made that mistake once, and I am sure as hell not going to do that again.

  “Listen, it’s tempting, but I don’t think that’s a great idea,” I respond.

  She trails a fingertip down my chest, her smile never faltering. “I think it’s a very good idea,” she presses. “In fact, why don’t we go back to your –”

  I don’t hear another word she says because, at the edges of the crowd milling around the bonfire, I see her. Five-five with black hair that falls just below her shoulders. Chloe’s silhouette is unmistakable to me.

  “Excuse me.” I pull my hand away from Mindy roughly.

  I hear her calling after me as I move toward the crowd, but it’s like hearing her calling to me from the other end of a long tunnel, her voice fading more with every step. I’m about twenty yards away from Chloe when Roman steps in front of me, a crazed light in his eyes. He throws his head back and howls like a madman. I laugh as he claps me on the shoulder and stuffs a bottle of beer in my hand.

  “What did you say to Mindy, dude?” he asks.

  “Nothing. Why?”

  The smirk on his face only grows wider. “Because she’s headed this way, and she looks pissed.”

  “Wonderful,” I grumble.

  “Don’t worry bro; I got you.”

  I clap him on the shoulder and hurry past him. As I retreat, I hear him calling Mindy’s name loudly and cheerfully, imagining how sour the expression on her face is. But it’s not long before I find myself standing in front of Chloe Dixon and feel that familiar swell in both my heart and in my groin that she inspires in me.

  Chloe is a beautiful woman who takes my breath away every time I see her. Her hair is as black as midnight, and she has large doe eyes, the same sparkling blue of the Caribbean Sea. The flames from the bonfire flicker on her alabaster colored skin, making it glow softly, and she’s wearing a light floral print white sundress that shows off her toned legs and the gentle swell of her full breasts.

  It’s hard to tear my eyes away from her body, but I manage it and give her a cocksure smile.

  “Glad to see you finally decided to grace us with your presence,” I start.

  Her smile is captivating and drives all other thoughts out of my head. I really don’t know how this woman has come to have this effect on me, but it only seems to get stronger every single year. It would be goddamn frustrating if I didn’t enjoy being around her as much as I do.

  “As you should be, peasant,” she teases.

  The boys think I’m as into Chloe as I am simply because she hasn’t given it up. As far as I know, she’s a virgin – a status I don’t see changing anytime soon. Much to my chagrin. She’s a woman with a strict moral compass and somebody who knows her own value. She’s not the type who just screws anybody and everybody for attention, or positive reinforcement, or whatever some of the girls I’ve been with are.

  It’s honestly much more than just that. More than just her obviously stunning physical attributes that compel me. I mean, hell yes, I’d love to have sex with her. I’m a red-blooded man with needs, after all. But there’s something else about her. Something more. Something deeper. There’s something other than the fact that she’s gorgeous that draws me to her like the proverbial – and idiotic – moth to a flame.

  It’s something I don’t understand, but there is just something about Chloe Dixon that makes me happy just to be around her.

  “So you finished out your master’s, huh?” she asks.

  I nod. “That I did.”

  “And at twenty-two,” she remarks, sounding impressed. “Of course, I’ll be done with mine by the time I’m twenty, so…”

  I laugh and shake my head as she lets her statement trail off. It’s always been this way between us – one of us always trying to one-up or outdo the other. There’s this strange competitive fire that exists between us, and I have no idea where it came from. It can be a bit frustrating at times, but there’s no denying that sort of push and pull between us is also kind of hot.

  “Well, a gold star for you then,” I crack.

  “And none for you,” she responds. “As usual.”

  “I’ve never been the overachiever you are,” I admit. “And I took a little time to travel during breaks and enjoy my life.”

  She scoffs. “I enjoy my life.”

  “All you do is study.”

  She shrugs. “That’s not true.”

  “Yeah, it kind of is,” I laugh. “That’s the only way you get done with your master’s at twenty-two.”

  She opens her mouth to respond but then closes it again, giving me a reproachful glare – and silently conceding the point. The crowd around us is loud and encroaching on our space as they flail about and dance all around us. I feel Chloe’s body stiffen slightly when I take her by the hand, but she lets me guide her away from the crowd and down to the bank of the river. We find a log sitting on the sand that’s well away from the bonfire and is somewhat quieter – though it’s really only a matter of degree. But at least we’re alone-ish, and it kind of feels like we have a bit of privacy.

  “So how long are you in town for?” I ask.

  “Keeping tabs on me?” She arches an eyebrow, a slow smile spreading across his full lips.

  Not for the first time, I notice the smattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose that – combined with her large, wide eyes – lend her an air of innocence.

  “Maybe I am,” I admit.

  She gives me a small shrug. “Well, I’ll be in town until I leave.”

  I laugh and shake my head. “You never make anything easy, do you?”

  “Where would the fun in that be?”

  I take a pull of my beer and look out across the waters of the Hudson, watching the gentle ripples of the current that mar the otherwise tranquil surface. There’s so much I want to say to her and so much I can’t seem to force out of my mouth. And I’m kick
ing myself for it because I know very well this may be the last time I have a chance to say it to her. I have no idea where her path is going to lead her once this summer is over, but I’m pretty sure it’s not going to cross with mine again. Not unless we make it happen.

  But for that to ever come to pass, Chloe is going to have to want it to happen. And right now, if I were a betting man, I’d say that she probably doesn’t. Which means that all we have is this summer. More specifically, all I have is this summer to change her mind and make her mine.

  Which means I need to get to work on that.

  Chapter Two

  Chloe

  The silence between us lingers on for a few long moments, which is strange. The back and forth and witty banter between us is usually nonstop. Braxton Voight is a man rarely without a bitingly sarcastic remark or something equally as scathing to say. And yet, as we sit there on that log and he stares out at the river in front of us, he seems like a man who’s run out of words. Or at least, a man whose snark batteries have run dangerously low.

  “What’s wrong, Braxton?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You’re just unusually quiet tonight.”

  He chuckles and gives me a look before turning back to the river. I can see the wheels in his head turning, and it seems like he’s got something pretty heavy on his noodle, which strikes me as interesting. Braxton, so far as I’ve seen, never takes anything seriously. He rarely has anything heavier on his mind than the next beer he’s going to drink or the next woman he’s going to bed.