Tempted by the Boss (Tempted Series Book 1) by Hazel Kelly

it still seemed so revealing. I knew other people would be
wearing more outrageous outfits, but I felt so… exposed.
    I considered letting my hair down to cover some of my back, but
Jackie made me promise to not even think of doing that. She said my hair had to
be up for the full effect. I wished I could just see what it would look like
down, but there were so many pins keeping my updo in place my hair would
probably be way too kinky if I took it down anyway. That is, if the party
wasn’t over by the time I located all the pins.
    I turned the light on over the desk and grabbed my makeup bag.
My face was pretty much party ready as it was. I could never really pull off
anything like a smoky eye. Still, I figured a fresh powdering would do me good,
and after a few extra coats of mascara, I felt less overwhelmed by the dress.
    When there was nothing more I could do to boost my confidence, and
I was sick of practicing ways to greet Will at the party, I went down to make
sure everything that actually could be perfect was.
    And I couldn’t have been happier with the result. More
importantly, everyone else seemed to love it from the moment they walked in.
The few people who knew I was behind the planning came up and congratulated me
on an enchanting evening. I was bursting with so much pride that the dress felt
totally appropriate. I don’t think I’d ever been more gratified by anything in
my life. The only hiccup was when the gingerbread girl proved more popular than
I’d anticipated and her legs started to show through her edible gingerbread
skirt, but a quick call to the kitchen saved us both.
    Overall, everything was even better than I had dreamed it would
be, and I spent most of the evening by the bar where I could enjoy the party
from the perimeter and watch Will laugh, joke, and dance with his staff.
    Towards the end of the night, I lost sight of him and began
scanning the room like a lifeguard.
    Then I heard a voice behind me. “You’ve outdone yourself.” 
    I turned over my shoulder and was greeted by his smiling face.
“You think so?”
    “And not just with the dress,” he said, stepping up to me. “The
party’s all right, too.”
    I laughed. “I’m delighted that you think so.”
    “I wasn’t expecting the reindeer.”
    “Good.” 
    Suddenly, a body shoved between us at the bar. “A whiskey sour,
please,” Emily said before turning her glassy eyes towards me. “Ella!” She
threw her hands in the air. “I’ve been looking all over for you.”
    I laughed at her enthusiastic lie.
    Will raised his eyebrows behind her.
    She smacked him in the chest without turning around. “First of
all,” she slurred, pointing a boney finger in the air. “Will did a good thing
picking you. This is one hell of a party.”
    “Thank you, Emily. That means a lot coming fro-”
    “Second of all, thank you so much for the thoughtful gift.”
    “Do you think that’s something you can use?”
    “Are you kidding? That was so kind of you.” She touched me on
the shoulder and leaned against the bar. “You didn’t have to do that.”
    “You deserve it, Emily,” I said, suddenly noticing how much fake
snow was in her hair. “I never could’ve pulled this off without you.”
    “Well I can’t argue with that,” she said.
    The bartender put a whiskey sour down.
    “What’s that?” Emily asked.
    “A whiskey sour,” the nutcracker said.
    “That’s not what I ordered.” She looked at it with disgust. “I
ordered a mimosa.”
    “Apologies, Ma’am.” The bartender reached for her drink.
    “I can take that off your hands,” I said, sliding the short
glass towards me.
    The bartender nodded.
    Despite the ballroom being a visual feast, Will still had his
eyes on me.
    A moment later, Emily had her fingers wrapped around her Mimosa
and was looking back and forth between me and Will with what seemed like
suspicion. “See you kids around.”
    As soon as she was gone, I took a sip of the whiskey sour. “Oh
my god