BOSS: A Stepbrother Billionaire Romance

Still, I went over to the couch, set my phone alarm to noon, turned on the TV, found an old Law and Order: SVU rerun and closed my eyes. I could have a quick nap, get up, have a bite to eat and still be back in time to meet Kiegan and the others at one.

Unfortunately, because it wasn’t even eleven in the morning, I wasn’t able to go to sleep at all. Instead I kept my eyes closed and listened as Detectives Benson and Stabler hunted down yet another rapist. When my alarm finally went off, I got up and stretched, then decided to wander down to the lobby to get some food. I’d seen a full service restaurant when we had come in, and also a little café-style place that I thought might do a good lunchtime sandwich or something.

Sure enough, the little café had a great BLT wrap that I ate with a bag of chips and an iced tea, watching the people moving in and out of the lobby. I people-watched, played the tourist-or-businessman game, then looked at my watch and saw it was time to meet up with the others.

*

Kiegan had not been kidding when he said it was going to be a busy afternoon. First he sent Josh off to deal with the company organizing the boxing match, to make sure there weren’t going to be any problems with anything they were going to film to help promo the TV show. Then Leanne told Kiegan she had to be on a conference call with the other heads of the VC firm; Kiegan told her that was fine.

“Now, first thing I need you to do, Tina, is to go find me some clothes for tonight. I’m a men’s medium, 34 inch inseam, 30 inch waist. You’ve seen what I wear, find me something that fits that style, but is just a tad classier for tonight.”

Really? I’m being paid to go shopping for my stepbrother? Well, if that’s all it is I think I can handle that.

“What size shoes do you wear?”

“Ten. Good. You passed my test by asking. Though I was looking forward to making you go back out at the last minute when you forgot the shoes.”

I glared at him. What kind of psychopath would do that instead of just telling me his shoe size? I began to understand why he wasn’t able to keep a PA for long.

“Oh, and I need this to be done in forty minutes. Then you have to be back here.”

“What? Only forty minutes? Why?”

“Because I said so, that’s why. I need the clothes then. Better get started, the clock’s ticking. Oh, here’s some cash for the taxi and clothes,” Kiegan remembered as I glowered at him. He handed me a pile of hundreds. Five hundred dollars. I stared at the money for a second, then realized time was ticking away.

Luckily, Vegas being Vegas, I was able to get a cab almost immediately outside the hotel.

“Take me to the closest store that sells Ralph Lauren type stuff,” I told the driver.

“Ok,” he replied. It took fifteen minutes before we got to the mall, and I told him to wait there and keep the meter running. I really, really hoped he would, otherwise with a fifteen minute time frame for the return trip, I was never going to make it in time.

I darted into the store. Ralph Lauren was probably too fancy for what Kiegan wanted, but I didn’t care. I grabbed a stylishly faded t-shirt in his size that I hoped looked rebellious and yet fancy enough, and a pair of dark blue jeans, and some black shoes to go with them. I also grabbed him a trenchcoat, after all it was getting cold out, and I figured Kiegan was the kind of guy who could pull off the trenchcoat-and-jeans look without looking like a total jerk. And if he did, well, whatever, he was a total jerk, so what did I care? At the counter I saw some black socks for sale and quickly threw those in as well, not wanting to end up scolded for forgetting the socks.

I flew back out of the store and breathed a huge sigh of relief when the cabbie was still there. I had taken almost exactly ten minutes in the store, I was going to make it back in time!

With two minutes to spare, I ran triumphantly into the lobby. I had done it! I had made it! I stopped, put down the bag and put my hands on my knees to catch my breath as I looked around for Kiegan. My eyes scanned the room, but that delicious blonde hair was nowhere to be seen.

I began to panic. Had I checked the time wrong? Was I late? There was no way I was early. Where the hell was he?

I looked around again, in case I’d missed him the first time, but no, I definitely hadn’t. Kiegan wasn’t here. I had no idea how to contact him.

Collapsing into one of the chairs, it suddenly came to me. I pulled out the new phone and checked the contacts list. ‘Kiegan – cell’ was one of three numbers pre-programmed by Leanne into the phone. I pressed his name and Kiegan picked up on the third ring.

“Where are you?” I asked.

“I’m the boss, I’m wherever I want to be. Did you get the clothes?”

“Yes! I’m here, I have them, where do you want me to bring them?”

“Just hang tight at the hotel, I’ll be done here in a couple hours and I’ll come and get them then.”

“What? But then why did you say I had to take forty minutes?”

“You know… just to put the pressure on a bit. I really didn’t need them in forty minutes.”