Misunderstanding

A senior PR manager finds out that the boss’ son—her office rival—has a crush on her. Should she keep things strictly professional or give him the chance to surprise her?

Tropes – Rivals to Lovers, Office Romance

Janie pounded on the punching bag—jab, jab, uppercut, right hook—over and over but it wasn’t enough. She pictured Billy’s head. Her next punch broke his nose. The one after split his upper lip. She stopped when she realized the blood on the punching bag was hers. 

She shouldn’t let him get to her but she couldn’t help it. Billy Baron knew exactly how to get under her skin. One look from him was enough to ruin her entire day. Not to mention a bad word from him could ruin her career. So she smiled and laughed away his stupid jokes and bloodied her fists instead of his face. 

A knock came as she was bandaging her knuckles. When she opened the door, Billy Baron smirked at her from the other side. He was dressed in an all-black thousand-dollar tuxedo.  “Janie.”

“Billy. What are you doing here?”

His eyebrows rose and his smirk widened. “What? You’re not gonna invite me in for a nightcap? Seems kinda rude.”

Janie’s fists clenched shooting twinges of pain up her arms. Her smile was tense as she stepped aside and let him in. “Please, come in. Would you like a drink?”

“Water’s fine.” He made himself comfortable on the couch. One foot rested on the coffee table as he reclined back.

Janie carefully placed the glass of water by his foot instead of tossing it in his face then stood by the couch with her arms crossed.”What can I do for you? Did something happen at the gala?”

Billy took a sip of his water and looked around her living room. She had a bunch of knick-knacks from her travels, photos with her parents and brothers on the walls. A portrait of her childhood dog Humphrey sat above the mantle. 

He nodded towards her, “What happened to your hands?”

She glanced down at the bandages, “What? This? It’s nothing.”

“Is that why you weren’t at the benefit tonight? Because you’re injured?”

Janie furrowed her brow, “No. This just happened.” 

She wasn’t at the benefit because his greasy ass cousin said she wasn’t on the guest list. She’d made it all the way to the front door in a $300 La Femme dress before she was turned away. She wasn’t invited to a party she helped plan.

Billy’s demeanor shifted from smug, rich asshole to seriously pissed rich asshole. He planted both feet on her Venetian rug, set down his drink, and leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. “So why the hell weren’t you there? I was looking for you all night.”

Janie blinked away her confusion and matched his glare. How dare he!? “Excuse me? Did you forget? Kyle said you didn’t need me tonight. He turned me away at the door. Said I wasn’t on the list.”

Billy’s nostrils flared as he shot up from the couch. His chest grazed her crossed arms with every harsh inhale. His light brown eyes had gone black. “Kyle said that?”

“On your orders!” Janie threw her arms up. She was fed up with this entitled asshole. Maybe it was time to look for a new job.

Billy’s eyes narrowed. “Why didn’t you call me?”

“Why would that make a difference? You didn’t just ‘forget’ to put me on the list? Are you saying he lied?”

“Yes! He lied! Your name was on the list next to mine, as my plus one!”

Janie shook her head. “You mean the company’s plus one-“

“No, mine. My plus one. My date.” Billy’s stare heated. His breath brushed her face.”I wanted you there.”

She rolled her eyes. Billy used the opportunity to take a step forward. “You don’t even like me.”

“I never said that.”

“You undermine me any chance you get.” 

“Not true. I play devil’s advocate. I just want what’s best for the company. And if you haven’t noticed, you win most of those arguments.”

“Yes, because I know what I’m doing.”

“Exactly.” His smirk was back. “Have dinner with me, Janie.”

Janie sputtered, “Is that what’s best for the company?” She had to tilt her head all the way back to stare at him properly. 

“It’s what’s best for me.” He said, leaning in to kiss her.

Janie pushed him away before his lips touched hers. “Whoa! What do you think you’re doing!? You think you can just walk in here, say some nice things, and get the girl? Like it’s that easy?” She crossed her arms again, “You’re an asshole.”

Billy sighed and stepped away with his hands up by his head. “You’re right. Sorry, I crossed a line.” He sighed again, “We’ve had a few misunderstandings, but I think we would be great together.” His lips twitched, “I could help you get that stick out of your ass and you could help me take things more seriously. What do you say? Will you give us a chance?”

Janie glared, “I’d rather give HR a chance to fire you for sexual harassment if I wasn’t sure Daddy would make the whole thing go away.”

Billy grinned, “Okay. That’s fair. I can see you need a little more time to think about this. I’ll let you enjoy the rest of your evening alone. We can revisit this on Monday.”

“Don’t count on it,” Janie sneered.

He chuckled and walked himself to the door. “I’m not giving up on you, Janie Jeffers. We’re gonna be an epic power couple, you and I.”

She spent the rest of the weekend wondering how and when Billy Baron went from professional rival to potential suitor.

On Monday, Janie found a single red rose on her desk with a note— “Just one chance. It’ll be worth it.”

She chucked the rose and the note in the trash just as Cindy, her assistant, popped her head into Janie’s office. “Oooh, I see someone has a secret admirer. Any idea who it is?”

Janie chuckled, “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

Cindy stepped further into the office and leaned on Janie’s desk. She wiggled her brows and said, “Try me.”

Janie narrowed her eyes as Cindy’s hand knocked her snowglobe two inches to the left then sighed, “Fine,—if it’ll get you off my desk—it’s Billy.”

“Ah, Baron Jr. Not surprised, though it was bold of him to leave the rose. He must like you more than I thought.” Cindy nodded absently then made to leave the office.

“Wait, what?” Janie sat up in her chair and blinked at Cindy. “How could you possibly know he likes me? I just found out the other night.”

Cindy raised a brow. With a hand on her hip and a patronizing tone, she said, “Janie, it’s really obvious. You’re literally the only woman he talks to in the office. The rest of us might as well be chopped cucumber. I mean, he’s the boss’s son so he can’t be making eyes at anyone here without risking a lawsuit, but Vanessa was practically flashing her tits at him last week in that low-cut red top, and he didn’t even bat an eye. Not even a lash. His eyes are for you and you alone.”

She smirked, “Not that you make it easy for him. It’s like as soon as he walks in the room, you wanna scratch his eyes out. Is that your idea of foreplay?”

“One, NO. Two, never say tits in my presence ever again. And three,…”, Janie paused. Had it really been that obvious to everyone but her? She’d seen Billy and Vanessa interact on that day. She thought that as a rich playboy, Billy was used to seeing women’s breasts. And he was being polite for once by not staring at a coworker’s breasts during office hours. Hmm, what if she wore a low-cut top to work one day? Would he look? Not that she would ever do that. 

“Just get out of my office.” Janie shooed Cindy out so she could get back to work.

“Okay, I’m going. But don’t forget you have a meeting with the Big Boss and Baby Baron in 10 minutes.”

Oh, shoot, the gala debrief. She almost forgot. Janie shuffled some papers around and made a quick note on her to-do list before dashing to the meeting room on the other side of the building. Billy and Mr. Baron were already seated and chatting about the successful event.

“We raised 60,000 for Doctors Without Borders, exceeded our goal by 10,000, and have a few potential new clients. Warner Bros. said they’re looking for a new PR agency. I’d say it was a hit.” Billy nodded to Janie as she took a seat across from him, directly to Mr. Baron’s left. “Couldn’t’ve done it without Ms. Jeffers.”

Mr. Baron smiled. “Yes, I’m very impressed with what you two came up with. I’m glad I trusted you both with the gala this year. Ms. Jeffers, I missed you at the gala. I expected to see you on stage when Billy gave his speech. Where were you hiding?”

“Oh, I—I wasn’t able to attend.”

“Why not? We needed you there to represent the company and handle any last-minute issues.”

Janie glanced at Billy. He was glaring down at the table. “I’m sorry, sir. I—”

“It’s my fault,” Billy made eye contact with Mr. Baron. “I told her not to come. I figured I could handle any last-minute drama. Ms. Jeffers has been working overtime on the Showtime account in order to get this event ready on time. I wanted to give her a break.”

Mr. Baron squinted at his son’s laidback expression then glanced at Janie’s nervous smile. “Hmm, that was very…considerate, Billy. But next time, Ms. Jeffers, I want you front and center. No need to let my son take all the credit.”

They shared a laugh. Janie’s was louder and more high-pitched than necessary. “Don’t worry Mr. Baron, I’ll be there next time. Rain or shine. Wild doves couldn’t stop me. Oh! I mean wild horses! Wild doves, that would be weird. Though I supp—” A sharp kick to the shin stopped her mid-rant. 

Janie smiled at Mr. Baron while trying to kick Billy under the table. “Anyway, I’ll be there.”

“Yes, very well, on to the next item on the agenda.” Mr. Baron cleared his throat and braced his hands on the table. “Magnus is retiring next month which means we’re looking for a new East Coast Account Director. Are either of you interested in the role? You both have the most experience with our enterprise accounts. We’d be happy to have either of you in the role.”

Account Director was a high-level executive position, right under VP. Directors get stock options, complete control over their schedule, and final say on all major decisions across all of their accounts. It was a dream job. There was no way she was getting it. 

Janie saw this meeting for the formality that it was. If Billy wanted the position, his father would give it to him. It would be an easy sell to the board. Billy was qualified and not bad at his job, though she hated to admit it.

That’s why Janie did a double take when Billy opened his mouth and said “I’ll pass.”

“What!?”, “Really?”, said Janie and Mr. Baron at the same time.

“I like where I’m at. I like my team. I’m not interested in taking on more responsibility right now.” Billy smirked at Janie, a twinkle in his eye. “Besides, Ms. Jeffers is perfect for the role. It’s a no-brainer. That is, if she wants it?”

Janie’s brain short-circuited. She analyzed Billy’s smug face for deception. He winked at her.

Mr. Baron cleared his throat, “Well, that’s…surprising. Ms. Jeffers?”

Janie snapped to attention, “Huh? Oh, yes! Yes, I would like to be considered for the role. I don’t mind taking on more responsibility.”  

“Excellent. I’ll discuss it with the board. We should have you shadowing Magnus this time next week.” Mr. Baron dismissed the meeting and went off to play golf or bribe a politician or something. 

Janie and Billy lingered in the meeting room. Janie fiddled with her nails. “So…that was…interesting,” she said, peeking at Billy from the corner of her eye. He was relaxing back into his chair, staring steadily at her face.

“That it was. Congratulations on your promotion.”

“Cut the crap. We both know that was your promotion. Why didn’t you take it?”

He shrugged, “I’ll have other chances.” His lips stretched in a lazy grin. “Besides, we both know you’re better for the role. You’re what’s best for the company.”

He leaned forward, bringing his face closer to hers. “By the way, have you given any thought to our conversation this weekend?”

Her eyes narrowed. She glanced from his focused gaze to his still grinning lips then back. “You must think you’re real slick trying to buy me with that promotion.”

His brow raised, “Buy you? No, the promotion is yours whether you date me or not, but I won’t deny hoping it would buy me some goodwill.”

“Fine, one date,” Janie held a finger to his face. “But this doesn’t mean we’re having sex. I earned that promotion fair and square.”

His grin shifted to match his heated stare. “Yes, and I’m gonna earn you, fair and square.”

Wait! The story isn’t over yet! 

Sign up for my bi-weekly newsletter for bonus Love Notes content.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.