I Am the Boss Here: An Alpha Male Romance Read online

  Tyson

  I am a little frazzled and I can’t seem to understand the reason why she pushed me away. I know this is part of the dance and I’ve been here before.

  It’s all about the little things. A kind word and a smile go a long way. The kiss is making me want her more than ever before and I’m not going to stop until I have her in a compromising position.

  Sleeping with Sheila would be easy, but I’m looking for something more than a sure thing. The hunt is fun and the reward is going to be worth the effort to get to know Michelle better.

  I could tell from her reaction the kiss was a surprise. It was meant to be.

  My life is a never-ending supply of women vying for my attention. There’s always an easy target waiting to have their feet in the air in orgasmic glee. I want Michelle in the same position, but I know it’s going to take more than my usual charm.

  I hope she makes me work for it.

  “It doesn’t have to be that way. The contract I have with you is rock solid and we are friends. I know I haven’t been easy to work with but blame the divorce. I lost everything including some of the things I wear on stage. She was a fucking bitch and I should have heeded your warning.” Raven is pacing in my office and I can hear the leather of his pants squeaking with his long dark hair swinging in the breeze of the air conditioning.

  “Does this impromptu meeting have anything to do with Tamara? You know sending her to me was one of the best decisions of your life. She’s innocent and sweet, but I know how to make her a star. I have done the same thing for you,” I remark, touching on a subject I knew is his Achilles heel.

  Raven is a growing attraction in several venues and I don’t have to worry about him complaining about a harsh workload. He loves the stage and his admiring fans begging him to give them a show to remember.

  I figure his divorce is a by-product of his philandering ways. He doesn’t talk about it, but I know from those whispering into my ear he’s no stranger to giving young women a tour behind the stage. It terrifies me to think of him saddled with another kid because he doesn’t know how to keep it safe.

  I see her walk by and it’s almost in slow motion. She looks at me and I feel like I have made a mistake.

  I don’t like the freezing cold of her stare, but I know how to thaw the ice from her heart. I respect her abilities, but she’s obviously hiding something from me.

  “I hope you don’t take this the wrong way. You don’t seem like yourself. Something is distracting you and might it have something to do with a certain young lady that walked by a few seconds ago,” He mocks, knowing I’m not the type to easily get sucked into somebody else’s drama.

  “I never saw her before, but there’s something about her. You know I get a thrill out of the conquest. She’s a work in progress. I’ve started something and I’m damn well going to finish it. She denies me and it makes me crazy. Those crimson lips and the way she walks calls to me like the siren of the sea.” I’m waxing poetic thinking about how best to proceed and hoping my friend will have some knowledge to impart.

  “I almost have to laugh. The great Tyson always gets what he wants, but this time he’s having a hard time. It looks good on you and sometimes we need a kick in the pants to realize what kind of men we are. It sounds to me like she’s not like anybody else. You might have to come up with a different game plan to seduce her. Don’t let her get away,” He implores with his hands on my desk looking at me sternly.

  “I was beginning to think she was a lost cause.”

  “I don’t want to hear you talk like that. You are Tyson and no woman is immune to your seduction. You’re going to have to show her who’s the boss literally and figuratively,” He encourages, putting his hand on my shoulder and giving me a wakeup call.

  I began to type her name and the only way I’m going to get her to notice me is to find something we have in common. It didn’t have to be true.

  Technology is my friend and I can use it to search out what makes Michelle tick. Everybody has a social footprint and she’s going to be no different.

  I found I could easily hack her social media account. I didn’t take her for being into the arts. There are several ways I could use that information to my advantage. I have contacts and could easily reach out to acquire tickets that would most definitely kill me with boredom.

  I can’t stand the ballet, but I could endure for one evening to make her see me in a different light. I haven’t even begun to fight. She’s going to see a side of me that is going to take her breath away. I don’t show it to many, but I find myself willing to be the man of her dreams on paper.

  “I know that look better than anybody. I should take a page from your book. I’m not going to find what I want by sleeping with anything with two legs. You might not know this about me, but groupies have always been my weakness. You know how it is when you’re on the road,” He comments and thinks he’s telling me some big secret.

  There’s no point in telling him. It’s better for him to think nobody knows. He’s not very subtle about his intentions and most likely his ex-wife had heard through the Grapevine what he was doing. She didn’t hear it from me. It was time for him to get out of the rock star stage of his life and find something more stable. I’m one to talk.

  He’s one of the lucky few who didn’t indulge in recreational drugs. I commend him for being sane enough around the chaos to use sound judgment. I would know if he had fallen into that trap. All of my talent has eyes and ears everywhere reporting back to me.

  I’m not opposed to wining and dining to get what I want.

  Michelle tries to be good not realizing how much fun she would have being bad. Michelle doesn’t know how to let her hair down. She needs somebody like me to come along to give her a hand.

  “I don’t actually know what it is like to be on the road, but I’ve heard the stories. You don’t know how grateful I am that you didn’t end up in rehab like some of my other clients. Take my word for it, it’s a big deal when you don’t have to worry about that kind of negative press,” I divulge in complete wonder at how he has avoided the pitfalls of the rock and roll lifestyle.

  I administer to the whims of my talent to a degree. Some diva behaviour can be tolerated, but I do have my limits.

  There have been demands on my time that couldn’t be condoned. There’s a clause in every contract where I can wash my hands and walk away without litigation. They don’t know it’s there unless they read between the lines and they rarely ever did.

  “I guess I was raised right to avoid temptation. It’s not like I don’t have other vices which I have previously mentioned. I just never found the concept of doing drugs to have a good time something I could get on board with. I don’t need any help in that department. It’s nice to know I have you around to vent my frustrations.” Raven went to the window and stared blankly and seemingly looking at nothing and everything at the same time.

  He’s a good friend and someone I can rely on to tell me the unfiltered truth. His perspective on Michelle made everything crystal clear. The mistake I had made was rushing things when I should’ve slowed things down. Dominance is only going to get me so far.

  “It looks like I’m going to have to start over from the very beginning and work her like I do most of my clients with kid gloves. She needs to see me as a friend and not a threat. I can always chalk up what happened last night to the liquor talking,” I reveal with something of loose lips not even aware I am doing it until it is too late.

  “I knew something happened between the two of you. I take it your advances were met with less enthusiasm than you were expecting,” He highlights the real problem and kissing her was something I had been thinking about for quite some time.

  “I sometimes think about the ones that got away,” I muse with this faraway look in my eyes at how I callously use women for my own selfish needs.

  “I don’t think there’s any man who hasn’t been down that road. We learn from o
ur mistakes and we soldier forward. Make no mistake about it this is the war of the sexes and they are winning,” He observes with a silly little grin on his face.

  “I’m well aware of how women think they have the power, but it’s only because we let them believe it. They want a firm hand even though they won’t say it out loud. A masculine touch to make them breathless is how most of those heroes in trashy novels are depicted. Do you think that is a coincidence?” He asks and brought to mind how romances came with millions of dollars in revenue a year for some publishing companies.

  I can tell from Raven’s body language he’s worried about being washed up and forgotten. I could assure him, but I’m not in the habit of holding my clients’ hands. He’s well aware of his expiry date and how keeping things fresh is going to give him a leg up on the competition.

  “You won’t believe this, but it seems you might be able to do me a favour. Michelle is one of your biggest fans. She talks about you often enough on her social media that it makes me believe introductions are in order. It would be a good idea to call her in here to meet you,” I propose and he gives me a solemn nod of confirmation.

  “Who am I to stand in the way of young love? I don’t see any reason why I can’t stick around to meet the young lady who has you wrapped around her little finger,” He replies while making the motion of a whip snapping in the air.

  The winds of fortune are calling my name and fate really did work in mysterious ways. This is definitely going to earn me some brownie points.

  I call her extension and she tells me she’s busy on the phone. I couldn’t blame her for becoming the force of nature I had envisioned. This girl knows how to keep her clients happy. It’s the one thing I stress with all of my agents. Give them what they want within reason, but be firm when they become demanding.

  I heard her approaching and found myself anxiously awaiting her response. It came in the form of a wild high pitched squeal of delight.

  Thankfully, Raven was a good sport and didn’t seem all that put out by her girlish crush. It’s not like he hasn’t seen this kind of behaviour before to know how to deal with it.

  I’m going to wait until he leaves before I spring the good news about the ballet. One e-mail and I had already received confirmation of the tickets at the box office waiting for us. I just hope I can stay awake and maybe having her there will make it easier.

  Chapter 5

  Michelle

  It didn’t take a rocket scientist to know what game he’s playing. I did have to admit meeting Raven for the first time up close and personal had earned him a reprieve. Speechless is how I would describe my reaction when I walked into the office.

  He was nicer than I was led to believe and I could see Tyson out of the corner of my eye with this big smile on his face. He had made up for last night. It was by no stretch of the imagination that he’s using this magnanimous gesture to get under my skin.

  I stand here looking at my closet wondering if I have a suitable dress to wear. The tickets were his crowning achievement and it was definitely the icing on the cake. I probably would have thrown myself at him, but I had a little bit more self-respect for myself than that.

  I’m not even sure I can call this a date and he never made it sound that way. I’m going to take it on face value that his intentions are to reward me for a job well done. I couldn’t go into this thinking I’m obligated when it couldn’t be further from the truth.

  I had to pick wisely without sending the wrong message. The black dress in the back of my closet is out of the question. It would give him ideas and I wanted to avoid any messy complications. The perfect one is right there in front of me.

  I put it on and it feels like the fabric is caressing my skin. It’s almost sensual and glides down my body like an extension of my sensuality. It’s blood red, off the shoulder with gravity doing most of the work to keep it from revealing too much skin. The slice up the side exposes my long lean legs whenever I move a certain way. I feel a little naughty and promiscuous.

  It almost makes me second guess myself.

  I hear the telltale honk of a horn and I look out my window to see him waiting in a tuxedo tailored to his body. My heart skips a beat and it’s lucky he is preoccupied looking at his watch to notice me in the window. I’m unconsciously undressing him with my eyes putting extra emphasis on a certain part of his anatomy.

  He finally sees me staring and he taps his watch letting me know I’m running late.

  I’m acting like any other woman trying to garner his respect and admiration. I don’t want to be like all the others and I certainly don’t want him to think I’m an easy target.

  I choose a pair of shoes to accentuate the positives. I absorb the whole picture in the mirror swaying to the unheard music in my head. I’m actually feeling like the belle going to the ball. My chariot is waiting for me with the stretch white limousine a nice way to give this evening some sophistication.

  I grab a sweater in case there is a chill in the air. My purse is there discarded on my bed surrounded by many of my stuffed animals from childhood. It makes me feel comfortable to keep those childhood memories alive.

  “I know I’m late and I have no excuses,” I declare while moving around to give him a better idea of the reasoning of my late departure.

  “I’m in no position to complain. You look absolutely amazing. I’m guessing this is your first time in a limousine. Tonight is going to be many firsts. This is only the beginning,” He reveals the inside of the limousine with a bottle of champagne chilled on ice.

  “You didn’t have to go to all of this trouble for me. It looks like you don’t do anything unless you go all the way. I’m not easily impressed, but you sure do know how to make a good first impression on a date,” I blurt out not realizing I have put a label on what is supposed to be a casual outing.

  I duck my head and get into the limousine feeling like a princess being pampered with the finer things in life. The champagne tickles my nose and I feel the effects like it is connected to my vein intravenously. I can’t help to indulge feeling a little overwhelmed by his presence.

  “It’s not easy to get box seats to the ballet. I had to call in a lot of markers, but seeing your face light up like the 4th of July when I mentioned it makes it worth it. I have connections, but I barely ever use them because I never have the time. You make me believe in making time for what is important. If you haven’t guessed it by now, you are what is important,” He tempts me with fresh strawberries covered in a dollop of whipped cream.

  I didn’t refuse his offer and I plucked the strawberry from his fingers with my tongue touching the tips in an effort to get every single drop.

  I snap up my head to the side afraid of the signals I am giving him. He doesn’t seem to notice, but I can tell the awkward silence is deafening to the both of us. I shift nervously in my seat, looking out the window desperate to find something we can talk about without resorting to work.

  His hand touches me and I can feel the warmth of his fingers on my trembling flesh. My panties become moist and I don’t dare show him my excitement. He will get the wrong idea and determine it’s the right time to strike.

  I want him to, but I can’t voice my desire without looking cheap and tawdry.

  “I’ve been to the ballet a handful of times and it’s always a spectacle. I confess this is the first time I have gone with someone else. It’s hard to find anybody in my close circle of friends who are interested in the arts. I have to drag them kicking and screaming to an art exhibit. They only humour me, but the same thing can probably be said for you,” I surmise not wanting him to confirm or deny my suspicion.

  His fingers felt nice but wickedly evil at the same time. I’m almost begging him to slip under the cover of my dress to find me soaking wet and hungry for more. There’s just so much a woman can take before she gives in to what she harbours for the most.

  “It must get lonely to go to these things stag. You have an open
invitation anytime you want to use it. It’s my pleasure and my privilege to have your company tonight. This is going to be fun,” He utters with his fingers massaging my knee.

  “I hope you’re not just saying that to get into my pants. I’m not that kind of girl. I thought you knew that about me, but it bears repeating. Nothing is going to happen between us. If this is your intention then maybe tonight isn’t such a good idea. We can go our separate ways. No harm done,” I said defensively not wanting to be another notch on his bedpost.

  “I would never assume anything. We can still have fun with our clothes on. It won’t be the same, but I’m willing to try something different. Let’s see how the evening goes. You can always take a taxi home if you feel I’m not living up to your lofty expectations.” He said with his words cold and impersonal.

  “I’m sorry, but I think it’s a good idea to be clear about these things. I have never given you any indication I want more than your company tonight,” I said while peeling his fingers off of my leg even though I didn’t want to.

  “I can take a hint.”

  “Don’t be like that. Let’s forget about this ugliness and enjoy the evening. I’m looking forward to this and I’ve heard nothing but good things. The reviews have been amazing. I want to see if it lives up to the hype. The story is as old as time itself. Boy meets girl, parents disapprove and then love conquers all,” I said with my back toward him.

  “That is naïve and a fairytale parents tell their children at bedtime. The truth is more than a little jaded. I’ve never prescribed to the happily ever after. Women are the only ones who buy into the white picket fence. Sex, on the other hand, is less complicated. It can be all about the pleasure without the trapping of a ring on the woman’s finger,” He huffs and throws his hands in the air in frustration.

  I can understand how men can feel the same way Tyson did. On the surface men were after one thing. It didn’t have to be that way. I want respect and the kind of unconditional love women dream about. Most settle for the path of least resistance.