Romancing my Boss

Chapter 33

Charlotte's POV

I was elbow-deep in paperwork when Jean-Pierre swept into my office, that irritatingly gorgeous grin plastered across his unfairly handsome face.

"Zere you are ma belle" Jean-Pierre singsonged as he strode in.

I drawled without looking up from the stack of quarterly reports littering my desk. "Don't tell me you've come bearing more unsolicited romantic overtures. As tempting as another candlelit bouillabaisse sounds, I'll have to decline. Unlike some people, I actually have work to do."

Jean-Pierre tsked melodramatically as he claimed the chair opposite me, looking entirely too at home with his feet propped up on my desk. So much for professional boundaries.

"Such a suspicious mind, ma chérie," he tutted, shaking his head in feigned reproach. "One might zink you do not trust my intentions are purely...honorable."

I snorted indelicately, finally glancing up to fix him with a flat stare. "About as honorable as a drunken sailor, I'd wager. What's your game this time, Casanova?"

Rather than rising to my barbed tone, Jean-Pierre merely leaned back with calculating nonchalance, examining the manicured tips of his fingers.

"I may 'ave...persuaded a certain esteemed colleague to reconsider your involvement in ze...Sakura proceedings," he said at last, his tone brimming with studied indifference.

The pen slipped from my suddenly numb fingers as the implications struck me like a sucker punch to the gut. No...he couldn't possibly mean—

"Max agreed to let me on the Sakura deal?" I couldn't quite mask the incredulous eagerness that crept into my voice.

Jean-Pierre's full lips curved into a slow, predatory smile that really should have gotten him prosecuted. "Indeed. It seems zat despite his...reluctance regarding sharing your assets, he simply could not resist ze opportunity to plumb zeir full depths once properly motivated."

My cheeks flooded with traitorous warmth at his blatantly suggestive phrasing. Honestly, was there anything this man didn't find a way to make sound filthy?

Snatching up a crumpled wad of scratch paper, I whipped it across the desk, aiming for that intolerably smug grin. "Get your mind out of the gutter, Jean-Petit," I teased, my tone laced with playful reproach. "Some of us actually focus on doing our jobs instead of flirting our way through life."

As the words left my mouth, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of amusement. Here I was, chastising Jean for his relentless flirtation, while I had been engaging in far more... intense encounters with Max. The irony wasn't lost on me, and the thrill of our secret moments together sent a shiver down my spine.

Jean-Pierre dodged the projectile with insouciant ease, not even ruffled. "My my, such violence. Although I suppose I cannot blame you for your... eagerness. Working in such close proximity to Maximilian and moi for an extended period?" He tsked again, shaking his head slowly. "It will surely test ze limits of your restraint, ma chérie."

My jaw clenched hard enough to grind enamel. Damn if the insufferable Frenchman didn't have a point.

The thought of being involved in Max's make-or-break international deal made my pulse thunder with a dangerous blend of excitement and trepidation. The stakes were incredibly high, and the pressure to perform was immense. Adding Jean-Pierre's delightfully charming presence to the mix threatened to obliterate my senses entirely.

"I think I can handle myself just fine around you and our esteemed CEO, thanks," I countered, raising my chin in a show of bravado I only halfway felt. "The real question is whether you or Max are ready to handle all this up-close-and-personal time with...moi."