ALL Chapters & Episodes of THE BOSS by Dessara Harasse - Page 3

THE BOSS/Dessara Harasse

She was lying naked on her bed, all fresh and smelling like flowers after a long, hot shower. Nobody was there to smell her though, not for another hour and a half. In ninety minutes, she was to meet Roy for dinner. Now, she just wanted to relax, and probably touch herself a little here and there, as she had always done whenever she felt wanted—and that was often. Roy had hinted at a new business, and suggested dinner to talk about it. She smiled. What an old trick, she thought, it was cute, and she played along. She would bring the Boss, she said—although she wouldn't; the Boss did not attend dinners unless it was necessary, or he was the one who initiated them. "No, do not embarrass me. The business is not substantial enou

Chapter 22—Eggs and Flowers

THE BOSS/Dessara Harasse

Whenever he was meeting Gina he made sure he arrived first. He loved to witness how she made her entrance, how she turned heads as she walked toward his table. He stood up to greet her. He planted a kiss on her cheek, surprising her. Surprising himself; not a known habit. She was dressed for impact; the dress she had changed into when her dinner plans had been altered, was designed to lure. Shimmery gold in color, it had a low décolletage covering just enough to leave to the imagination, their roundness tastefully outlined. The material discreetly recorded every move her body made. She was in for a kill, for more than just making an impression. As he helped her into her seat, he was treated to glimpses of her thighs. The skin smo

Chapter 23—I Like You

THE BOSS/Dessara Harasse

They talked, unrelated to work and mostly about her. He listened intently while replenishing her wine now and then—signaling the server to let him do the pouring. She told him of her friends, social circles and their youthful manners. She told him of what she dreamt of when she was a child, then as a teenager. She told him how proud she was of her job … and of him. As more wine was poured, she became more confident and bubblier, and instead of being daunted as she usually was, she enjoyed the undivided attention her boss gave her. Then she said, "I like you. Very much." Her glass was empty, and so was the bottle. The Boss, for the first ti

Chapter 24—Restraint

THE BOSS/Dessara Harasse

Late into the night, the place started to morph once again, this time into a lounge with upbeat jazz as the music. A new batch of patrons started to flock in, the hip and young, the Gina kind of crowd. The servers cleared up some space for a dance floor. Gina wasn't sure what would be next. She hoped it didn't end too early. He was thinking how convenient his pad would be. All they had to do was to walk out, ride on an elevator to the penthouse and they would be there. The same ritual as with all others. No, I can't do that. I shouldn't. When? Never? Not tonight. No. He was struggling. Before his mind agreed, his anxiety had spoken, "I'll take you home." &

Chapter 25—Being

THE BOSS/Dessara Harasse

Dungi was sweating, the palms of his hands were wet. His vision was getting blurry. Tears were forming. He held it back; he had to hold it, they must not know. He looked at his wife and son who were still absorbed in the menu, oblivious to the change of mood in Dungi, oblivious to his problems to procure for his family beyond his means—a vice Dungi let them keep so he could reign King of the Hill. He put the phone down slowly, and grabbed the menu to cover his face with it—of course, under the pretext of assessing choices for the most sumptuous lunch. As he glimpsed over its contents, Dungi just realized how exorbitant the prices were, as were the others he and his family had frequented for three-time-a-day meals: breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. &nbs

Chapter 26—One Down

THE BOSS/Dessara Harasse

Suddenly Adrian wasn't so sure. He looked at Abram for support, but Abram pretended to look elsewhere. Adrian swallowed, "I can't say beyond what I have said. Let's see how things go, ok?" Well, well, someone is on his own, Rhonda smiled inwardly and applauded her friend. No, not ok, Gina said. They would not pour substantial resources to go through the bidding process against Kronos beyond due diligence. They needed to know if Trelleco management would throw their support behind her company so they could avoid the lengthy and costly process of selection. "I can't promise that." Gina and The Boss had anticipated this development. They had run

Chapter 27—One That Leads

THE BOSS/Dessara Harasse

He sat on his throne, a big leather chair behind his big table, waiting for her to come in anytime now. He could hear the taps of her stilettos on the wooden floor furnishing the executive quarters, and saw her walk towards his office with quick steps, briefly stop at Linda's desk, and continue the sway of her long legs in the direction of his office when his secretary motioned her to go in. Her smile was already forming as she entered, and widened as she neared; the taps of her shoes silenced instantly as they sank into the plush carpeting of The Boss' office. "I actually threatened the CMO of a Fortune 100 company and it worked!" Gina exclaimed—referring to the meeting that afternoon. Her eyes were flashing with excitement, her entire face lit up. She put her hands on his desk and leaned forward, bringing her fac

Chapter 28—First Kiss

THE BOSS/Dessara Harasse

The phone call with Abram ended soon with the two gentlemen agreeing to meet again that week to discuss the next step. The Boss punched in the extension to Linda,"No more interruptions. Just take everything down for now. Thanks, Linda." He then turned his full attention back to Gina. He saw her glass was empty and asked if she wanted another, to which she nodded and replied, "Yes, please."As he handed her the glass, his fingers lightly brushed over hers; she asked, "Oh, could I have three olives, this time?" He cocked an eye at her but complied without a word and handed her the glass for the second time. She took a sip of her martini and slid one olive into her mouth."Okay, so where were we?""I was just about to tell you about Adrian's reaction." Ah yes, that fool."Right. So?""Well, I tried to remind them, not so subtly, of our good relationship. Of what we've built over the years with them. But Adrian was being dismissive and

Chapter 29—Reflections

THE BOSS/Dessara Harasse

She now had a purposeful life. A sense of beginning, middle, and end. No matter how trivial the end was, or how short the trip could be, it would be eventful, because she was going to move along with full awareness; because her mind would not be tired of forever being alert even to the tiniest joy; because now her heart wanted to savor every moment—moments which many might see as being all the same. From then on, she would truly experience her days, and her life had just become a journey. All this because of a kiss? But that wasn't a kiss like thousands of other kisses she had had. That was a kiss of profound depth; one that wasn't planned but happened, one that originated from the lips but felt as if from everywhere in her being.

Chapter 30—Dismayed

THE BOSS/Dessara Harasse

Abram witnessed how his friend was lost in his thoughts, unmindful of his presence. This was not the reason he wanted to meet him tonight, he regretted having troubled him. He had shared his enthusiasm about Gina's competence too far. "Georg, forget about it. That is not the reason I asked to meet you tonight. We were supposed to meet again this week, but then the secretary brought something up to my attention this evening, and I thought, if you could make it tonight, why not tonight?" "Alright. Tell me." "In a week there'll be a meeting with key shareholders. We have all but Colin lined up to support your company as our partner for the Indonesia proje