All Chapters of My Nightmare Boss: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Nia's POVThe next morning came far too soon, dragging me from the hazy comfort of the couch and into the sharp, cold bite of reality.I stared at my reflection in the bathroom mirror as I tied my hair into a sleek bun. My face was composed, my lips painted with the perfect shade of indifferent pink, my suit sharp and pressed. I looked the part of the unbothered professional. The girl who didn’t care that her boss, her tormentor, her... whatever he was, had gone off with his perfect fiancée last night and left her stewing in the aftermath.But the shadows under my eyes told a different story.Work was a blur of meetings and emails, numbers and slideshows, and I kept it that way. I made sure my steps were swift, my attention locked on tasks and screens, never wandering toward the desk in the office where I knew he sat.For once, I was determined to give him exactly what he pretended to want distance.By noon, I’d managed to avoid him entirely. Every meeting, I took a seat at the far en

Nia's POVTwo days later, the office felt like a warzone of silent glares and sharp avoidance.We barely spoke.And when we did, it was clipped, formal, and painfully cold.I told myself it was better this way.But I should have known better.Because at exactly four-thirty, while I was wrapping up reports and mentally preparing to flee the office as soon as the clock hit five, he shattered the fragile peace.“Ms. Richardson,” he said, not looking up from his desk. His tone was all business. Detached. Calculated.I didn’t reply right away, pretending not to hear him.“Ms. Richardson,” he repeated, sharper this time.I sighed, dragging my gaze up from my screen. “Yes, Mr. Andrews?”He scribbled something into his planner before finally meeting my eyes. “You’ll need to pack for a two-day trip. We leave tomorrow at eight.”I blinked.“I’m sorry… what?”His brow lifted as if I was the one being unreasonable. “The quarterly client summit in Wellington. You’ll be accompanying me.”I sat back

Nia's POVThe first day of the summit dragged longer than any day I’d lived through. Endless small talk, wine I couldn’t taste, handshakes I didn’t care about.I kept my distance, playing the part of the dutiful assistant, eyes down, mouth shut.But apparently, not everyone saw me that way.“Nia, isn’t it?”I turned to see one of the senior executives from RidgeTech, Peter something, if I remembered correctly approaching me after the dinner.I forced a polite smile. “Yes, that’s right.”He gave me a once-over, not even trying to hide it. “I noticed you at the table. Didn’t get a chance to introduce myself properly.”Translation: I’d been ignored the entire dinner until now. Typical.“Peter Mallon,” he said smoothly, offering his hand.I shook it quickly. “Nice to meet you.”His smile widened. Too wide. Too charming. The kind of man used to women falling over themselves for his attention.“You with Andrews full time?” he asked, stepping a little closer, enough to make the hairs on the

Nia's POVI perfected the art of avoidance.For the rest of the conference, I kept conversations short, my answers clipped, my expressions neutral.If Mr. Andrews noticed, he didn’t show it.Or maybe he was giving me space.Unlikely.More probable? He was biding his time.He was a patient predator.But I refused to give him any more openings.The second day blurred by in a haze of panels, awkward luncheons, and over-eager executives who kept mistaking me for a receptionist instead of his executive assistant.Good.Let them underestimate me.It made it easier to disappear into the background, exactly where I wanted to be.When the final panel ended, I gathered my things with robotic precision, eager to put as much distance between me and him as possible.Unfortunately, business trips had an annoying way of forcing proximity whether you wanted it or not.The flight home loomed, and we were booked on the same one.Of course.By the time the car arrived at the airport, the silence between

Nia's POVI could hear the click of his pen, I could hear him breathe, each breath matching mine. I could almost feel the heat rolling off him as if it left him in search of me. As if to ensure that something of his was on me to mark me as his.The conversation from earlier replayed in my head.I knew that whatever defence I pretended to have wasn’t going to last long.My eyes were zoned on the time desperately praying that it would move faster.The clicking sound stopped and my body froze I could feel his eyes on me.Goosebumps covered me and my breath hitched; but I refused to look at him.I prayed for a distraction something to save me from whatever this was. And if I didn’t believe in God before I did in that moment when his phone rang.He looked away from me picking the phone up, but God could only do so much because he declined the call and set the phone back onto the desk.Thank you trying anyway Lord.His eyes turned back onto me as if they never left in the first place.Consu