Saved by The Boss E-Book

Michelle Love

• Herausgeber: Michelle Love
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Beschreibung

Previously published as The Naughty One

I run the ER, not my heart—until Romy Sasse walks in.
She’s fire, sharp, a resident I shouldn’t want.
One look, and I’m sunk, picturing her too close, too mine.
Her mom’s tying the knot with my dad?
Doesn’t kill the itch—she’s worth the snarl.
My half-brother Gaius hates me, eyes her like prey, and her ex swings fists, leaving corpses.
Ice storm hits, and they’re on us—jealous, deadly.
I’ll smash through, keep her near, feel her heat.
They think they’ll break us, bury us.
Not a chance—she’s mine, a pull I won’t shake, and I’ll crush anything that tries.

Keywords: Guaranteed HEA, no cliffhangers, happily ever after. Holiday, Christmas, Alpha, billionaire, bad boy, office romance, steamy romance, contemporary romance, love books, love stories, new adult, alpha male, romance, action, adventure, steamy romance, small-town secrets, hot, alpha hero. free book, free novels, romantic novels, and sexually romantic books.

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

SAVED BY THE BOSS

Copyright

DO YOU LIKE FREEBIE ROMANCE BOOKS?

Blurb

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Sneak Peek – Chapter 1

Chapter 2

SAVED BY THE BOSS

A Doctor Romance

(Secret Babies 2)

By Michelle Love

©Copyright 2022 by Michelle Love - All rights Reserved

In no way is it legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document in either electronic means or in printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited and any storage of this document is not allowed unless with written permission from the publisher. All rights are reserved.

Respective authors own all copyrights not held by the publisher.

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Blurb

Romy Sasse, a young surgical resident, returns to her hometown Seattle and immediately meets her new boss,

superstar surgeon, Blue Allende.

The attraction between them is immediate and intense, and there's a twist ... Romy's mom is about to marry Blue's father.

Soon, Blue and Romy are falling in love, and enjoying a steamy, sizzling relationship.

Finally, Romy feels she has escaped her past and her violent ex.

As Christmas approaches, however, a series of horrific murders brings the past back to

haunt the couple and they face the most serious test to their love yet …Will the Holiday Season bring resolution and a Happy Ever After?

Chapter 1

Seattle

Romy shoved her chestnut brown hair up into a ponytail as she jogged quickly along the hospital corridors. Damn Seattle traffic. She had been so organized right up until she’d hit the traffic accident on the Alaskan Way viaduct. Now she’d missed the first few minutes of rounds, and on the worst possible day. So not a good first impression to make. Still cursing herself, she hurried to catch up with her colleagues in the general surgery department.

Rounding the corner at a fast clip, she heard his voice before she saw him, a deep, mellifluous tone which she knew made woman weak. She might never have met the man, but his voice was as legendary as his surgical skills. Oh yeah. And his body. People talked about that in the same breath as his medical accomplishments.

He spoke again and she thrilled at the husky hint of an accent—Italian, maybe?—in it.

“If the infection worsens we’ll consider a shunt, but in all likelihood, it will resolve rapidly since it was caught at the outset.”

Romy blinked in surprise at the words. Blue Allende, he of the oh-so-sexy voice, was a superstar surgeon. Not even forty years old, he was at the top of his game, and also at the top of most hospital’s wish-lists. With the reputed looks of a movie star and the serious, brooding intelligence of someone a lot older, Blue Allende’s reputation preceded him. So why was he standing around with a motley crew of doctors, nurses, and interns, discussing something as mundane as a shunt?

It gave her pause and jumpstarted her liking for the man who, apparently, wasn’t your average arrogant genius surgeon. But Romy was still late, and no doctor appreciated tardiness, particularly not one with such a packed schedule …

Goddamn it.

Stopping outside the door she saw a bunch of other residents and slipped in among them, hoping she wouldn’t be noticed and knowing she didn’t stand a prayer.

Her friend Mac, an affable African American with a sweet face and a wicked sense of humor, grinned and nudged her. “Late for the rockstar, Sasse,” he hissed, “genius move.”

Romy poked him with her elbow, rolling her eyes. “What did I miss?”

Suddenly the crowd of doctors parted and she saw him where he’d been leaning over a sedated patient. Her breath caught in her throat as Blue Allende turned bright green eyes on her.

All the usual hospital noises faded into the background as she was caught in that fiercely intelligent gaze.

Jesus, Romy thought, this man doesn’t belong in an operating theater; he belongs on a cat walk or on the cover of Vogue.

He was gorgeous. The bright green eyes were surrounded by thick, black eyelashes on a face carved from Italian marble. A shock of dark curls fell messily about his head … then she noticed his wide, sensual mouth set in a thin line.

Ah, shit. She’d like to have seen that mouth in something other than a scowl.

“Dr. Sasse, welcome.”

That voice from up close. Wowwowwow. And … he knew her name? Romy prayed not to stutter. “Apologies for my tardiness, Dr. Allende; it won’t happen again.”

Was that a hint of amusement that flashed in those devastatingly beautiful eyes, and maybe a slight hitching up of the mouth? No sooner had Romy thought she’d seen it than it was gone. He turned back to his patient and Romy was grateful he hadn’t shamed her in front of everyone else. One more point in his favor, bigtime.

“Got away with it,” Mac muttered in her ear, and Romy sighed with relief.

As they moved through rounds, she was impressed by Allende’s in-depth knowledge of his cases and the way he coaxed the residents to find answers to his questions, rather than merely lecturing. Even when they got a fact wrong, he didn’t sneer or bark at them. Furthermore, he treated patients like friends, addressing them with as much candor as compassion, taking his time rather than rushing right along.

More than slightly blown away by the whole picture, Romy watched him carefully and was confused when she spotted him in an unguarded moment when the group was discussing a situation and he apparently thought no one was paying attention to him. Also not typical. Grandstanding surgeons believed the spotlight was always on them. In that brief second though, she saw something in his eyes that she recognized all too well.

Pain. Sorrow.

Romy was so distracted by the revelation that she didn’t realize the focus had shifted and everyone was staring at her. Suddenly feeling the heat of their stares, she swallowed hard, flushing. “I’m sorry, Dr. Allende, could you repeat the question?”

The amused look was back, displacing sorrow. “I was asking if you could give me the ways we can use to diagnose ankylosing spondylitis?”

Romy cleared her throat. “Of course.” She ran through the options and then concluded, “Of course, the disease is notoriously hard to diagnose, and once identified, it usually is a case of pain management. Opioids have little effect pain-wise, but we could try medical marijuana as a last resort.”

“Hail Mary,” said the patient, a young man in his twenties, and they all laughed.

“As a last resort, Billy.” Blue smiled and Romy’s entire body reacted to it. It lit up his handsome face and Romy could feel a beat pulsing between her legs. Stop it, she told herself, do not get a crush on your boss.

After rounds, Blue asked to see her in his office. He motioned to the chair opposite his desk and Romy sat down, trembling with nervousness. Was she about to be bawled out for being late?

“Don’t look so scared,” he said mildly, his tone neutral but somehow still warm. “It’s just an introduction. I didn’t get to meet you like the other residents.”

From someone else that would have sounded passive aggressive. From him, it came across as oddly sincere.

“I’m sorry for being late, Dr. Allende,” she apologized.

“Happens to us all.”

Before she could blink at that, he picked up a file and opened it.

“Dr. Romy Sasse, age twenty-nine, graduated top of your class at Stamford, did your internship and part of your residency at Johns Hopkins … why transfer here for your last year? Johns Hopkins was very reluctant to let you go; we had to fight for you.”

Old memories made her cold inside. “I had to come home to Seattle. Personal reasons. Also, my mother is getting married, rather unexpectedly.”

“And she needs you to be here?”

Romy hesitated. “No, it’s not that, but …”

“But what?”

Romy sighed. It was none of his business, but she owed him this much after being late. “My sisters, Juno and Artemis, asked me to come. I’m the middle sister, the peacemaker. They have some concerns about Mom’s fiancé.”

“Really?” Blue looked interested, even though Romy couldn’t for the life of her figure out why. Or why she just kept talking.

“It’s not that he’s a bad person, though I still haven’t officially met him yet. But he’s so entirely not what we thought Mom would go for …” Abruptly, she halted, catching herself in mid-ramble. “I’m sorry, you really don’t need to know this.”

“No, please go on.”

Romy frowned. “Well, then, you should know, my mom is a free spirit, a rainbow child, a hippie. Look at our names.”

Blue smiled. “Okay, so Juno and Artemis, I get, but Romy?”

“Short for Romulus. Yes, I know it’s technically a boy’s name but, you see, I was a twin. Fraternal. My brother, Remy—Remus—died when we were five years old.” God, the pain of it still haunted Romy. “Mom thought I was a boy too when she was pregnant, hence the name.”

“So your name is actually Romulus?”

She was grateful he didn’t press her for more details about Remy. “No, she managed to change it at the last moment on the birth certificate. Romy is my legal name.”

“And you don’t like your future stepfather?”

“I don’t know him.”

Suddenly Blue grinned. “I think your mom and Stuart Eames will be just fine.”

Romy gaped at him in astonishment. “How the hell …?”

He laughed, and his face looked even more desperately handsome than ever. “Believe it or not, I wasn’t interrogating you without an actual purpose. You see, Romy Sasse, Stuart Eames is my father. So, technically, we’re about to be siblings. Welcome to the family, Romy.”

Chapter 2

Romy was still shell-shocked when she went to her mother’s house that evening. Part of it was admittedly from the additional time she’d spent giddily talking in Blue’s office—he’d insisted she call him that—and the rest was entirely due to his revelation.

“Why didn’t you tell me Stuart was Blue Allende’s father?”

Magda Sasse looked up from the cutting board and grinned at her middle daughter’s abrupt greeting. “Hello to you, too. Because, dear one, Blue said he didn’t want you to know right away. He wanted you to be on his service and thought you might not want to if you knew. Your reputation as a first-class doctor precedes you, honey, and I’m very proud.”

Romy smiled and hugged her mother. “Thank you, Momma Bear. Anyway, Blue told me he will be with us for Thanksgiving?” Upon hearing that, she’d been hard-pressed to keep it together in the surgeon’s office. Blue in her home, having dinner with her family … why was that weirdly hot?

“Will it be awkward?” her mother asked in concern.

Romy hoisted herself up onto the kitchen counter and stole a piece of bell pepper Magda was slicing for salad. “I don’t think so. Well, at least I hope not. He’s a pretty even-tempered guy.”

Magda smiled. “You like him?”

God, yes. He’s the sexiest man I’ve ever met.

“Yeah, he’s nice.”

Nice was an understatement.

“He’s an incredible surgeon. Watching him is like watching a maestro at work.”

“Speaking of maestros.” Magda often changed the direction of conversations on a whim, so Romy wasn’t fazed. “Your sister has a new job. She’s going to work for Livia’s foundation as a lecturer.”

Romy’s eyebrows shot up. “She is? Juno’s moving out?”

Her youngest sister, Juno, was the sister who most resembled their free-spirited mother. Tall and willowy, with a shock of messy blonde hair, and a confirmed tomboy, Juno Sasse had made music her first love and passion from a young age. She was the cherished baby of the family and Romy had half-suspected she’d never leave.

“She is,” Magda confirmed, a touch of melancholy in her voice. Eternally supportive of her daughters though she was, Romy knew her mother would struggle with empty nest syndrome. “Although I’m trying desperately not to think about that day. She’s starting in the New Year, so at least we’ll have Christmas as a family.”

“With Stuart’s family too?”

Magda shot her a nervous look. “Well, yes. If that’s okay with you and Arti.”

“Why wouldn’t it be?” Romy asked.

Magda sighed. “There is some, how can I put it, some unpleasantness with Stuart’s wife. Hopefully soon to be ex-wife, if she ever signs the damn papers. She keeps harassing Stuart, usually through her son.”

Romy raised an eyebrow, not liking the sound of that. “What’s the son’s name again?”

“Gaius. I’ve only met him once, but he seems friendly enough. Hasn’t Blue ever mentioned him?”

“We’re careful to keep family stuff away from work, and I don’t actually socialize with Blue Allende, remember? We’d never even met until today. He might be my brother soon, but he’s still in a league of his own.” Romy grinned as Magda rolled her eyes.

“You mean you don’t socialize at all. Romy, you’re beautiful, you’re young … don’t let what happened in New York stop you from living your life.”

Romy grimaced, feeling the familiar cold feeling at the memories. “Mom … Dacre doesn’t know I’m back home, and if he finds out, he’ll come here and … God, I don’t want to imagine.”

Her mother looked down at her hands as they continued to move swiftly, her knife skills in the kitchen as good as any surgeon’s were in an operating theater. “I hate that you were with him. You’re too young to have gone through a divorce or anything else he did to you.”

Romy marshalled her emotions, reminding herself that those days were long past. She was safe now, however much Dacre Mortimer was an animal. Her leg still hurt from where he’d stamped on it and broken it the previous year at the same time that he’d almost beaten her to death.

“Look, at least I learned a lesson,” Romy said to her mother now. “Don’t go on first impressions. Dacre was Mr. Charm until he wasn’t.”

“Was that a dig at me?” Magda didn’t sound upset, just sad. “Because I know Stuart and I haven’t known each other that long.”

Romy hopped down to kiss her mother’s cheek and gave her a warm hug.

“Mom, no, it wasn’t a dig at you, more one at myself.”

Magda smiled in relief. “Romy, I have never felt like this. Not even with your father,” she added apologetically.

“I figured, with Dad.” Romy nodded, unsurprised.

Romy’s father, a professor of Magda’s back in the day, had never been present much in his daughters’ lives. He supported them financially, but soon after Juno had been born, he and Magda had quietly and amicably divorced and James Sasse had remarried and moved to London. Being a single mother didn’t faze Magda and she’d somehow kept her girls clothed and fed as they grew, bringing them all up to be independent young people who never depended on someone else.

The loss of Remy, Romy’s brother, had shattered them all, but the four women were as close now as they had ever been. Artemis, Magda’s eldest, had followed her father into the teaching profession and now taught physics at the University of Washington. Romy had headed for medical school as soon as she graduated from Harvard, and Juno was a musical prodigy. The one thing James had provided was money for their education, and Magda was grateful for that, she often told Romy.

Magda had been brought up in a hippie commune and she’d carried those values her whole life, finally having reached a point in her life where she could sculpt for a living.

Which was why Romy and her sisters had been astounded to hear that Magda was about to marry a multi-billionaire. Stuart Eames had made his fortune in tech and had such a large share of the tech market that no one could compete. Romy was looking forward to meeting the billionaire who had captured her mother’s laidback heart.

A random thought occurred to her as she reached for the salad bowl and started to assemble the various ingredients her mother had diced. “How come Blue has a different last name?”

Magda drained the pot of rice she was cooking. “He’s Stuart’s son from an affair.”

Romy’s eyebrows shot up.

“I think his mother was Italian,” Magda went on, confirming at least that suspicion, though Romy was far more interested in the other revelation.

“So … Stuart had an affair?”

Magda gave her a warning look. “Darling, if you had ever met his wife, you wouldn’t blame him.”

Though Magda was far from conservative, she was fiercely loyal and it was an unusual stance for her to take. Nevertheless, Romy decided to let it go, at least until she’d had a chance to cross-examine Eames and ensure that he wasn’t about to cheat on her mother. Because if he did, she and her sisters would have plenty to say.

“Mom,” she said, suddenly noticing how much food her mother was preparing, “you realize there’s only four of us, right?”

“Five,” Magda flushed bright red and ducked her head. “Stuart’s joining us.”

“Oh, getting in an introduction under the wire, huh?” Romy grinned. “I guess I should help you with the rest of dinner, then …”

Stuart Eames had the same bright green eyes as his son, but his hair was close cropped and white. He had an easy smile that Romy liked, and a friendly manner which made the party all feel at ease. He greeted them all with utmost respect. “It’s so good to finally meet you. Magda is so proud of you all.”

Juno, curling herself into a chair, grinned at him. “I assure you, we don’t deserve it.”

Artemis, her blonde hair falling gracefully to her shoulders, shot her younger sister a warning look. “Don’t tease, Juno.”

Stuart laughed. “No, don’t stop teasing. Blue and I are always busting each other’s chops. It’s what families are supposed to do. Speaking of which, do you mind if I just have a quiet word with your mom about something? I swear it’ll take no more than five minutes.”

“Sure thing.”

Left alone, the sisters looked at one another.

“He’s cute,” Juno decided, and Artemis chuckled.

“Can you call a sixty-year-old cute?” Artemis smoothed her skirt down over her long legs, crossing them elegantly.

Romy sighed. Of all the Sasse sisters, she was the odd one out, dark-haired, dark eyed, and small in stature, if not in figure. Where her sisters were all long limbs and athletic, Romy was curvy, full-breasted, and petite. She still worked out as much as her siblings, but her figure was always going to be soft instead of athletic like them. Juno and Artemis took after their mother; Romy didn’t know where she’d gotten her curves from. She barely remembered what her father looked like. Oh, she knew people considered her beautiful, but she never played it up. Slightly myopic from a young age, she wore glasses instead of contacts, and stuffed her long, thick chestnut hair up into a messy bun more often than not.

Juno poked her with a foot now. “Will you be coming to our traditional Thanksgiving run this year?”

Giving her sister a cheesy smile, Romy said, “Sadly, I’ll be working.”

“Roms!”

“Sorry,” Romy sang in a not-so-at-all voice. She loathed running, unless it was towards something. Like pizza.

Juno sulked while Artemis grinned at Romy. “Nice work, Romy. And what with my broken ankle …”

“What broken ankle?” Juno shot her eldest sister a confused look.

“The one I’ll mysteriously acquire on Thanksgiving.” Artemis laughed and high-fived Romy.

“Don’t blame me when the pair of you get old and fat.” Juno sighed dramatically, then, lowering her voice, she nodded towards the kitchen where Stuart and their mother talking. “What do you think?”

“Too early to say.”

“He looks like Blue a little. Same eyes.”

Juno grinned. “You got a little crush, Romulus?”

Romy threw a pillow at her. “None of your business, quisling.”

Dinner was a fun affair, and Romy decided she liked Stuart very much. He was charming, intelligent, and seemed to adore her mother. Romy noticed, however, that Artemis was a little quieter than normal and when she questioned her sister afterward, Artemis shrugged.

“I’m just reserving judgement is all, Romy. We don’t know him that well yet.”

***

Romy went to work the next day, wondering if she should mention Stuart to Blue, but when she walked into the locker room, the place was in a chaotic state with people running every which way.

“What’s going on?” she asked, preparing herself mentally and physically for what would likely be a long haul.

“There’s been an attack at a sorority house,” Mac told her, his face pale. “Really nasty stuff. Eight girls, three dead. The rest are being brought in here. Allende is already operating.”

Every time she thought she was used to the darker side of her profession, Romy got a reality check. Because truthfully, there was no way to ever get used to innocents slaughtered.

Reaching for her scrubs automatically, she asked, “Does he want us in the observation room?”

“No.” They heard Blue’s voice behind them and turned. Clad in bloodstained scrubs, the handsome surgeon looked weary and grim-faced. “Romy, you’re with me in OR3; Mac, with Dr. Fredericks in OR7; Jim, Molly, and Flynn, emergency room until we can find theaters for the less injured girls. Come on, Romy.”

She changed and was back in under a minute. Blue briefed her on the way to theater. “Patient is Yasmin Levant, nineteen, multiple stab wounds to the abdomen, shattered left femur, looks like the killer stamped on it, possibly to incapacitate her. We’ve got Ortho coming in but her abdominal wounds are catastrophic, at least twenty-nine separate wounds.”

“God, poor girl.”

Blue nodded as they went to scrub. “Look, Romy, we’re going to do everything and anything to save her, but I have to warn you. The odds are against us.”

She’d expected as much, sadly, but appreciated the warning anyway.

After scrubbing, Romy followed him into the operating room where the victim lay on the table. She was covered in blood and barely breathing, blood bags and saline trying to keep her alive. Automatically, Romy avoided looking at anything but the injuries. Looking at the faces right off the bat when the situation was so dire … it didn’t help things.

For hours they operated, trying to repair the damage the knife had caused, pumping her full of blood, but at midnight, Blue called it. There was nothing else to do …

Yasmin Levant was dead.