Bossy Bully: A Sweet Billionaire Boss Romance (Sweet Bossy Millionaires Book 1) Page 10

  She’s looking out the window. “Okay.”

  “We’ll schedule a dinner meeting to go over our preparations for LA. Invite Curtis and my secretary.”

  “I will.”

  “You need to go to the Gucci store and choose two dresses. That’s top priority so you look well presented.”

  She nods and makes a sound of agreement.

  “Lora, look at me.”

  “I don’t want to.”

  I steel my jaw. “I said, look at me.”

  She does with a hard sigh. I want to cup her jaw in my hand, pull her closer and kiss the fire and ice away from her expression. “We’re leaving for LA shortly, and you’re not ready. Do you plan to let me down, leave me hanging?”

  “Of course not.”

  “If I can’t count on you to assist me through this damn party, tell me now so I can replace you. Absolutely everything rides on closing this deal. I need you to be one-hundred-percent present, or I need you to step down.”

  “I’m worried about my father, and you’re giving me a lecture on not doing my job?”

  I know that I should back off, but I can’t. “I’m your boss. I hired you to do your job, and I expect nothing less when you’re on the clock.”

  She cocks her head, her lips going into a hard line. “Understood. Sir.”

  We’re back on the playing field, which is where we need to be. Lately, things have gotten too off course and it’s making me unbalanced. I don’t like the sensation of losing control, yet that’s exactly how she makes me feel.

  We arrive at the building. Her cellphone is buzzes. She checks it and instantly clicks it off and puts it in her bag.

  “I’d like you to do a walkthrough with me. Let’s go.”

  “What are we doing here, exactly?”

  I wave the driver off and open the door for her myself, taking her hand to help her out. “This is the Red Raven building.”

  “Really? It’s stunning.”

  My architect is a genius. I show her the front of the building and revel in her appreciation of it. We go inside and I take her through each floor. They are lofty and un-sectioned, just perfect blank canvases to be turned into virtually anything. After I give her the tour, she put her hands on her hips.

  “This is the building that you’re having a hard time selling?”

  “Only because I have no interest in selling it.”

  “But, why?”

  To save my soul? I nearly laugh at myself. Dark, but true. I’m trying to find absolution and I have no idea if it will work, or if I’ll chase that rabbit for the rest of my life. I consider whether I should tell her. She confided in me about her father, yet constantly going back and forth about our personal lives puts us in a weird position. It makes us friends, maybe more. The kiss was enough of a misstep that I don’t regret. Will I regret it, though, if I keep going?

  People have always closed themselves off from me, but she doesn’t. She talks to me as if she’s genuinely interested in what I have to say, even when I’m being, well, me and making it difficult.

  “You knew my roommate in college, Ned. Did you ever meet Sam Thornston? He was usually with Ned and I.”

  Her face grows pale and she looks at her hands. “I didn’t know Sam, no.”

  “He was killed our senior year at Miami Dade. You probably heard about it at some point. Sam was my best friend. He had a brain similar to mine and we… we just got along.” I clear my throat as memories make it feel tight. “Sam had an advantage over me, though. He was able to read people and interact with them better than I can. He did a lot of mission work, was involved in charities and community programs. He had a dual degree in business management and political science, wanted to make laws and programs that better served the poor and middle class.”

  Whenever I talk about Sam instead of simply thinking about him, I get the sensation that I’m standing outside of my body while I talk. It never feels quite real, like I can’t get my soul back into my body. His memory reminds me, always, that I’ve been ripped in half and may never be whole again. Lora shifts her weight and presses her knuckles to her lips. She meets my gaze and her eyes are filled with tears.

  I give her a questioning look, reaching to touch her shoulder but she steps away from me.

  “Jett, I have to tell you something.”

  “Hello there!”

  We both startle as my designer calls out and walks over with a smile. Lora quickly recovers, and I have to redirect my brain away from what she was about to say, to what’s going on in front of me. I’d forgotten that I’d asked the designer to come. I was so lost in Lora, again.

  I get swept up in talk about how to section off the building to suit the design ideas that I have. Lora hangs back quietly as she listens in. I can tell that she’s lost in thought and not paying attention, but I don’t get frustrated with her over it. When the meeting is over, I gesture her back to the car. It’s early afternoon and I’m hungry. I don’t ask her if she wants to go to lunch, I just direct the driver.

  She’s looking at her phone, her head snapping up as the car slows and her door opens. “Wait, where are we?”

  “DeBelle’s. You should have been paying attention.”

  She shakes her head, her eyes going huge. “No, we can’t eat here.”

  She says this even as the driver is helping her out of the car. I have too much do to back at the office to deal with dramatics right now. Being at Red Raven shook me a little and the only thing that will help is burying myself in work. I take her arm and she hurries to keep up with me.

  “Mr. Calder, I really would prefer if we went somewhere else.”

  “No time to go anywhere else. I’m on a schedule and so are you.”

  The hostess seats us at the patio and Lora sits more stiffly than anyone, ever. I don’t understand her discomfort. It’s a restaurant, for crying out loud. I reach for her hand across the table and she reluctantly lets me take it. Her skin is smooth and warm, and her fingers curl lightly around me. I take her other hand, too and her chest heaves with an exhale, and I do the same, as if we’d both been waiting for this simple touch in order to let go of the tension.

  I don’t understand her hold on me. I don’t know the science or chemistry behind it. All I do know is that I react to her in a way I never have to anyone. It scares me.

  But it excites me, too.

  I’ve never held back my desires or filtered my words, and I’m not going to start now. I need to say just the right thing, yet I can’t think how to form the words. There’s a soft rustling beside us that says someone is standing at our table.

  “So, this is why you haven’t called me back.”

  A male voice cuts through our connection and Lora gasps, yanking her hands from mine as she turns her attention to a man wearing a black waiter’s apron and a nametag that says, Justin.

  Chapter Twelve: Lora

  I have no idea what to do.

  Justin’s face is contorted with anger and sadness. The veins stick out on the sides of his neck as he struggles with self-control. He’s not a physical guy, but his words can pack a punch and I have no doubt he wants to let them fly right now.

  “This is purely a work thing.” I say it as if he’ll be immediately relieved and go about his day.

  “Is it, though?”

  He’d seen Jett and I holding hands. Hell, I don’t know why I allowed that to happen any more than why I let him kiss me. Probably because he made me feel good and it overrode my common sense. I’d really let Justin down by not being honest with him weeks ago. I should have paid attention to my inner thoughts of breaking up with him and faced them for what they were. It was a sign that I wasn’t invested anymore. Yet, instead of doing the right thing, I took the easy way out and just let it slide to see if the relationship would just wash away on its own.

  Instead, he’d been sending me flowers and nice text messages, and leaving me voicemails with no chewing noises. He’d upped his game and I’d totally done the wrong thing.<
br />
  I look at Jett, then to Justin. I’d done the wrong thing by both of them.

  “You’re right, Justin. This isn’t just a work thing. I don’t know what this is, but I should have been honest with you.”

  Justin gives a tight smile and pours us water, as if doing his job is going to make it go any better. “I get it, Lor. He’s got money. Gave you a job I was really clear about not liking from the beginning. But you did it anyway. He’s good looking. What’s not to go for?” My glass overfills as he looks at me and keeps pouring. “Oh, yeah, how about the fact that maybe he killed a guy, huh?”

  “That’s enough.” Jett rips the carafe from Justine’s hand and sets it on the table.

  I put my hands out to stop them both. “We’re not doing this here. Justin, we’re going to go, and you and I will talk later.”

  “Does he know that you were there? Is that what this is all about? He gave you the job out of gratitude or… maybe you were in on the whole thing and it was some sick game the two of you were playing. Rumor had it that this guy caused the accident on purpose. That makes him a killer.”

  “Stop it.”

  “Was it? Some sick game to see who could kill that kid. Just like on television, the rich, spoiled heir gets away with murder.”

  Jett gets to his feet so fast that his chair nearly topples over. I’ve never seen pure rage on his face before, but he exudes it now.

  Justin glares at him, his lower lip trembling but he has the sense to back up. He turns to me and jabs a finger at me. “I don’t even know who you are anymore.”

  Tears blind my vision as I get up and hurry through the restaurant. I barely notice as people stare, and I can’t fully breathe until I’m outside. I no sooner step out the door than Jett grabs my arm and leads me across the side street and to the beach. It’s flooded with people today, but they aren’t paying us any attention as he spins me beneath a lamp post.

  “What the hell was that?”

  “I told you I didn’t want to go there. Justin’s a manager—”

  “NO.” He barks it at me, making my ears ring. “What the hell did he mean that you were there? Were… you at my accident?”

  Tears fall freely now and I’m too boneless to stop them. I shrug, then nod. “I’m the caller who left the scene.”

  His bottom lip turns inward as he looks to the sky, then rips his gaze back to me. I cross my arms tightly as if I can stop myself from shaking, but that night comes flooding back and I can’t stop it. “I was right behind the car when Sam crashed into the trees. You guys lost it on that corner and hit so fast and hard… it was dark, and the rain had just started, and I didn’t know what to do. I ran down the embankment to see if you guys were okay. I forgot my phone in the car, but yours was lying in your lap of all places, and it was unlocked so I used it to call 911. The operator said an ambulance had to come from another district and it was going to be a while.”

  I slump against the light pole. “I used the light from your phone and I knew right away that Sam was gone. And you… you were making this gagging, gurgling sound that I’ll never forget. The 911 lady told me to look inside your mouth to see if you were maybe chocking on anything, and you were. The rearview mirror had shattered into your face and you had two pieces of glass in the back of your throat. I could barely reach them, but I did. Smoke came rolling out from under the hood and she told me to grab you by the shirt and yank you right out of the car. I could hardly get your door open, got it just enough to pull your body through and drag you as far as I could.”

  He’s staring at me, transfixed and I can’t stop the words from rolling and spilling out of my mouth. “I turned you onto your side so you wouldn’t choke on all the blood, and went back for Sam, but he was wedged against the trees. There was no way I was going to get him out. I knew in my gut that he was dead, but it didn’t stop the panic of wanting to get him out of there. I tried, but I wasn’t strong enough to pull his body across your seat and out the door. The flames were getting to hot, too big. I got scared, Jett. I got scared and I panicked, as soon as I heard sirens, I left.”

  A hard shiver claims my body and I double over as soon as it passes. He doesn’t say anything and I’m out of words, so I breathe until I can stand upright again. “Jett, that’s all I know about that night. I don’t know why you had the accident, or what happened in that car. The rest of the story is yours.”

  “And I don’t owe it to you.”

  I wipe at my eyes and cheeks and rub my hands on my skirt. “I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you before. I tried, but I just couldn’t do it.”

  He takes a small step back. “Was Justin right? Did you think I might give you a job out of gratitude?”

  I throw my hands in the air. “Why would you? You didn’t know that I was there.”

  “Correct, but that’s some pretty big information to have in your back pocket, isn’t it?”

  “Wait, you’re going to use something I didn’t do against me?”

  I watch his throat as he swallows hard. For every inch I started to get to know Jett Calder, I suddenly feel like I’ve gone backwards by a mile.

  “I do not tolerate being lied to. I don’t know your motives, Lora. Nor do I want to.”

  “I didn’t lie to you about this.”

  He steps forward now, his chest almost touching mine. I exhale sharply as he looks down at me. “You withheld the truth, even after my mother told you about me, and especially after it became clear we have feelings for—”

  Jett turns away and I want to sink to my knees, but I don’t. My mind is going numb and pretty soon, I won’t be able to feel anything. “Have you ever screwed things up so much and you know that you have to clear all the negative, bad things out of your way so you can start again? That’s where I’m at right now. Please, look at me.”

  His shoulders tense at my request. But he turns with an inscrutable expression and new tears fall from my eyes.

  “I did lie to you, Jett. I did. But not about that night. I lied… on my resume. I didn’t do an internship at Hensley Cosmetics, or co-write the marketing plan for Colgate’s new kid’s toothpaste line. There’s a couple more, but I don’t think it matters anymore. That night in the hot tub, it never happened. Well, it did, but not the way that I said. You did compliment my work in class, and we did sit in a hot tub together, but you never threw me a line about applying at TerraLuxe. I figured you’d never remember if I made that up, and you didn’t.”

  The weight in my gut lifts and for a brief moment, I feel weightless. But it’s quickly replaced with a deep ache as if I’ve been punched right below the ribs. “I did what I thought I had to do to get ahead, to be hire-able and get a job so I could take care of my father. Saying that I’m sorry isn’t enough; I know.”

  He’s looking to the side and I’m not sure that he hears me. God, what have I done?

  “Have the driver take you home. I’ll have your things from the office delivered tomorrow.”

  My eyes clench tightly as my body goes cold. I did this to myself. I did this; no one else.

  “What about you?”

  “I know how to work a cellphone to call an Uber. Go, because I can’t stand to look at you anymore.”

  Sniffing, I force myself to keep it together and push away from the pole. I need to make this fast, to get out of here as quickly as I can before I break down. I take four steps when Jett’s voice draws me to look back.

  “Sam was about to leave on another mission trip, and it scared me. He was the one person who understood me, who I could talk to. He never looked at me like I was different, like he couldn’t wait to get away from me. We argued and he over judged the corner, turned the wheel too hard and, skidded on the wet pavement. I selfishly started the argument because I didn’t want to be without the person that I felt closest to.”

  He gives a humorless laugh as he walks away. “I never imagined I’d feel that way twice in one lifetime.”

  Chapter Thirteen: Lora

  Orange is d
efinitely not the new black, at least not on me.

  I glance down at my blaze orange shirt and black slacks, holding a clipboard with nothing on it.

  It’s my second day of orientation as a manager at a major home improvements store, a job I landed without fudging my resume, even thought I don’t know a power tool from a hole in the ground. I’ve been given a fifteen-minute break but I’m not sure what to do with my time, so I’m standing in the housewares isle, blankly staring at an air fryer. It’s been seven days since I took Jett down piece by piece and he did the same to me, and I’ve yet to pull myself from the self-imposed haze that’s come over me.

  I can’t stop thinking about my ex-boss and what I did. This is my fault. I did this to myself, and it hurts. It hurts more that I hurt two men that I’d come to care about, and even doubly that my bad choices also affect my ability to pay back my father. He’s working at the store again today, lifting, stocking, hefting while his damaged and recovering heart does its best to keep up. By proxy, I’ve hurt him, too. I’ve singlehandedly screwed up every aspect of my life.

  Holding back tears, I absently check my email on my cellphone. I have two job offers from the freelance website I’m back to browsing. I accept them even though the pay is terrible, because I can’t not accept them. The pay here isn’t much better, but combined with my freelance work, I should be able to pay off my father’s debt in about twenty-five years.

  If he lives that long.

  I’ve been a restless mess since this whole thing fell apart. I can’t eat, can barely sleep. I actually envy Jett’s epic sleep session. I’d love to just pass out right now and forget everything.

  My throat goes tight. I can’t think his name without emotions tearing me apart. I want to apologize, but my words will fall on deaf ears. I know that, and honestly, I don’t expect him to listen to me. I lied to him, withheld the truth and weaseled myself into his business and… and, his life. He’d let me get close to him.

  He’d kissed me like it meant something, and he’d given me feelings that had meant something. At least, they had. It’s too late now to know if what was budding between us was going anywhere. A man like Jett doesn’t forgive. Especially, not someone he’d let into his intimate life who’d worked him over like I did.