Boss I Love to Hate: An Office Romance(79)

His abrupt change in mood gave me whiplash.

“Is something wrong?”

He sighed and averted his stare. Not able to read his eyes unnerved me.

“No. Just have a lot of things to do.” His standoffish demeanor, the one that hadn’t made an appearance in a while, was back in full force.

Normally, I’d call him out on it, but I didn’t because I was afraid he’d continue to ask me questions that I wasn’t ready to answer.

We walked back to the office in silence, side by side but as though we didn’t know each other, an odd contradiction to how we’d been since the wedding. When we were finally in the office, I rushed behind my desk. He was about through his office doors when he about-faced and walked straight toward me.

He dropped his bag on the ground and placed both fists on my desk, leaning in. “I have to say this because you can’t see it, but he’s just not good enough for you. He’s just not, Sonia.” The way he uttered my name had my heart staccato stopping again. “You’re wasting energy on someone who isn’t worth a second of your time. If you love someone deeply, care for them infinitely, then you would never, ever let them go. I know I wouldn’t.” His eyes were feverish and bright, and there was an underlying desperation in his tone.

I could read all his emotions with his one look, and shit, it intimidated me.

We locked eyes for longer than what was comfortable. I didn’t know what to say. I had no words because Brad was right.

But Jeff had hurt me, and I didn’t want him to know how much, which was why I just needed to drag this charade out for just a little bit.

The worst thought popped into my head. “Are you not going with me tomorrow night?”

He shook his head, and then his tone turned sharp. “Yes. I already agreed, and I’m not one to back out.”

Then, he marched to his office and slammed the door shut.

My chest tightened. The last time I remembered that door being shut was weeks ago, before everything had changed between us. Even when he was taking conference calls, he’d leave it open. There was no one around me, and no one could hear him, so it didn’t matter.

I hated this side of him. Funny how I’d prayed and hoped everything would go back to normal between us, and now that it was, I wished it weren’t. Because I liked our new relationship—the cordial one, the fun-loving one.

I knew this was my fault, this change in him.

I should have been careful what I wished for.





Chapter 18





Brad





I was tapping my pen against my desk, looking out my office window. People dotted the streets below me, like little ants in an ant farm.

Jeff has nothing on me. Nothing. I compared every physical feature between us and knew I one-upped up him substantially—in height, in broadness, in weight. But, even though I repeated that mantra in my head, I knew it wasn’t true.

He had everything because, at one time, even possibly now, he had Sonia’s heart, and because of that, he’d won.

The knock on my door had me peering up.

“Hey.” Charles walked in, unbuttoned his suit jacket, and strolled to my desk with the confident swagger he’d been born with.

Better Charles than Mason. I hadn’t talked to Mason since our fight. He was an asshole, and I was waiting for my epic apology. Knowing Mason, it would come. Later. Way later. But I’d decided I was going to wait this one out.

“You look like we already lost the deal.”

I straightened, flattening out my hair. I’d run my hands through my hair one too many times, and my hair was a disheveled mess. I’d undone my tie hours ago. If how I looked was any indication of how I felt, I looked like shit.

I shook my head. “We have this deal in the bag. We’ll be giving them a little over fair market value. There’s no way they can resist. Unless he’s an idiot and he doesn’t care about his three hundred employees.”

This was an easy decision for the company. They hadn’t been making their bottom line and weren’t as profitable as they had been in prior years. Instead of closing shop completely, we could integrate their company into Brisken Printing Corp.

He plopped down in a chair in front of my desk with that Charles, older brother, knowing look in his eyes. “How did it go?”

“The meeting is tomorrow and I’m prepared.”

“That’s not what I was talking about.”

I rubbed at my temple, knowing exactly what he had been asking about. I exhaled. “Not good.”

With Charles, there wasn’t any pretending, no beating around the bush, but it was as if my older brother already knew the answer to the question he’d asked.

“We have another date tomorrow.”

He nodded, pleased. “That’s a good sign.”

I tried not to groan aloud. “Double-dating with her ex.”

That pleased look disappeared. “Oh.”

I flipped the pen over and over between my fingers and glanced out my windows again. The sun was shining, and the sky was blue. It was a perfect day, opposite to the storm happening in my life.

What could I say that Charles couldn’t already read on my face?

Defeat.

“I don’t think she’s over him.” Saying the words out loud was like a fucking brick to my head.