Boss I Love to Hate: An Office Romance(83)

I laughed. Yeah, the evil stepmother.

“So, I’m breaking up with her.”

I stared at him, dumbfounded. What is going on? “You sure?” I was tempted to take my brother’s temperature. “You’re breaking up with her?” I asked again, almost like I couldn’t believe it to be true.

Mason frowned. “I thought you of all people would be happy about this.”

I blinked, still shocked into silence.

“But, yes, I am sure.”





Brad

After work, I headed to the only place I wanted to be—Sonia’s.

Just when I’d thought my day couldn’t get any better, Sonia opened the door of her apartment. I didn’t think I’d ever met a woman who could make jeans and a T-shirt look so damn sexy. It was double-date night, which I wasn’t too excited about, but spending time with Sonia would make up for it.

“Hey.”

“Hey.” She stepped into the hallway and let the door shut behind her. “I heard someone did good today.”

“It’s all in a day’s work.”

Then, she poked my side and locked the door before leading us to the elevator. “You were never one to be modest.”

Is she flirting? I cocked my head. Shit, I think she is.

We entered the elevator, and I inched up beside her, our shoulders touching.

“If I’m being honest, it was a slam dunk.” I threw her my cockiest smirk. “I’m just the best at my job, which is why Charles and Mason wish they were me. The company would be in ruins without me. Bankruptcy.” Her laughter fired me up to keep on going. “People would lose their jobs. I could never have that on my conscience.”

“Of course not.” She rolled her eyes and angled toward me, and shit if I wasn’t having the best day of my life, just being by her.

I kept on bragging about how I was God’s gift to Brisken Printing Corp. and how everyone needed me. I proceeded to tell her how lucky she was to work with the finest and smartest man at the company. She scoffed playfully, and when the elevator pinged open to the lobby, I took the leap and risked rejection as I reached for her hand.

Her smile faltered a little, but she didn’t push me away, and I continued to keep up my banter while my insides soared. Baby steps were good.

We held hands throughout the drive, and when we parked in front of the pizza joint, I faced her. Her eyes looked outside, scanning the area, her knees bouncing. It reminded me of the day at the church when she had been fidgeting in her seat, nervous to see the ex. I realized I didn’t want to do this, have dinner with Jean and Jeff and pretend I was having a good time, when all I wanted it to be was Sonia and me, alone. I didn’t want to share her.

Thinking of him and her and the past they’d shared had me itching to jump out of my skin.

“I don’t even know why I’m here.” Sonia bit her bottom lip. Her stare skittered outside, watching the people walk past our car.

My sentiments exactly, but today, silence seemed like the key. The key with Mason and now with Sonia.

“I didn’t want to be the loser. I didn’t want it to seem like I was too hurt to meet up. I didn’t want him to know that he’d hurt me … that he’d broken my heart so badly, so that’s why I agreed to come.”

I wanted to ask her again why it mattered. Why she cared about his feelings or what he thought months after they had broken up, but I was afraid to hear the answer.

“Do you want to go home?” I so badly wanted her to say yes. To ditch this fool and his blow-up Barbie. So that I could take her on a real date, to a movie and dinner, something better than second-rate pizza.

“It’s too late. We can’t.” Her voice was so achingly low, hopeless even.

I tipped her chin my way, staring at her pink lips and needing so badly to kiss her. “You can. We’ll do whatever you want to do. I know this Italian restaurant that makes a cloud of tiramisu.”

All she needed to do was say the word, and it would be done; we’d be on our way.

Come on.

The knocking on the window had her jumping and me giving a death glare to the culprit—Jean.

Her wave turned frantic as she bounced on her toes. “Hi, guys!”

Jeff was right behind her, looking … pissed?

Whatever he was, he wasn’t happy, but it wasn’t my concern.

Sonia rolled down the window. “We’ll be right inside.”

I leaned back in my seat, letting my head relax against the headrest, watching Jean and Jeff walk down the street. I rarely went where I didn’t want to be, yet, for Sonia, I was going to go into that pizza joint.

“If we’re going to get out of this, now would be the opportunity,” I none too subtly reminded her.

She laughed, her eyes trailing the two bobbleheads walking into the pizza joint. “Now, we can’t for sure. We’ve been spotted. There goes my excuse that I’m sick, and life is over.” She bit her fingernail, watching their retreating backs. I wished I could read minds to know what she was thinking. “Do they match?”

“What do you mean?”

“Never mind.” She shook her head. “Maybe it’s true what they say; opposites do attract.” Then, she turned my way. “Is she your type? Do you think she’s attractive?”