Page 20 of The Boss

I rubbed my beard, my chest tight with questions I wasn’t ready to ask.

Chantelle tilted her head, studying me. “You don’t have to decide right now. Just think about it.”

I did. Long after she’d fallen asleep, I lay awake, staring at the ceiling. I wasn’t going to do it. Of course I wasn’t. The woman sleeping beside me was the one I was going to marry. The one I loved.But the fact that the idea didn’t immediately repulse me? That was something I didn’t know what to do with. And in the back of my mind, a voice lingered, whispering things I couldn’t unhear.

9. Chris

The following morning, I took the elevator up to our floor with a knot in my stomach.

The day before had dragged by in a haze of overthinking, running on autopilot at the gym, and fighting the urge to check my phone every five minutes. I told myself nothing had changed, that I’d see Isaac today and things would go back to normal. That we’d joke around like always, that he’d call me a dumbass in that dry, amused way of his, that I wouldn’t have to sit at my desk analyzing every word I said to him. But as I stepped into the office, I wasn’t so sure.

I made it to my desk and went through the motions—powering on my computer, skimming emails, flipping through my notes from yesterday. But the whole time, my focus was stretched thin, straining toward Isaac’s office.

He wasn’t there yet.

Fine. Cool. No big deal. It wasn’t like I was waiting for him.

When I heard the elevator ding and his familiar footsteps crossed the threshold, my whole body tensed. Isaac walked past my desk without a glance. Not a nod, not a morning greeting, not even the usual half-smirk that said he’d barely slept but was ready to bulldoze through the day anyway.

My stomach dropped. So that was how it was gonna be.

I swallowed hard and forced my eyes back to my screen, my fingers tight around my coffee mug. This was fine. I could handle this. I could handle a little awkwardness, even if it gnawed at my nerves. I could—

Isaac’s footsteps stopped. For a second, nothing happened.

Then, just as I started to turn my head, I saw him backtrack in my peripheral vision. He came to a stop beside my desk,shifting his weight. I looked up, trying to keep my expression neutral.

His eyes flicked to mine, then away. “Okay,” he said, scratching his beard. “This is dumb.”

I blinked. “Uh… what?”

He released a frustrated sigh, shaking his head like he was annoyed with himself. “This whole thing. I’ve been acting like an idiot.”

I let out a slow breath, the tension inside me finally lifting. “So… you’re saying you don’t hate me?”

The corner of his mouth lifted. “I’m saying I was weird about it, and I shouldn’t have been. It was all my fault, anyway.” He finally looked at me then, and his expression softened just enough to smooth out any remaining tightness in my chest. “We’re good, yeah?”

I studied him for a beat, then nodded. “Yeah.”

Isaac nodded too, like we’d just shaken on some unspoken agreement. “Good.” Then, as if to cement it, he added, “You still suck at sparring, by the way.”

A grin broke across my face before I could stop it. “And you still grunt like a goddamn caveman when you lift, so I guess we’re even.”

His smirk was brief but real. “Get back to work, Landry.”

He turned and walked into his office, and just like that, the knot in my stomach unraveled. Things were back to normal.

At least, on the surface.

Because as I sat there, staring at my screen with a stupid smile, something heavier settled in my chest. I liked Isaac. A bit too much, to be honest. Not in the casual, easy way I had before. Not just as a friend, or a guy I admired, or even a straight dude I found attractive but could keep at a safe emotional distance.

No, it was worse than that. I’d seen another side of him—heard it, felt it through the phone. And now, every time I lookedat him, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. About the way his voice had dropped, rough and wanting. About how he’d let down his guard and welcomed what I had to give.

I leaned back in my chair, rubbing a hand over my face.

Normal. That’s what I needed. To focus on work, on our routine, on whatever made things feel easy again. I could do that. Even if, deep down, part of me wasn’t sure I wanted to.

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