Page 107 of #Bossholes

“Of course, not that any of them asked.” My reply is quick, but then I pause, staying silent for several seconds as my mouth dries and my throat clogs. Those damn emotions, the ones I’ve fought so hard to bury, wash over me, threatening to pull me under.

I try to think of anything, anyone else, but I can’t get the image of them accosting me in Maverick’s office out of my head. Mav looked so betrayed. Wyatt acted like I was a complete stranger. Brantley was hard, cold, detached.

They had zero faith in me.

We may not have known each other for long, but I thought I knew them. I thought they were good guys.

My chest is heavy, like my heart is pushing against my ribs, trying to free itself from me, from the pain. My eyes sting, and I feel like I’m about to crack open.

I’m so stupid. So naive.

I was wrong about so many things.

I grab a tissue as the first tear falls and then the next. No matter how hard I try, I can’t stop them from rolling down my cheeks, one right after another. “They didn’t even come to me and freaking ask if I did it. They…they just assumed it was me. Acted like they didn’t know me at all.”

“But you would never do something like that. Holy shit, Kins. I’m so sorry.” She scoots closer and pulls me in for a hug. “You’re not still working for them, are you?”

I shake my head, bury it against her shoulder, and take a deep breath, swallowing down the sob threatening to break free. “No, I quit. They were probably going to fire me, but there was no way I was going to step a single foot back in that office ever again.”

“I don’t blame you. Not at all. Have they tried to contact you?”

“No. And I have no idea what to tell Colin.” I pull back, snatch several tissues, and wipe my nose. “They were supposed to be here today. They were supposed to…”

The sob breaks free, and I’m a snotty, blubbery mess. None of this makes any sense. Not the short amount of time it took me to fall for these men. Not the blatant distrust. And certainly not this hollow spot in my chest, this aching hole of nothingness.

I feel like a part of me is missing, like without them I’ll never be whole, but I have to figure out a way to move on. I can’t let them destroy me.

FIFTY-FIVE

Wyatt

Nothing is right anymore.

This office used to be my second home, and now I can’t wait to get away. Kinsley’s ghost is haunting me around every turn, every corner. I see her at every meeting, at the copy machine, and every single fucking time I walk by her office.

Of course, she’s not there.

The temp agency fell through, so we have another legal secretary we’ve borrowed from the junior partners. While she’s done nothing wrong, she shouldn’t be here. It’s not right. None of it is.

My head and my heart are at war, and while I know we made the right decision, I’ve never felt so terrible in my entire life.

I’m barely eating; I can’t sleep. I’m falling apart at the seams.

Why did she have to be so damn perfect? She was smart, funny, and put up with our bullshit. But I guess she had to be perfect to lure us in, to snare us in her trap.

So, why do I feel this burning need to see her again? To make sure she’s okay?

Because I’m a fucking moron, that’s why.

“Hey.” Maverick raps his knuckles on my door and pushes it open the rest of the way. “Can we talk for a minute?”

I nod and scoot back from my desk. It’s not like I was going to be getting any work done anyway. I haven’t been able to concentrate, not since everything went down two weeks ago. “What’s up?”

“Do you know where Brantley is?”

“No idea.” He’s not at the office; I’m sure about that. He’s barely been here the past two weeks.

He won’t talk to me, and after the senior partners questioned his integrity at our last meeting, he won’t talk to them either. He’s been radio silent all day, and I’m worried. This situation with Kinsley, the betrayal, hit him the hardest. He blames himself for letting her get too close, for giving in to his attraction.

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