Page 38 of Faking It With My New Boss

Bryan looked up at me from behind his desk when I walked in. I couldn't really interpret the emotion on his face. Which might have been because there didn't seem to be any. He looked at me like it was any other day and I was coming in to give him notes.

And he still looked gorgeous and infuriatingly sexy, and I hated him a little bit more for it each passing second. Drawing in a breath and squaring my shoulders, I crossed the office and set the letter on his desk in front of him. Bryan glanced at it, then looked back at me.

“What's that?” he asked.

“My formal letter of resignation. I quit. Effective immediately,” I said.

He picked up the letter, gave it a cursory look, then tossed it back down and shook his head.

“No, you don't,” he said.

He looked back down at the work in front of him and I stared at him, open-mouthed, stunned by his reaction.

“Excuse me?” I asked.

“You don't quit,” he said simply.

“You don't get to decide that,” I said. “I wrote that letter and I came here this morning to tell you I'm not working for you anymore. What you did was reprehensible. There was no excuse for it and nothing you say is going to change that. I'm not going to work for someone who would behave that way. Not to mention you got me kicked out of school, the whole reason I came to this city in the first place and the only reason I was working for you at all.”

“I absolutely can decide that,” Bryan argued, standing up and facing me. “You made an agreement with me and you are going to live up to it. I need you there for the fundraising event. That is your job.”

I was confused and a bit dumbstruck. This wasn't how I saw the morning unfolding. I didn't think it was going to go totally smoothly. As much as I hoped he would just accept it and let me walk out before my emotion got involved, I knew the chances of that were next to nothing.

But I expected him to be angry with me. Maybe even be mad that I quit because he wanted to have the pleasure of firing me. After all, I did blurt everything out right in front of his grandfather. I didn't know how that worked out or what happened after I walked away, but I couldn't imagine it went smoothly.

Instead, Bryan was acting like everything was still right on track. We were going to do the event, he was going to impress the board, and all would be good with the world.

“After what happened, I don't think it would be a good idea for us to keep going,” I said.

“And I do. Considering I'm the one who hired you, it's my decision. And before you put too much effort into arguing any further, I not only wrote the contract you signed, but had it reviewed by three attorneys. But you're not just going to do it because you signed papers. You're going to because you're an ethical person and you gave your word. We'll get through this event and you'll get your bonus at the end of it,” he said.

There was literally nothing I could say. I did sign papers. I could probably have made a stink and dragged him to court over it, but that was just going to be a whole lot of hassle and expense to get myself out of an agreement I never should have made in the first place. I really didn't relish the idea of the first time the court staff saw me being when I was attempting to extricate myself from a few layers of fraud and some not illegal but definitely shady dealings.

I would get through this and get my bonus, then figure out what was to come.

“Fine,” I said. “But we need to keep our distance until then.”

“Courtney, listen. What happened the other day was unfortunate. The way you were talking about your professor convinced me he was looking at your relationship in a way you weren't. I didn't like it and I was trying to protect you. I didn't mean for it to turn out the way it did,” he said.

It was one of his non-apology apologies and I didn't have the patience to listen to the rest of it. I held up a hand.

“That's enough. I really should be getting my day started. Is there any specific work you need me to do?” I asked.

Bryan shook his head and sat back down. “No.”

“Fine. I'll be in my office.”

I started out of the office, but he called me back. I turned around to face him and saw him holding my letter out to me.

“You'll need this.”

Letting out a sigh, I snatched the paper from his hand and stormed to my office, slamming the door behind me. For the rest of the day, I focused on putting the final finishing touches on the gala and waiting for the day to just be over.

After work, I went home and flopped down on the couch, feeling somehow exhausted and wired at the same time. I wanted to just go to sleep, but the thoughts coursing through my head wouldn't let me relax. Finally, I called Vanessa.

“Are you up for a girls' night?” I asked.

“On a school night?” she asked with a gasp like she was scandalized by the idea. “I'm in. Be there in a bit. Order a pizza in twenty minutes.”

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