Page 105 of The Boss Situation

I pull my phone from my pocket and quickly find the photo my mom texted me a few months ago when she was going through photo albums, reminiscing like I’d had a perfect childhood. It was dysfunctional. I hand my phone to Billie. It’s a picture of the two of us, and we’re dressed in Hawaiian shirts. My arm is around her, and she is smiling wide. Later that night, twelve-year-old me made a move, and a part of me never got over her.

“Aww.” Then she pokes me hard in the chest. “I’ve searched for you since that summer.Jerk!Why didn’t you say something sooner? Not a hint? Nothing. You just kept this information for … for … nearly twenty years?” She takes a step back, really studying me. “You went from a chubby, braces-wearing, four-eyed kid with pimples to a Greek god in six short years when we met again?” She gasps. Realization washes across her face. “Youwere my first kiss.” She covers her face with her hands. “I might have a mental breakdown.”

“I thought you recognized me the day we ran into one another at Stanford. When our eyes met, I immediately knew it was you,” I admit. “I didn’t know how to be like,Hey, remember me? I stuck my tongue in your mouth on the beach when we were twelve? That would’ve went over really well.”

“At least you asked first, like the perfect gentleman.” Her face softens. “That moment we shared as kids, under the stars, was magical. It’s the story I’ll tell my children, if I have any.” She glances away, as if she’s reliving it. “I came back every summer, hoping to run into you again. Your grandparents weren’t here either. It had felt like a dream, something I’d imagined.”

“I’m sorry. When my mom learned my dad was a cheating bastard, I became the thing they fought over having ownership of. My grandparents became obsessed with cruises and started only visiting in the spring. Because I loved this house so much, it was left to me when my grandfather’s estate was settled. Mygrandmother was convinced I’d find love here. I guess she was right,” I admit.

Billie steps forward, wrapping her arms around my waist. “I didn’t recognize you. I automatically hated you because I felt something when I looked into your eyes. Maybe it was familiarity. I was so worried that if I met the love of my life at eighteen as a freshman in college, I’d give up everything. I’d be forced to work for my father, and I wanted to experience life. Hating you has always been easier than loving you.”

I wrap my arms around her. “I understand and don’t fault you. Being a Calloway comes with a lot of pressure. You did what was best, just as I did.”

Her lips gently brush mine.

“I always dreamed of what I’d say to Max Holly if I ever saw him again.”

I laugh, pulling away from her. “Yeah? Tell me. Please.”

“Thank you. After you kissed me that summer, I felt pretty. No one had ever made me feel that way before. Just you. It gave me the confidence I needed to fuck up little teenage boys in boarding school.” She smirks. “I was a terror because of you.”

Laughter roars out of me. “Glad I could help. But, if it’s any consolation, you’re not pretty, Billie. You’re fucking gorgeous.”

“It was always you,” she whispers loud enough for me to hear. “Un-fucking-believable. Just wait until I tell Harper.”

After we eat,we go onto the balcony and watch the sunset and the storm rolling in. Her eyes shine, and I see the past unfolding behind them—the girl she once was and the woman she’s fought so fiercely to become.

“I’m proud of you,” Itell her. “No bullshit.”

“Thank you,” she says just as the sun sets below the horizon. “That means a lot to me.”

“It’s official. We’ve spent the entire day together,” I say.

“From sunrise to sunset,” she whispers. “I’ve spent so long running from this.”

“Fuck, me too,” I admit.

Darkness is upon us, but so is a storm.

“I’m so used to building walls and putting distance between me and anyone who tries to get too close. It’s safer, easier.” Billie pauses, her voice trembling slightly. “But I’m so fucking lonely.”

“I am too,” I say, my voice barely above a whisper. My chest tightens.

She exhales, the warmth of her breath grazes against my skin. “Can we be lonely together?”

“When I’m around, you’re never alone. Anytime we’re together, it always feels like it’s just you and me,” I admit.

Slowly, I reach up, gently cupping her cheek and tilting her face toward mine. Our eyes lock. Hers are vulnerable, searching; mine are steady, reassuring.

I know what I’ve always wanted. Her.

She slides her fingers gently through my hair as she stands in front of me. My hands rest on her ass.

“I’m done fighting this, fighting you,” she admits.

Her confession resonates deep within me, unraveling something raw and intense. The energy between us shifts, growing more electric, more desperate. Need and want take over.

I pull away. “Wait a goddamn minute. Are youfinallysurrendering to me? Is that a white flag I see?”

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