Page 66 of The Boss

Forty-Two

Nate

When she cameinto my office, that long, thick hair spilling down her back and shadows under those beautiful eyes of hers, I almost asked her to close the door. I almost gave in to the temptation that was Ashlee Webb. I’d never wanted to do that before. When I was done with a woman, it was because I had no interest left in her, which meant there was nothing for me to be tempted by.

Ending things with Ashlee shouldn’t have been different, no matter what the circumstances had been that had brought us here. She betrayed me. Lied to me. At least the women like Roma had been honest about being selfish. They’d told me what they wanted, and I’d told them what I wanted. Straight-forward. No hiding secrets or pretending.

I’d known from the start that Ashlee was different, but I’d never imagined it meant she would be the one to hurt me.

No. No one hurt me. I’d just had an important reminder of where I stood.

I used that knowledge like a shield as I spoke, telling her not to bother to sit down. I needed to make this fast, like ripping off a bandage. Once I told her that she was fired, I wouldn’t need to worry about how tempted I was or wasn’t. Terminating her employment would end things forever. It would be blurring the line between personal and professional in a way that neither of us could take back.

“You’re fired.”

The blood drained from her face, then rushed back, leaving her fair skin mottled. Even from this distance, I could see her lips tremble, and I knew I’d hurt her. A part of me was glad, that she’d been hurt as much as I had been when I’d found that clipping.

I waited for her to say something. Anything. Yell at me. Scream. Tell me that I was an asshole. Tell me I couldn’t do this because I didn’t have cause. Threaten to go to HR and tell them that we’d been fucking for the last couple weeks. That I’d fucked her here in my office.

She wasn’t a dramatic person, but she wasn’t a shirking violet either. She had no problem telling me when I was out of line.

Except…this time she didn’t say a word. She simply turned around and walked back out the door.

I watched her go and ignored the twinge I felt when she disappeared. Now, things could get back to normal. Women were for fucking and forgetting. Work was more important than anything else.

It was only mid-morning, but I was ready for a drink.

I promised myself two fingers of my best Scotch with lunch and then turned my attention to my email. A few needed personal responses, so I tackled them first, reading through each message a couple times to ensure that I understood what was being asked. Then I took extra time to compose my responses, far more time than I’d ever spent writing an email before. My correspondence was generally succinct and to the point. That was the same, but it took me longer to put things together. I could’ve lied to myself about wanting things to be perfect, but I knew it was because laser focus on words kept me from going after Ashlee.

I didn’t chase women. Especially not women who didn’t want anything to do with me.

“You look hard at work.”

Finley shut the office door behind him and came over to sit across from me. If he didn’t start smiling again, I was going to get a complex. I was supposed to be the brooding one.

“Just taking care of my email from over the weekend,” I said.

“You expect me to believe that you went the entire weekend without checking your work email?”

I glared at him. “Why are you here? I know you didn’t come here to criticize my work habits.”

“I didn’t,” he admitted. “I actually came to see you because I was…concerned.”

I sighed and turned away from my computer to fully face him. “Spit it out, Finley. I have work to do.”

“I’m sure you do.” He crossed his legs, resting his ankle on his opposite knee. “Lots of work, like upsetting employees so much that they cry at their desk?”

I gritted my teeth. Of course he was here about Ashlee. Did everyone’s fucking life revolve around her?

“A lot of people cry when they get fired.”

Surprise registered first on Finley’s face, quickly followed by disbelief, and then confusion. “You fired Ashlee Webb?”

There was something else there too.

“Yes.” I let my annoyance bleed through. “I’m writing up her termination report right now. I’ll email it to you when I’m done.” I paused, but Finley seemed to be waiting for me to say something more. “Did you need something else? Because I have paperwork to finish.”

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and I was suddenly reminded that he was now a year closer to fifty than he was to forty. He was such a positive, upbeat guy that I sometimes forgot that his life hadn’t always been easy either.

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