Page 2 of Jealous Boss

There’s a touch of sadness in his tone but also a muted anticipation. I don’t know how to respond about old dogs and their retirement plans, so I stay quiet.

When we reach the next hole, he remains in the buggy. “Mason, give me a minute with Ethan, would you?”

Mason nods and heads off with his own caddy.

I keep my posture loose and relaxed despite the stirring of nerves in my gut.

Is this it?

My palms sweat a little, but I’m not a damn schoolboy so I don’t rub it on my thigh or anything.

I just keep my arm on the steering wheel. “What’s up, Philip?”

He clears his throat. “I have a favor to ask.”

I bob my head. “Sure. Fire away.”

“Barb and I are heading to our place in St Lucia for the summer. We were supposed to go in October but with her health issues, the doctor thinks the change will do her good so we're leaving sooner.”

It’s no secret that his wife’s ill health is partly the reason Philip is contemplating stepping down early. Before I can make a sympathetic response, his lips flatten.

“Anyway, the timing isn’t ideal but…we were also supposed to look after my niece while Rick was seeking help.”

I rack my brain and remember that Rick is his much younger brother who was tossed out of the firm a few years back. Because of a rampant drug, booze and general mayhem habit.

“I…uhh…”Sorry to hear that?Is that the right response for a perennial addict seeking help for the umpteenth time?

Philip holds up a hand. “No need to be diplomatic about it. Rick and Janice have been in one giant cycle of rehab and relapse. And their poor kid…” He shakes his head and sighs. “That girl hasn’t had a stable home since she was born. Anyway, she was supposed to stay with Barb and I while she interned at the firm, but we can’t.” He looks over, pins me with a serious look. “So I want you to keep an eye on her for me this summer, Ethan.”

That was…notwhat I was expecting. “I’m sorry…you want me to what?” I try to keep my voice even.

Philip hasn’t lasted this long in the venture capitalist world by taking shit from a subordinate. Even if what he’s asking of me makes the sharpfuck notrip to the edge of my tongue,

I hold it. For now.

“I know it’s unorthodox. And personal. But I trust you.”

I bite back another sharp retort. He trusts me…to act as babysitter for his niece? I’m doing something seriously wrong if I’m going around giving off babysitter vibes.

“Philip, I don’t think that’s a good…” I stop and clear my throat, knowing I’m threading a fine line between causing offense and politely declining this…whatever this crap is. “Interns have a designated junior partner to monitor them. I’m sure she’ll be in good hands with one of the dozen?—”

My words dry up as Philip firmly shakes his head. “I don’t want some faceless junior looking out for my niece. She’s a little…sheltered. Her parents threw her into some strict boarding school in the Swiss mountains where you can’t sneeze without asking for damn permission, and all but forgot about her for almost a decade.” His face tightens with quiet fury. “I had to put my foot down or they’d have left her there to rot.” He takes a deep breath. “Anyway, I’m the reason she’s coming here to intern. A way of easing her into the world, if you like. And I feel bad about not being around for her.”

I nod again, despite the irritation and mild alarm, but I try to speak evenly. “I get the predicament you’re in, Philip, but I still think she’ll be better off with one of the junior executives. I can look in on her every now and then in a supervisory role if it’ll make things?—”

“That’s not going to work for me, son,” he says bluntly.

Right. So we’re back toson, are we? What happened to being on first-name basis? I purse my lips to hide my irritation and meet his gaze, catching the ruthless edge that made him a formidable third of Lawrence, Tucker and Hyde, soon to be Lawrence, Tucker andVilliersif I play my cards right.

And it’s beginning to dawn on me that my next move in this conversation could be crucial.

“I need you to be her personal chaperone while I’m away. I’ve already let HR know that she’ll be working on your floor. She’ll be your responsibility, Ethan. You’ll make sure that she’s well taken care of. I’ll owe you a very big one if you take care of her for me.”

As much as I relish having a big Hyde favor in my back pocket, the silent ‘or else’ grates on my last nerve.

His gaze remains steadily on mine and my stubborn streak prevents me from backing down. But as the silence ticks like a bomb between us, I weigh the ask in the grand scheme of things with what’s at stake for my future.

Three months of ensuring the senior partner’s niece doesn’t fuck up the filing system at the seventy-year-old firm in return for cementing my place as senior,namedpartner?

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