Page 88 of Boss Me

“Cooper.” Weston sat at his desk, his white dress shirt open at the collar to show a neck almost as tanned as mine. He must have gotten out on his boat recently. As usual, his hair was perfectly trimmed, not rumpled like mine often was from running my fingers through it or smashed down like Jackson’s from his headphones.

“Harris.” I crossed the plush silk rug and shook his hand. It was cool, like usual. But his smile was warm like always, and the tension between my shoulder blades eased.

“Have a seat.” He beckoned at the studded leather chairs in front of his desk.

I perched on the stiff cushion and leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees. “What’s this I hear about—”

He spoke over me. “Vacation looks good on you. Did you enjoy yourself on the island?”

“I did.” Usually, Weston preferred to get down to business like I did, but it made sense to catch up since I hadn’t seen him in three weeks. “What’s not to like? A little sun, sand, and umbrella drinks.” I’d never revealed to him that my family lived there. It wasn’t something I usually shared. Let everyone think I was a tourist there, one who came from a suburban, white, wealthy background like most of the tech executives I encountered. Like Weston himself.

“I worry about you, Cooper.” His eyebrows lowered although his forehead didn’t crease. He might have let the gray show at his temples, but I’d never seen a line on Harris Weston’s face. “For the past year or two, you haven’t seemed as happy as when I first met you and Jones.”

Maybe Botox would’ve made it easier for me to keep my face expressionless. By this time last year, I’d known Jackson would never love me the way I’d loved him. But none of that mattered now. Not when Ben waited for me downstairs.

“I’m doing better now. The time away gave me perspective.”

“Clearly, you needed it after the incident in your office. Is your hand all right?”

Julie must have told him. Heat started at the top of my head and consumed my face. I flashed him a tight smile and held up my right hand. Only a few red marks crossed it. “It was just a scratch. No cause for alarm.”

He tilted his head. With his Roman nose, he reminded me of a hawk. “I think people around here were very alarmed. Especially Jones. And even more so when you sold your Synergy shares.”

The heat burned down to my chest. I wanted to unbutton my collar, but I couldn’t, not under his hawk’s stare. I remained still as a field mouse.

“Fortunately, I had some funds available and was able to secure them. So they’ve stayed within the Synergy family.” He opened his palms in a benevolent gesture.

Cool relief flowed through my veins. My shares hadn’t wound up in Gurusoft’s clutches. I hadn’t made the company a takeover target. Weston originally had a smaller holding than Jackson or I did, but now he and I would hold roughly equal amounts of the company, with Jackson owning the largest part. Together, the three of us still held a healthy majority. I leaned back in the chair. “I’m glad you did that. I wasn’t thinking clearly when I initiated the sale, or I would have spoken to you about it.”

“Interesting that you didn’t talk to Jones about it, either. He seemed unaware that you were divesting.”

I winced. “I, ah. Like I said, I wasn’t thinking clearly.” Although I’d been drunk off my ass when I’d initiated that sale, I’d been clear-headed, thinking about retirement with Ben, when I’d gifted him the next chunk. Once we got past this, I’d make a rational decision about the rest of my holdings. If I decided to sell, I’d offer them to Jackson or Weston.

“I suppose good things can come of rash decisions.” But he curled his lip. I doubted Weston had ever made a rash decision. And I’d never, ever seen him drunk. Not even the night after the company went public and we all became instant multimillionaires.

“Yes. They can.” If I hadn’t lost my mind and run to the island, Ben wouldn’t have followed me. We’d have remained boss and employee, never touching, never feeling the fire that sparked between us, the pull I felt right then to him, five floors below.

“And a very good thing came from your decision to sell your shares.” Weston leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers over his chest. “We’ve received a buyout offer from Gurusoft. And Jones doesn’t have enough shares to block it.”

A chill ran across my skin. “A…what?”

“An extraordinarily attractive buyout offer. Cash plus equity. You’ll be a very wealthy man.” He chuckled. “An even wealthier man.”

Bile rose into my throat. I’d promised Jackson I’d keep our majority bloc for just this reason. And now I’d fucked up, and Synergy would land in Gurusoft’s clutches. Everything we’d built together consumed by the larger company, the software—Jackson’s brainchild—broken up and built into theirs or else retired completely. Exactly what had happened to his father’s company. The employees, from Marlee to Ben’s sister to the newest, most junior developer, given severance packages and tossed out on the street. Only a few star developers, like Jackson’s protégé, Tyler Young, would be valuable enough for Gurusoft to keep. I swallowed.

“Don’t worry.” He flashed me an avuncular smile. “You’ll enjoy retirement. And if you don’t, you can start a new company, as long as it doesn’t violate the noncompete clause.”

A fucking noncompete. Gurusoft would bring out the legal power to enforce it, too. They’d never let us start a new software company from the ashes of Synergy. Jackson would be furious. And I deserved it. My selfishness had just destroyed everything we’d built together. When I’d sold the stock, I’d wanted to be done with Synergy. But not like this. The familiar anger boiled in my gut.

“No!” I leaped out of the chair and stood. “I—I don’t want that. Not now.”

His eyebrows lifted a fraction. “It’s what’s best for you. And the company. You and Jones can be friends again without all this”—he waved his hand—“unpleasantness between you.”

Unpleasantness. That’s what he called Jackson’s and my stormy—though highly effective—partnership. Synergy, the multibillion-dollar company we’d built in our dorm room, had become unpleasantness.

I took a deep breath like I’d practiced with Dr. Pradhi. But despite my mentor’s betrayal, the anger that usually boiled just below the surface wasn’t there. Sure, there was heat and hurt, but my infamous temper was still on vacation.

“No,” I said again, more steadily. “Jackson and I’ll fight this. We’ll talk to the board—”

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