Page 17 of The Boss Problem

“Let me see,” I announced and reached for the dishwasher door.

Henry rolled back as I pulled out the trays and inspected the dishes.

“They are still dirty, so it’s a plumbing issue,” Henry said, getting on the phone with our landlord.

I nodded, pulling an apron on before I took some of the dirty dishes out of the dishwasher. I needed to get a few of these cleaned before I left so that Henry had some dishes to use for the rest of the day. I glanced at the clock, my heart skipping a beat when I realized how close I was cutting it on my very first day.

“You know what this reminds me of?” I asked, piling the dirty plates in the sink, determined not to let this ruin my morning.

Henry grinned. “That scene from The Break-up?”

We laughed as I handed him a clean plate, and he placed it in one of the drawers.

“I want you towantto do the dishes,” I said, sounding almost like Jennifer Aniston from the movie.

Henry threw up his hands. “Why would anyonewantto do the dishes?” he asked, in a perfect imitation of Vince Vaughn’s character, Gary.

Henry snort-laughed as I tossed one of the clean plates to him, and he caught it midair before rolling over to place it in the drawer.

“You always loved that movie so much,” he said. “You’d watch it every weekend. I wrote it off as a teenage thing, but you kept doing that for over a year.”

“Well, I remember you had the biggest obsession with Ariel fromThe Little Mermaidthat year! You’d ask to go to every theater that showed that movie and watch everything related to mermaids when you got back home?—”

Henry rolled his eyes. “It wasn’t about the mermaids?—”

“It was about Julie, I know,” I said, and we both shared a knowing grin.

Henry had had the biggest crush on his classmate that year when he was eight, and he loved everything she loved. So, we had to watchThe Little Mermaidover and over again so that he could impress Julie. It had worked.

“You guys ended up being good friends, even after that phase,” I mused, remembering how Julie would come over every so often. She had since moved out to Colorado, but they were still in touch.

I cleaned the last of the plates, and after I set the plate in the drying rack, Henry held a towel out for me to wipe my hands.Drying my hands, I took my apron off and checked the time, realizing that I could still catch my train if I raced down the street.

“We’ve grown out of those obsessions, haven’t we?” Henry muttered as he wheeled himself out of the kitchen and into the living room.

“You mean, crushes and movie obsessions?” I asked as I turned the lights off in the kitchen and got ready to pick up my workbag and purse.

He nodded. “Not movie obsessions. God knows I still have those. But crushes, lovers, partners, and things like that.”

I laughed, even as a cold, clammy feeling caught up to me. “Yep, that’s not happening again,” I said.

He nodded.

“The Nichols siblings stick together,” he said, his voice tender but serious. “No one else gets us, Chloe. No one else would understand what it means to be abandoned the way we were. I mean, you were eighteen, but still a child when it happened.” He shrugged. “I don’t get how Dad could just leave us like that,” he said, his voice sounding broken. “How does someone walk away from their family and not look back, Chloe?”

He extended his arms around us, and I looked at our childhood apartment. The one that still held fading memories of Mom, but stronger memories of Dad. Mom couldn’t help it; she’d passed away ages ago, when I was barely eight, and Dad … well, his abandonment after Henry’s accident was a scar that I would carry around for the rest of my life. In the end, both our parents had left us.

“I’m not going to add to those sad memories, Henry,” I said in a soft voice.

I knew Henry’s deepest worries even if he never voiced them. One did not just bounce back from losing use of their legs and subsequently their father in the span of months. The traumaof it all—physical, mental, and emotional—had taken a toll on Henry, and I knew it would be a long time before I could afford a psychiatrist to help Henry with his emotions. Until then, we would manage. I wouldn’t leave Henry—ever.

It was the thing I’d been so grateful to Bruce for—that he wanted to move in with us. Look where that had gotten me. Jilted after being quite close to the symbolic altar.

So, I gave Henry a smile and leaned over for a hug. “I won’t leave, I promise. The Nichols siblings stick together,” I echoed. And ruffling his hair, I hugged him tight before letting go. “See you in the evening, Prince Eric. I’ve got to get to work and meet my new, mean boss.”

He waved as I crossed the hall and prepared myself for the crowded streets to the subway station.

“And by the way, I always pictured myself as Sebastian!” he called out before I stepped out the front door.

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