Page 35 of The Boss Problem

After my call with Helen, I’d ordered all the Marvel movies for Lucas, only to realize he wanted to watch the movies with my housekeeper, not me.

I’d even gotten him a Spider-Man bouncy castle to play with when nothing else seemed to bridge the gap between us. It was the happiest I’d seen him since having to say goodbye to his mother at the airport, but he still wouldn’t look at me.

How could I spend quality time with my son if he kept pushing me away? How did parents make time with their children when their workday was chock-full of meetings and tasks and the child was too cranky at nighttime to care about spending time together?

Chloe was my only hope. The only person I’d seen work well with Lucas, apart from Helen and the nanny. The latter two hadn’t been able to help me with Lucas. Anne worked multiple jobs, and Helen had fallen in love and was more interested in her new fiancé at the moment. A new fiancé who would soon be Lucas’s step-dad.

A thought flashed in my mind that soon, Lucas would prefer Matt to me. That shouldn’t happen. I wouldn’tletthat happen.

So even though I’d gone months without sex, and the universe had delivered the most attractive woman in front of me, I’d ignore every feeling I had for her. Chloe was a woman Icouldn’t make a move on. Even though she was a woman who made my clothes feel too tight and my skin burn with heat.

I had to because I needed Chloe for something more. I needed to be better than Helen’s new man, and I could not ruin that opportunity by sleeping with the only woman who had the power to teach me that.

What would I do if Chloe said no? I thought about what I’d asked her, and I needed to tell her about something else I’d decided to do.

I held up a hand before she could continue. “Before you go on, you should know that I’ve decided I’ll pay you overtime for helping me with Lucas. And of course, I won’t attempt to get you fired from your job anymore.”

She smiled and nodded. “I’ve noticed,” she said. “It’s been a while since I got multiple unreasonable requests in the first hour of my day.”

I cringed. “About that …” I drew a deep breath, ready to say the words that I hardly let cross my lips. “I’m sorry.”

She smiled widely. “Don’t worry. It was fun. And about the overtime”—she exhaled—“it would really help.”

I nodded. It was the least I could do for her.

She tapped a finger on the table, thinking. “Though I have a caveat. I can only help you on Thursdays.”

I raised an eyebrow, and she didn’t offer an explanation beyond that.

“I’ll take only Thursdays,” I said. I’d get to see her once a week after work to help me bond with Lucas? That was better than nothing. “It’s a deal.”

Her cheeks flushed, and she smiled, nodding in a way that sent her short blonde hair bouncing on her shoulders. “Now, about Lucas?—”

I couldn’t wait any longer. “You’ll show me how to be less of a grouch?”

She shook her head. “No.”

I was confused. “Do you think the grouch is so deep-rooted in me that I can’t be saved?”

“Wrong.” She leaned forward. “I’m going to help Lucas love the grouch in you.”

I thought that was the moment I fell a little bit in love with her.

I sat back. “That’s impossible.”

“Someone very brilliant once told me that there is no such thing as impossible. That impossible is just an excuse for people who are too scared.”

I asked, “Are you going to repeat every line back to me, woman?”

Her sea-blue eyes twinkled outrageously. It was a scandal—that was what it was. Eyes as beautiful as that.

Chloe smiled. “There was a compliment in there for you somewhere, if you care for it. Besides, the name is Chloe. It would help if you could repeat that once in a while.”

“I don’t have time for trivialities.”

“I know. That’s what I like about you,” she said.

I froze again. Who was this woman who went about confessing her admiration for me like it was a normal thing?

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