Page 52 of The Boss Problem

“I haven’t answered him yet,” I blurted out. “I realized that Thursdays were my days with you.”

His gaze roved over my face, and for a long, intense moment, I hoped that he’d demand I honor my obligation to him. Guilt me into skipping my meeting with Will. It wouldn’t be the first time I’d be skipping something out of guilt. But it would be the first time I’d be skipping something because Iwantedthe alternative.

“You should meet him,” Sean said at last. “We met up twice this week, so I’ll take a rain check on next week’s meeting.”

I should’ve felt relief, but as I searched his face, my chest hurt.I would much rather be with you.

My cheeks flamed with regret, and my throat was tight as I forced my voice to be steady when I thanked him before getting into the car. In a few seconds, Sean followed. Lucas had dozed off, and I clicked his seat belt in place just before the door fell shut and the car began to move.

It was a few minutes before Sean spoke again.

“Where is he taking you?” he asked almost belligerently.

I watched him carefully. “Why?”

For a moment, it seemed like he was going to answer me honestly, but at the last minute, he drew back.

“Never mind. I don’t care. It’s none of my business.”

Things were glaringly complicated between us. He’d made it clear he didn’t want to cross any professional boundaries, and as much as I hated that, I had to respect it.

Besides the fact that he was my boss, I also suspected that getting involved with Sean would be a bad idea for other reasons. He was the kind of man who could leave me broken and hurt if I ever gave in to this attraction. I couldn’t afford to get emotionally wrecked by him.

The way he had comforted and helped me when I was at my lowest tonight, our freaking kiss, and worse, these feelings, it all seemed to disappear into nothingness. We were back to being strangers.

Our eyes met, and I could feel the intensity in his gaze, as though what I’d said wasn’t enough.

He shifted away in his seat, putting more distance between us, and my heart broke.

For the rest of the drive, we stayed like that.

26

SEAN

We’d fucking kissed, and she was ready to set up a date with another man?That thought consumed me all weekend and still wouldn’t let go on my drive to work Monday morning.

Only because you’d said the kiss was a mistake.

Ithad beena mistake, but that didn’t mean I didn’t want to make it again.

I fucking hated the idea of Chloe with another man—someone who could kiss those lips. I wanted no one else but me touching her, but I couldn’t pursue her. I couldn’t risk ruining what progress we had been making with Lucas.

Lucas had been in much better spirits after the gala. He’d credited Chloe with helping him make a new friend—Brianna. And he was markedly less grumpy around me.

Chloe was definitely working wonders. I gripped the armrest of my seat in frustration. Kissing her nearly undid me. Even if the kiss felt more intimate and passionate than anything I’d ever experienced before.

I’d been craving her for months, and I’d lost all restraint in her presence.

In the fucking elevator.

She wasn’t good for me. I was getting increasingly desperate for her, and I hated losing control of myself.

Determined to stop thinking about her, I looked at my phone, where the message from Erin lay unread. I opened it and read it today, feeling sure it would only irritate me further.

It only said that she was planning to visit Mom in a few weeks and hoped to see me, too, if I was in town. The last time I’d seen Mom—at Dad’s funeral—she’d mentioned that Erin lived out in Miami.

I wouldn’t be meeting Mom. That much was for sure. I wasn’t interested in meeting Erin either when she got here. But I could respond to her message.

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