Page 6 of The Boss Problem

Henry still didn’t know why Dad had left. I’d led him to believe Dad had left because I’d asked for college money while the truth was tangled up in something much worse. Every time Henry brought it up, guilt gnawed at me, but I forced myself to stay quiet. He didn’t need to carry that burden—it was mine alone to bear.

“He said I was destined to have a miserable shell of a life,” I said, covering my face with my hands. “How could he talk like that? As though he despised me?” I asked, my voice breaking. “And why did he want to get married at all if he had such a bad opinion of me? Who does that?”

“A good many people—that’s who,” he said, his voice angry. “When I found my ex cheating on me, she told me that she had long suspected I was cheating on her and wanted to give me a taste of my own medicine—only Iwasn’tcheating on her. That was the end of our relationship.”

Something about recalling that memory shook Sean because he looked broken for a moment.

Only for a moment because that memory seemed to decide things for Sean.

His jaw set, he picked up my phone and handed it to me. “Get your fiancé on the line and call him out about the way he spoke to you just now.”

I stared at this man and my phone, feeling very lost.

“Listen,” Sean said, “you’re in charge of this situation. What doyouwant to do?”

Those words stirred something in me.I am in charge. Without thinking, I scrolled to Bruce’s number and hit Call.

When Bruce answered, I spoke, my voice hard, even as it shook. “Bruce, just so you know, that was no way to speak to me. Howdareyou suggest I’m destined to have a miserable lifeforever? How could you speak like that to a woman you were minutes away from getting married to?” I asked, bristling.

The heavy breathing from the other end of the line paused. “Well, mark my words, Chloe. You’ll see for yourself.”

“You deserve to go to hell.” My voice broke, my lips trembling with rage.

Sean took the phone from my shaking fingers and put it to his ear.

When he spoke, his voice was rough and angry. “What your fiancée forgot to add, scumbag, is that she deserves someone who shows up on her wedding day without calling her names first. Oh, and I agree with her. Go to hell.”

He hung up and tossed the phone to me.

“I’d block him if I were you,” Sean said, getting up and helping me up. “Get over him and move on. Anddevelop a better taste in men. You—” He paused and looked at me. “I don’t know your name.”

I smiled at him through my blurry eyes. “It’s Woman Who Hates Bruce.”

He smiled back. “Well, Woman Who Hates Bruce, can I get you a cab?”

I nodded and rubbed my cheeks before Sean produced a napkin out of nowhere. I took it and dabbed my face. “I never thought I’d say this to you, but thank you.”

He chuckled. “I never thought I’d hear you say that to me either.” He looked at the suit I’d placed on the outdoor café table. “Say, what’s in this?”

I cast a glance at it. “Bruce’s favorite suit, for the elopement. I picked it up from the dry cleaner earlier.”

Sean reached for the other cup of coffee on the table. The flat white I’d gotten for Bruce.

“Pity the coffee is cold now,” he said, removing the plastic wrap and holding the suit out to me. “Go on. I think it’s your turn to ruin his clothes now.”

2

SEAN

Six Weeks Later

Sunday’sBusiness Globewas spread out on the glass-topped oak table, and I stared at the article on the second page. It was a small one, and it briefly read,Lead Capital Group to buy disgraced Mindwell Inc. in a surprise move that shocks many.

In terms of scandalous headlines, really, it wasn’t. The two class action lawsuits against the company were listed at the very bottom of the article, and they were the real scandal. Mindwell had hidden details of emissions from their manufacturing of computer chips, and now that it was found out, the CEO, Gary Chalk, wanted to bolt. All things considered, my partners and I had bought it for a good price. The company had potential. The question was, was I the one to turn their fate around?

Desmond, Alex, and Jonah—my partners at Lead Capital—seemed to think so. I had my doubts, but I welcomed the challenge. Anything to keep me busy while I dealt with a very inconvenient truth at home—my seven-year-old son actively disliked me.

My phone beeped with a text message from my ex-wife. Helen had traveled to Australia for a month-long vacation with her boyfriend, Matt, and was due back next week.

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