Page 89 of The Boss Problem

I swallowed and followed him, determined to let him have his way today. “Lasagna sounds lovely,” I said, my voice hoarse.

He turned to me, and when he met my gaze, he gave me a small nod. He realized I wasn’t going to insist that he fight the administration on this.

“I’m sorry about that article,” I said, watching him pull the box of cereal out of the lower drawer and placing it on his lap before reaching for a couple of clean bowls for the two of us. “They’re complete idiots.”

“Well,” Henry said, going over to the table and placing everything on it, “they have all the power, Chloe. We don’t. Did you know thatGallagher Newswas going to interview me today for a job once I graduate next month? Articles like that can ruin my job prospects, even before I’m out of college.”

He poured out a small portion of cereal for himself—one third of his usual amount—and my usual amount in my bowl. Pouring the milk out into our bowls, he began to eat before gesturing for me to join him.

I sat down across from him just as I got a call from Sean.

I answered it quickly, keeping an eye on Henry, who was still eating absently. I loved hearing from Sean, but right now was not a good time.

“Can I call you back in some bit?” I said when I put the phone to my ear.

I didn’t want to give anyone else my attention when Henry was hurting. Besides, part of me wanted to know more about Henry’s graduation plans. It was something he’d been very reluctant to speak about, and I wanted to be around in case he finally decided he was ready to talk about it.

Sean paused for a second. “Of course,” he said, sounding guarded. “I’m just getting you coffee on my way to work, and I wondered if you’d like breakfast too. Belgian waffles with fresh berries or a pancake soufflé perhaps?”

I stared at the two bowls of Kroger cereal on the table. “Thank you,” I said, feeling flustered and almost dropping thephone in my hurry. “But I’m finishing up breakfast here with Henry. Coffee would be lovely though.”

“Good. I’ll see you soon at work. And, Chloe, in case you haven’t heard,The City Observerhas a slanderous article about yesterday’s incident at Henry’s college.”

“I know,” I said, my voice humorless. “It’s terrible.”

None of my boyfriends have ever kept an eye out for Henry before, I thought before I realized what I’d referred to Sean as.Why am I thinking of him as my boyfriend?

“I’ll make them pay for it, Chloe. Don’t you or Henry worry.”

He hung up, and I stared at my phone for a moment before setting it back down on the table. Sean’s voice had been filled with a quiet rage, and Ialmostfeared for that reporter on the newspaper.

Serves them right.

Henry looked up, his face serene and unchanged. “Does your boss know about the article too?”

He’d obviously seen Sean’s name on the caller ID. I nodded, trying to look nonchalant. Thankfully, I hadn’t added a photo of Sean to his contact details on my phone. If Sean was going to show up at home again, would I continue to lie about who he really was?

“Could you pass the raisins, please?”

He reached for the box of raisins and checked that we weren’t out of it yet before he passed it to me.

“That’s odd that he cares,” Henry said. “But he’s a lot more thoughtful than Dad ever could be. That’s obvious.”

The spoon of cereal I was lifting to my mouth slipped from my fingers and clattered to the table, splashing milk and cereal outside my bowl. Our eyes met over the table as Henry reached for a paper towel on his right and rolled it over to me. He took another calm spoonful of his cereal.

I caught the paper towel as it neared me and tore off a piece, wiping the mess with more intensity than needed. We never brought up Dad if we could help it. I always thought it was too painful for Henry to hear. But now, I realized it was more painful for me to hear his name being spoken than it was for Henry.

I'd never forget coming home one night after school and realizing Dad had just left.

Even though I'd destroyed Dad’s letter, Henry had eventually peeked into Dad’s closets while I sat frozen, and discovered they were empty.

“Dad left us,” he'd said. “We were too much for him to bear.” Henry had sounded more heartbroken than he had the night of his accident.

That was when I lied and told him I’d asked Dad to pay my college tuition because my student loan hadn’t been approved. I claimed Dad had left me, and over the next few weeks, I built on that lie, embellishing it until it felt so real that Henry finally believed me.

In reality, I’d felt more empty and alone than ever. I’d tried to wipe all memories of that night from my mind and accept the new normal: I was all alone in caring for Henry now.

Sean hadn’t done that.

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