Page 63 of Broken Boss

She nods, hair brushing her chin and catching on her bitten bottom lip. I stay there in front of her, not caring how crazy it looks or what kind of talk there’ll be about Gen’s place tomorrow.

Right now, all that matters is getting rid of that look on her face—like a scared little girl.

Like a ghost just showed up.

Thursday is hell in the office.

I want to focus, but all day, all I can think about is Autumn.

Not just what she suffered the night I took her out, but how ill she’s been since.

“Maybe it’s something psychological?” I mumble to Gen on a private call, my office door shut mid-day. “She threw up right before we got to the car, and a few more times once we got home.”

Gen snorts. “Good to know how my food affects her.”

I roll my eyes but give her a pass on making light of the situation. We’re all a little stressed out by what happened. I’m not quite convinced that Kieran took my threat seriously.

I might have to actually throw him through a window.

“I don’t know, Chris. You say you don’t have the full story on her and her ex. But you’ve seen what goes on in court—you’ve seen how people react to certain criminals. What’s the lawyer in you saying?”

“I’ve been trying not to think about that.”

“Well, too bad. If you really want to help her, and she won’t talk about it, then you’re going to have to cut some corners.”

With a sigh, I admit, “You’re right. Everything about the way she acts points to an abusive ex. It’s just so hard to see her like this. She’s a strong, competent woman, Gen, an excellent lawyer from what I’ve seen so far. But he has her so scared.”

“It makes sense. Not everyone gets it, but situations like that—you almost get PTSD. As much as you don’t want to regress, you become the person you were when all that bullshit was going on. It doesn’t mean she’s not strong, Chris, it just means she needs help remembering she still is.”

The tendon in my jaw twitches. At this rate, I’m going to grind my teeth down to nothing.

“I know. I’m trying.”

Gen’s voice is tender. “I can tell. So…is this someone you’ll be bringing over for dinner anytime soon? At home, not the restaurant.”

A light flush travels up my neck, but before I have to answer, someone knocks at the door. I look up to find Grant standing there and relief washes through me.

“Sorry, Gen, I’ve got to go—an important client just walked in.”

“Oh, of course, the second I mention you might be genuinely interested in someone?—”

“Love you, kiss the kids for me. Talk later.”

I hang up.

Out of the frying pan…

Grant is looking at me suspiciously as he closes the door.

“Sounds like my arrival just got you out from between a rock and a hard place.”

“Maybe,” I concede. “What brings you here? Finally giving up on retirement?”

It’s a joke…mostly. What I wouldn’t give to have Grant back. I wonder if he’d be interested in consulting. Which would mostly just be me asking for his sage wisdom.

Grant smiles. “Definitely not. Actually, I have a pottery class in an hour and decided to stop by on my way in.”

“Pottery?” I raise my brows.

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