Page 34 of Broken Boss

That name has been on my radar since I heard it from her lips, and now I feel like a complete idiot.

Frank is her dog.

He warily sniffs the air and takes a few steps toward me. Removing a hand from my pocket, I hold it out for him to smell. Luckily, I haven’t been to Nate’s in a while, or he might smell Brutus and be even more untrusting of me.

“Hey, buddy,” I say calmly, letting Frank take his time. He’s mid-thigh height, decent sized for a dog, and that’s a relief. At least Autumn isn’t out there walking a Pomeranian or some weird chi mix.

“Just be careful, he’s really anxious around strangers.”

Autumn sounds like the anxious one, though, as Frank circles around me once with his leash trailing behind. He nudges my hand once, and then starts wagging his tail, jumping up and catching me off guard.

Laughing, I brace us both and give his head a good rub. His mouth falls open, tongue lolling out.

“Hey, Frank. It’s nice to meet you.”

Autumn is staring at the two of us from the apartment door. Her mouth snaps shut and she reaches for the leash, giving it a gentle tug. Frank gets the hint and walks happily back toward the elevator, tail still wagging.

“Everything okay?” I ask once we’re back in the lobby. She’s staring hard at Frank’s cluelessness, happy sniffing at a potted plant.

“Yeah. I just wasn’t expecting him to be such a traitor.”

That makes me laugh again, and as we head outside, I pry for more information. “Does he usually not like other people?”

She shrugs, breeze shuffling her bangs prettily across her face. “Not really, no. He’s not mean or anything. He’s just…not a people person, I guess.”

“Hmm. We have that in common.”

Autumn chuckles, a smile finally lifting her lips. “Really? How can you run a company like Sharpe Law and not be a people person? You’re in court a few times a month.”

“Eh, that’s just work. I’ve always been good at being charismatic, but the truth is, I definitely prefer my alone time.”

I think of my house, just outside the busy city streets—how it’s empty right now. Unless the cleaning service is there. Loneliness settles inside me and I try to ignore it, Autumn and I walking at a brisk pace to keep up with Frank.

She gives me a quick glance, biting her lip. “I guess I get that. I’m kind of the same way. Even in college, I didn’t really make any friends. Except?—”

“Except…?”

I can’t help prompting her. I know so little about this woman, and I want to know so much more. I have no idea why. There’s just something pulling me toward her. She’s a mystery, and the way she looks away now and then, the vague information she’s given me about her ex, her lingerie—I’m beginning to figure her out.

“Except my roommate.”

My brows raise. “Oh, I didn’t know you had a roommate.”

Her cheeks go red in an aggressive blush, darkened by the crisp air. There are more trees lining the street now as we near the park. Two blocks away, maybe three, I see the low stone wall and benches, indicating that we’re close.

“Yeah. City rent and all that.”

Between this comment and the fact that she takes the subway instead of owning a car, money must be a sore subject. So I decide to change it.

“You mentioned college. I, uh, noticed on your resume and transcripts that you have an unusual undergrad degree for a lawyer.”

This gets her smile back, just a hint of it. Frank pauses to sniff a lamppost as Autumn ducks deeper into her jacket.

“Mmm. I got my BA in English. I thought, for a little while, that I wanted to do something else.”

There’s a strange look in her eyes, like she isn’t quite here with me. Sadness hangs in the air for just a second before she shrugs it off and calls to Frank. We’re at the main road now and wait for a break in traffic to cross.

“What did you get yours in?”

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