Page 119 of Falling for the Boss's Son

When the door closed behind his father, Jesse sat down next to her on the couch. He ran a frustrated hand through his hair before turning to look at her. “Now I understand why you didn’t want to tell me.”

“It’s not so much I didn’t want to tell you as I thought I needed to tell your dad first.” She placed a hand on his thigh. “How are you holding up?”

“Not great.” He stood. “Let’s get you to bed?”

“Did you want to talk about this?” The news was a big blow.

He shook his head. “Not right now. Right now, I want to punch something. Or fuck you until you can’t walk straight. As I can’t do either at the moment, I’m going to take you to bed and hold you in my arms until the need to pummel something dissipates.”

CHAPTER 29

The next few days were rough. Jesse worked from home, taking care of Cassie. Stephanie stopped by on Friday to bring him some papers he needed to sign, and on Sunday, Brie brought Cassie some more clothes.

He’d given Cassie and her friend some time alone, retreating to his study to check his email. Brie had stayed for about an hour and when she left, Cassie was pensive. He waited until after dinner to broach the subject. “How was your visit with Brie?”

“Good.” Cassie paused. “She told me Kaden proposed. She wants me to be her maid of honor.”

Jesse crossed his ankles and leaned against the headboard. “Kaden’s a good guy.”

“I know. He’s almost as good as you are.”

He smiled at the compliment. “Is that your way of trying to butter me up?”

“No. It’s the truth.” She paused. “Besides, why would I need to butter you up?”

Jesse had held off addressing her disobedience given her injuries, but it would have to be dealt with. She needed to understand her obligations in their relationship. “I figured you might be trying to convince me to go easy on you.”

A deep crease formed in her brow. “Easy on me?”

It had been three days since he’d found her tied to a pipe on the sixth floor. He’d made sure she’d done nothing but rest and listen to relaxing music. Jesse had contented himself with holding her and knowing she was safe. But their family doctor had cleared her. He said she could go back to work on Monday. The thought of her being out of his sight for any length of time caused him anxiety.

It wasn’t logical, he knew. She’d be fine. The threat had been removed. Or at least, the physical threat. Grayson was being charged with theft, along with several other cybercrimes. Sandy had been charged with kidnapping and assault for helping Crystal hold Cassie.

Then, there was Crystal. She’d also been charged with kidnapping and assault. During her interrogation, she’d admitted to living on the sixth floor for the last two months. She’d been having an affair with Travers, her boss. When they were both fired, he’d kicked her to the curb.

The whole thing felt like a soap opera to Jesse. He didn’t like the chaos.

Meeting Cassie’s gaze, he kept his voice firm and even. “You disobeyed me. I told you not to go to the sixth floor.”

“I didn’t.”

He raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

“I didn’t.” This time, it was said with less conviction. She broke eye contact, her gaze on the sheets in front of her. “I went into the stairwell.” When he didn’t say anything, she continued. “Okay, maybe I shouldn’t have gone into the stairwell. Maybe I should have called maintenance instead of going to check it out myself. I know that now.”

“Cass, look at me.”

She lifted her gaze.

Jesse held it for a long moment before speaking. “You are mine. When we’re together, I take care of your needs. I make sure you’re safe and protected. But when I can’t be there, it’s your job to take care of what’s mine. You didn’t do that. You disregarded your own safety. You disrespected me and our relationship.”

Her eyes widened, then sadness came over her. “I didn’t mean to.” Cassie ran her teeth over her bottom lip, stretching it taut. “What happens now?”

He knew what she was asking. “I discipline you.

She swallowed. “How?”

“As this is your first offense, and you’re still healing, I thought we’d keep it simple.”

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