Page 13 of My Forbidden Boss

And I know where I’ve heard of Moss Creek.

Chapter 5

Adeline

I can’t say how I ended up sitting at an intimate table in a restaurant I’d never go into in a million years. Not because it’s horrible. It’s the opposite, with its welcoming low lighting, crisp white tablecloths and hand-polished cutlery.

It’s because I’d never afford the meal. I bet they charge for water here, and if that’s the case I’ll chew on air and hope there’s not a cover charge. I’ll have to watch anything that passes my lips, and that includes anything David asks me about Max.

My father.

I should have been prepared to see him. He works in New York in the same field as David. A gala dinner that brings in corporate heads and politicians from across the city is a melting pot.

For a moment I was almost normal, as completely out of my depth as I was. I might have enjoyed myself, the free orange juice for sure, until the reality of my situation bitch-slapped me right out of that happy place.

I’m slimy. My insides frozen. Not the way a daughter should feel about coming face to face with her father, but there it is. I’d looked at his photo online, so I knew what he looked like. All smiles and conciliatory handshakes.

It wasn’t the same as the in-person impact.

I’d live though. I always did. A childhood of bullies had made my skin war-bunker thick. I’d do whatever it took to save my mother, and that included any questions David would throw my way.

There was only one reason David had brought me here. The way Max stared at me, he had to know something was up and Max was David’s greatest competitor. The reason why Max was using me. David Chandler was not a man to forgive what Max wanted me to do.

“The spaghetti is wonderful here,” David says.

“What?” I didn’t expect him to say that.

Who the hell is Max Bourke to you? Why did you freeze in his presence? How am I even employing you, sure. A comment about the food was last on my list.

“It’s handmade from scratch. I hear they import the eggs from their own interstate organic farm,” David says, picking up the menu. “But feel free to order whatever you’d like.”

The stone in my stomach says I don’t want to order anything. I take his lead and pick up the menu, scope the prices and put it right back on the table again. “I’ll just have water.”

David frowns at me. The waiter comes over, welcomes us and pours clear water into spotless glasses. “Good evening Mr Chandler. It’s good to see you back.”

“Good to see you too, Peter.” David’s smile is easy and lights his eyes up. I drop my hands in my lap and clench my fingers.

He’s on first name terms with the staff? I wonder what other surprises the evening is going to pull even though I’ve had my fair share.

“Shall give you a minute?” Peter suggested.

“I’ll have a bottle of the house Barolo first please,” David says.

The waiter nods and walks away, leaving me with David and a menu out of my reach. “I’ll stick with the water,” I say.

“As you wish, but I’ve brought you here for food, Adeline,” David says, giving me a no-way-out look.

I fidget. I can’t tell him I can’t afford anything here. That I was happy with my noodles. It’s nothing short of paralyzing embarrassment. I mean, who can’t afford spaghetti for god’s sake?

Me. I can’t. The forgettable pov-girl from small town USA with nothing going for her and nothing to her name except bad choices.

I have to tell him thanks, but no thanks. I look for the waiter hoping he might see through me and ask me to leave before I have to mention anything to my boss. I’ll be taking that free pass, but then David says “I’m taking you out for dinner.”

“Why?” I blurt. I’m nothing. No one. And he’s way out of my league. Being there with him conjures up needs I don’t want to unearth.

He frowns. “Because you’re hungry.”

Then it hits me. He’s hidden it well, but there’s only one reason a man of his wealth and status would take out a woman like me. I’m realistic, but I can’t help but feel a pain in the pit of my stomach. I didn’t peg him like that. I guess life has a few surprises to throw at me after all.

---