Page 24 of My Forbidden Boss

Tears cloud my eyes. I blink them back into submission, turning my head and hope I don’t make a scene. I take a breath. There’s no need to prolong the inevitable. “The very poorest live there. They’ll have no place to go if it’s demolished.”

David springs up from his seat behind the desk, a deep line between his brows. He moves towards me and takes my shoulders in his hands. “Do you know someone living there?”

His frown makes me pause. He looks concerned. “I…”

I can’t speak. My throat closes and all I can think about is Mom living in our small two room condo in a building that has a big red X marked on it. That dilapidated building is the only thing standing between us and the streets.

I’ll need to show Max the documents Sophie is going to send over. I’ll need to stab David in the back. He’ll lose out on the deal because it’s the only thing I can do for Mom and if he didn’t know something was up with me before there’s no chance he’s missing me flip out now. The gig is up big time and I’m the girl taking the fall. It’s a long way down to those large jagged boulders I’m free-falling onto, but they’re coming up fast. Brace for impact.

“Please excuse us, Sophie. I think Adeline needs some time,” David says.

Sophie collects her bag and stands smoothly. She hardly blinks at the scene I make. She offers me a smile on her way out, closing the door behind us. “I hope you’re better soon, Adeline. I’ll send through the paperwork later on today.”

“What’s wrong, Adeline?” asks David. His fingers tighten on my shoulders. I pull away, step back, but my chest hitches, locks into place with an invisible band.

“Shit, Adeline. What’s wrong? You’re worrying me,” David says.

I check him to confirm. I don’t see anger or gloating, or enjoyment. All I see is concern.

For me.

“Why do you want to know?” I ask.

“You know something about that building?” His voice is steel. Nothing to be ignored, but now I don’t think this is a setup. Now I think I have it all wrong and guilt is making me see things that aren’t there, but I can’t tell him about Mom. I can’t tell him that building is my real home. “My friend lives there.”

His mouth parts on a gasp and I can see the wheels turning. I can see he wants to know who this friend is. “A friend?”

“My friend from school. She lives there with her mother. She’s been there for years. Her name is Maddy,” I say.

David will never meet Maddy because whatever this is between us has an end date, but for now I’m going to pretend that I don’t live there. That I live in my best friend’s two story town house on the good side of Moss Creek, where there’s a corner store, people wave at neighbors and they’re not afraid to go out after dark.

I see the pity on David’s face. I know it. I understand it. I’m glad it isn’t aimed in my direction.

Not from him.

“How can she live there?” David says.

For people with money, it must be unfathomable not to have options.

“She has no choice. A bus hit her mother. It shattered her legs, and they’re still paying the hospital back for treatment. They could only afford so much. Her mother can walk, but she’s disabled. Maddy looks after her mother as much as she can,” I say.

It’s funny how the words flow when I make my life sound as though I’m not living it. “I’m worried for her.”

David presses his lips together. “I promise you, if I win this development, I’ll take care of her and her mother.”

I hear the honesty in his words and I know he’ll try his best, but I also know it’s unrealistic. There’s many people in that building. When Mom and I go, we all go. I nod and smile and pretend I’m happy with his words, but I know the truth. There’s only so much one person can do and when it comes down to it, we’re expendable. Once the red tape goes on that building and we’re locked out of our homes, it’ll be a matter of out of sight, out of mind.

I won’t blame him. It’s not him. It’s human nature.

And I’m not fool enough to think that any relationship we have will stand up to the money this development will mean for Big Sky. I know how to put things into perspective.

“I’m sorry I lost it. Seeing that building up for development…it’s a surprise,” I say. “I’ll apologize to Sophie when she emails through the documents. It’s hardly professional of me to react that way.”

“I don’t give a damn what Sophie thought.” I need to move, so I step away, but David holds me. “I want you to understand I’m not in the habit of kissing my employees. You’re the only one, Adeline. I don’t take kissing women lightly, contrary to recent happenings.”

I need to go back to the bathroom and collect myself.

“I…well…I…” I can do nothing with his confession. David Chandler has his pick of women, which makes it more confusing he’s choosing me.

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