Page 12 of Her Alpha Bosses

My heart punched up to my mouth.

Ouch.

5

CALLIE

The door slamming in my face caused a complete silence in my mind, and a rush of complicated emotions cascaded through me.

Did he really just do that? Usher me out like I was at fault for being there and then slam the door in my face?

Anger pulsed through my chest, hot and vibrant for a few seconds and then the muffled yelling started inside the office. That noise immediately quenched my anger and replaced it with sympathy. The presence of Marcus always brought out a sharper side to Sawyer, a side that was constantly on the defense, so I couldn’t blame him for not wanting to argue with an audience.

I returned to my computer, sent out a quick email to Sawyer relaying him the details of the call with Liam, then headed out for the day.

While sympathy became the primary sensation within my chest as I recounted the story to my best friend Bianca an hour later while we walked some of the dogs from her clinic, anger simmered around the edges.

“It’s so dumb!” I tightened my grip on the four leads in my hands. “He turns up here like he owns the place and starts throwing around insults. How can you lecture someone on how to run a company when you’re acting like some kind of petulant child, mad that you’re not getting your own way?”

Bianca hummed in agreement, knowing better than to interrupt me mid-rant.

“And the way he just threw me out. He could have asked, you know? I mean it would take like five words and I would have left, but instead, he had to drag me out. I know having Marcius there is unpleasant and I can’t fathom what it’s like to grow up with a man like that as your father. Or to lose your mother so suddenly but damn.”

“Are you sure you’re not mad at him?” Bianca chuckled, walking next to me. “You sound mad.”

“I’m not mad,” I insisted. “It’s just… infuriating.”

“Because you two had alone time and were sitting all close and nice,” Bianca teased, nudging me with a wide smile. “And he ruined it.”

“It’s not like that!” Even as I glanced at her, I knew that wasn’t true. “Okay, maybe it’s a little like that but that’s not the point. It did feel like we were having a moment. A nice moment. Just the two of us. He cared about what I was saying and then…”

Breaking off, I sighed deeply and turned my face toward the last beam of sun dancing across the sky.

“And then you wanted him to throw you on the desk and ravish you, but his father turned up and cock blocked?” Bianca broke into soft laughter and the sound was musical enough to pull warmth to my own lips.

“I guess so. I think… I’m not really mad at him; I’m just mad at the situation and how I can’t help.”

“You can’t fix things for everyone, even if you want to.”

“Sure. I know. But how do you comfort someone you’re not even close to and it would be wildly inappropriate?”

Bianca shrugged and reached down to ruffle her hands through some of the dog's fur as we waited to cross the road.

“Honestly? You can’t. So focus on what you can control.”

“Work. Because he’s my boss,” I groaned.

“Exactly. Comfort him in your fantasies. In all seriousness though, he’s probably used to being torn apart by his father. It’s not the first time and won’t be the last. Sawyer sounds like a hard ass, so maybe he just appreciates the simple stuff like a full schedule and reports done on time.”

I snorted with amusement and we resumed our walk. I could understand why people thought Sawyer was a hard ass. They didn’t see the nice things he did for people, and those he did it for would often assume it was to meet some quota. I knew differently. I saw everything he chose to do for people without ever asking for thanks.

“I don’t know,” I mused, fumbling all the leads into one hand when my phone buzzed in my pocket. “It just felt sad— oh!”

“What is it?”

Studying my phone, Sawyer had finally replied to my email about Liam.

“He’s telling me to have the weekend off. Paid.”

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