Page 65 of Romance with Mr. Bossy Pants

“I don’t want to complicate things,” I say, my voice surprisingly steady. “We were just… having fun, right? No strings attached.”

His laugh is bitter. “No strings? Do you really think I’m that detached?”

“I don’t know,” I admit. “But I thought you’d understand.”

“All I see here is you running away.”

“It’s not running away,” I argue. “It’s moving forward. This job—it’s an opportunity I can’t pass up.”

“What about us?”

“There is no us.”

“And you get to decide that?”

“I do,” I say firmly. “Because I know what I want, and you don’t.”

Daniel studies me before asking, “And what’s that?”

“More,” I mutter under my breath, my voice tinged with frustration. “I want more than this. More than half-truths and constant uncertainty. I want a future that doesn’t involve me sneaking out of my boyfriend’s house at dawn. I want to be with someone who’s emotionally consistent, who doesn’t talk badly about me to his brother, and someone who recognizes what I bring to the table.”

Daniel doesn’t respond. He just watches me with stormy eyes. And then, unexpectedly, he nods. “Fine. Go.”

“Dan—”

“Save it,” Daniel interrupts. “You knew. You knew all along you were going to leave, didn’t you? That’s why you decided to be with me last night.”

“It wasn’t like that!”

“Then what was it like? Because from where I’m standing, it looks pretty cut and dried.”

“I wouldn’t have entertained another job if you weren’t always so hot and cold. I was with you because I wanted to be in that moment.”

“Convenient,” Daniel scoffs, and I can almost see his walls going back up, brick by brick.

“Everything got so complicated, and it was too much,” I change my tune. “I wasn’t looking for this. It just...happened.”

Daniel’s eyes pierce through me, and for a moment, I think I see a crack in his armor. But it’s gone as quickly as it appears, and he waves his hand. “Just go,” he says quietly.

I nod.

“See yourself out,” Daniel says walking out of the dining room. Or maybe out of my life forever.

22

Daniel

Once again, I messed up.

It has become a usual thing with Chloe.

I say or do something that upsets her when I'm angry, and later regret it, hating myself for my actions. Usually, she handles it well. I get jealous when she talks to another guy, or I get frustrated because I struggle to express how she makes me feel. This leads to anger, and in turn, she becomes upset. Her anger fades into sadness, and I feel guilty. I apologize and we go back to working together as if nothing happened.

It's a cycle.

But this time, she won’t let me apologize. Even though I hear her in her office from across the hall. She ignores me when I knock. I send her a text message that she reads, but she doesn’t reply. I call her office for the second time, but she doesn’t answer.

I return to work, check some emails, and then decide to drink.

---