Page 63 of Love your Billionaire Boss

“No. I just want to talk to her. I’m worried about her.”

“She did leave the party rather abruptly. Mae wanted to talk to her about hiring her for another event. I thought she would at least say goodbye.”

“See? It’s weird, right? She was so excited for the job and then she just disappeared.”

“Hmm.” Nico twisted his mouth as he thought about it. “I don’t know, man. I do know that you need to get your head in the game, though. We have a long week ahead and Coach is already on you about missing practice. You’re on his radar. So am I. Thanks to you.”

“Ugh. I’m sorry, man. See? This is why I don’t get involved with women.” Kenny sat back and sunk into the couch frustratedly.

“No, this is why you don’t screw up with women,” Nico corrected him.

“True.”

They spent the next hour vegging out on the couch watching an action movie. Nico grabbed a few beers from the fridge, and Kenny tried his best to get his mind off Cleo. He kept trying to push away the nagging feeling that something was really wrong. He knew Nico was right. He had to focus on baseball and the week ahead. There was no room for distractions.

The next morning, he woke up to the beeping of his alarm clock. It was 5 a.m. He groaned as he reached over and slammed the button to turn it off. He rubbed his eyes and let out a big yawn before remembering. Cleo. He reached for his phone eagerly in hopes she had texted him back, but there were no notifications. He rolled out of bed and grabbed his packed suitcase and duffle bag. He didn’t care what he looked like or if he brushed his teeth or not. He just wanted to get on the road.

Maybe the distance would help him make the sinking feeling disappear. He could just focus on the game, practice, and getting from place to place. It’s what he should do. He was in hot water with his coach. It seemed like he was in hot water with everyone. Maybe when he got back home, Cleo would have cooled down and she would be ready to talk to him. He could only hope.

Chapter 23

Cleo

Cleo listened from the couch to the sound of Kenny’s car pulling out of the driveway. When she was sure he was gone, she let out the breath she was holding and shut her eyes tightly, trying to fight back the tears that were burning. She was not expecting him to show up today and it was completely throwing her.

When she had first heard the doorbell ring, she was in the middle of mindlessly watching whatever was on TV, trying to get her mind off yesterday. It had startled her. It had also scared her. What if it was Kev? How did he find her? She sat on the couch shaking and trying hard to listen for clues of who it might be.

After another knock, she finally heard Kenny’s voice through the door. He sounded so sad. So pleading. So helpless. It almost made her stand up and fling open the door. For a fleeting moment she wanted him to wrap his arms around her and make her feel safe. But then she remembered what had happened between them.

He had left her that morning without saying another word to her. He had ignored her at the party when she was right in front of him. She thought about how things might have ended so differently if he would have just talked to her or made it known that there was something between them. Maybe if he did, Kev wouldn’t have done such an awful thing.

Or maybe it wouldn’t have mattered, but at least her heart would have felt safer with him if he had talked to her or apologized for leaving things the way they were.

So instead of letting him in, she kept him shut out. She clutched a blanket tightly around her and stayed hidden by the back of the couch, holding her breath. It felt like an eternity before he finally got back in his car.

She rolled onto her back and stared tiredly at the ceiling. She had barely slept last night. Visions of Kev’s menacing smirk, his hands crushing hers, and his lips on her lingered in her head. It all made her sick. She fought off nausea all night. So much so that she tossed and turned or ran to the bathroom thinking she was going to be sick.

That morning, she felt like she had been hit by a truck. Her hands were sore from where Kev had squeezed them against the countertop, as if she needed another reminder of what had happened. She knew she had to call Elle and let her know she was okay. With the way she was feeling, it was probably a good idea to ask Bridget for the night off.

When she turned her phone on there were several missed calls from Elle, and a missed call and text from Kenny. She quickly opened it.

Cleo. Can we talk?

She shook her head and closed out of the text. She typed out a quick text to Elle:

I’m okay. I’ll explain everything later. Thank you for finishing up last night. I owe you.

She wasn’t ready to explain what had happened yet. Even to her best friend. She texted Bridget next:

I’m so sorry to do this, but I’m not feeling very well. Do you think someone can cover my shift tonight?

She felt bad for taking another night off work after Bridget had given her time off for last night’s party. The last place she wanted to go was the bar tonight. She didn’t want to be anywhere that Kev could just show up. She didn’t want to be anywhere the team could show up. She wanted nothing to do with those people. Still, she knew she couldn’t avoid her job forever. She just needed one more day.

Her phone dinged. It was Bridget:

Oh no! Don’t worry about it. Just focus on feeling better.

Cleo smiled wanly before turning her phone back off. She settled back into the couch and turned the TV up. She had no plans of leaving her safe little cocoon until tomorrow. Tomorrow, she would face her life again.

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