Page 153 of Dear Grumpy Boss

He lifted a shoulder. “Can’t blame me that my thoughts keep coming back to my favorite couple.”

I rolled my eyes. “Let’s talk about why you think you need to own real estate and conform to some grown-up mode. What’s that about?”

The corners of his mouth lifted into a smirk. “You get to psychoanalyze me now?”

I mimicked his shrug. “What’s fair is fair.”

“No, Lisie, you don’t have the time for all my neuroses. Let’s leave it at growing up with a loser father and an overachieving brother shaped me into a lazy yet ambitious amalgamation of a man.”

At the quiet chirp of my email notification, I reached for my mouse in an automatic response, glancing away from Miles to check if the message was something I needed to deal with urgently. The address made the blood drain from my face.

“Oh shit. Is that your ex?” Miles leaned into me, his chest pressing against my shoulder. “What’s he want?”

“I have no idea.”

The subject line saidmy explanation. Apparently, Patrick wanted to explain himself, and since I’d blocked him everywhere else, he’d found my work email.

“Click on it. Let’s see what the idiot has to say.”

I elbowed him. “Go away.”

He tugged on my arm, spinning me toward him. “Hey, I’m kidding.”

I stared at Patrick’s name on my screen. This had to be a joke. I’d spent the week dodging Weston, and now my other ex was invading my space. When did it end?

“I know.” I cupped my forehead. “I don’t understand why he sent this.”

“I guess you won’t know until you read it.”

I slid my eyes to him. He was watching me warily. “What if the reason he hurt me doesn’t matter anymore?”

“Doesn’t it?”

My lips were so dry licking them didn’t help. “I don’t know.”

Eventually, Miles left me to my thoughts. Patrick’s email sat in my inbox like a land mine. If I clicked it, it could end up being inert…or it could blow up in my face.

I forced myself to stop thinking about it for the rest of the day. But as five o’clock drew near, I ended up staring at my inbox again, this time with resolve.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I clicked.

Chapter Thirty-nine

Weston

To:[email protected]

From:[email protected]

Weston,

If you have time, I would like to talk. Meet me on the roof at six tonight? If that doesn’t work, please let me know when will.

-Elise

I had almost missed it. I’d been in the process of packing up for the day and something had told me to check my inbox one last time.

There it was.

---