Page 126 of Dear Grumpy Boss

He flinched at that. “On what planet do you think I would let you leave here in an Uber? Of course I’ll drive you home.” His hand slid from my shoulder to cup my neck. “But are you sure you’re ready to leave? We haven’t danced or—”

“I’m ready.”

I wasn’t a woman who yelled or threw fits when I was hurt. Instead, I withdrew. I had been closing in on myself since Weston left me behind, but now that he was back and seemingly oblivious to my turmoil, I couldn’t find it within me to even try to express how he’d made me feel.

So, I turned, freeing myself from his hold, and calmly walked away.

At this point, it was unimportant if he followed.

Chapter Thirty

Weston

Theglowingscreeninmy Tesla jarred me. I swiped my thumb over the time. It had to be wrong.

If it was right, I’d been gone from Elise for nearly an hour. That was impossible. There was no way I’d fucked up so monumentally.

My head was throbbing from listening to what had felt like hours of bullshit from Peters that amounted to a big problem I was going to have to handle.

This wasn’t how I’d envisioned the night going.

“Elise.” I reached across the center console, taking her cold hand in mine. “I’m sorry, baby. I never meant to be gone that long. The deal with Peters is unraveling because he doesn’t think our strict oversight is necessary. We’re up against a rock and a hard place with the end of our contract with Brian Lewis—”

I cut myself off. Elise was staring placidly ahead, and if she was listening, I couldn’t tell. Not that anything I was saying mattered.

“That shouldn’t have happened tonight. The minute I recognized what was going on, I should have told him I’d meet with him another time.”

I brought her hand to my lips, kissing her knuckles one by one.

“I fucked up, baby. I was being the CEO of Andes instead of your boyfriend and that was absolutely the wrong choice to make. It will never happen again.”

Worse, I’d walked away from Peters angry at his blustering and carried that attitude across the dance floor, straight to Luca and Elise. The sight of her tucked in his arms, her eyes closed, Luca smirking like the cat who’d caught the canary, had nearly blinded me with rage.

I’d reacted before thinking, and now, I didn’t just have to find a way to make it up to Elise, Luca was due an apology too.

At the moment, my focus had to be on Elise—where it should have been this evening.

“Talk to me, baby.”

She blinked, turning her head slightly toward me. “I don’t really want to talk. I’m tired.”

I squeezed her hand tighter, holding it against my lips. “I’m sorry.”

Silence.

When we finally arrived home, she rushed out of my car and to the elevator, slapping the button for her floor. With a growl, I hit the code for the penthouse and banded my arm around her waist to hold her back flush with my front.

“I’m going home,” she uttered.

“Not tonight. You’re coming with me.”

“Weston—”

“If I let you go right now, you’ll disappear.” I held her tighter. “I’m not letting you disappear.”

When the doors opened on her floor, she shimmied from side to side, attempting to loosen my hold, but there was absolutely no way she was sleeping in her apartment.

“I don’t have the energy to fight you,” she whispered as the doors slid shut.

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