Page 155 of Dear Grumpy Boss

The angry flush in her cheeks was visible in the low evening light. It jabbed at my chest so hard I folded forward, bracing my palms on the table.

She was giving me the floor to explain, but I didn’t know where to start. How could I possibly give reasons for all the ways I’d hurt her? There was no denying I had done those things, and there was no prettying them up.

“I never meant to leave you, Elise. Not when I came to you that night, not ever.”

A divot carved between her brows. “But you did.”

I wanted to fight her on that, but she was right. Intentional or not, Ihadleft her.

“I did. I pulled back from you. It wasn’t something I decided to do, but that doesn’t change the fact that I did it. Before you, I’ve never prioritized anyone above Andes, nor have I wanted to.”

A shudder racked through her body. “Believe me, I know.”

“I know you do, baby. It kills me that you know.” I rubbed the spot between my brows, gathering my thoughts. “That day you brought me lunch, the second I saw you, all I wanted to do was fall into you. I’d been holding steady by keeping my distance, but it’s impossible for me to think about anything else when you’re in front of me.”

“Yet you sent me away.”

“I was holding on by the skin of my teeth, Elise. My company was crumbling around me, and when you walked into my office, I didn’t give a shit about anything but you. That couldn’t be an option for me at that time. Ihadto give a shit. That was why I asked Renata for no visitors. Not because I didn’t want to see you. It was because seeing you was all I wanted.”

She slammed her bottle down on the table. “Then you should have said that. You should have told me what you were feeling. If you’d said, ‘Elise, I love you so much that you drive me to distraction when you’re around, so I have to stay away from you while I handle this crisis,’ I would have been patient. If you’d saidanything, I would have supported you. That’s what you do in a relationship. But not you. That’s not what you did. You dropped out of my world without a single warning. You flew to California withher—”

“She’s nothing to me. I don’t know how to make you understand that.” I raked my fingers through my hair, tamping down the frustration in my veins.

“How did you feel when you found out I’d left town? Did you wonder if I’d gone to Patrick even though I’ve told you over and over my feelings for him are long gone?”

My hand dropped heavily to my side. Her eyes were finally on mine, shining but steady. The challenge was crystal clear. She had me.

“I felt like I was being ripped apart. No one would tell me where you were. I still don’t know.”

It was on the tip of my tongue to ask if shehadgone to him, but I bit the urge back. She hadn’t gone to him. I knew that. But when it came to Elise, logic and reason flew out the window.

“Then you might have an inkling of how I felt when I’d knocked on your door only for Miles to inform me you’d left the state without a word to me. He pitied me, Weston. Your brother felt sorry for me because of how poorly you treated me.”

Another jab. I deserved every one. Before I’d walked out onto this roof, I had known I’d royally blown it, but seeing my beautiful girl like this, miserable in her righteous anger, showed me this was far worse than I’d let myself acknowledge.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s too late.”

“I love you, Elise. I fucked up. I know that. I tried to fit you in around Andes, but I should have been fitting Andes in around you.”

Her head jerked back with what I could tell was surprise at my blunt honesty.

“That’s exactly what you did. Your company is the love of your life. I could never compete with that, and I shouldn’t have to.”

“That’s unequivocally untrue. You’re the love of my life.”

She turned away, the shake of her head telling me she didn’t believe me. I’d done nothing tomakeher believe me, so that made sense.

“When I was eleven, my dad got bored with his life of fucking around, so he bought out a Denver-based camping supply company. It wasn’t a huge business, not on the scale of Andes, but they employed a few hundred people. Within a year”—I snapped my fingers—“my father grew bored of being in charge and having responsibilities. He broke the company apart and essentially sold it for scraps. All those people lost their jobs and a decent business disappeared almost overnight. I watched it all as a kid and promised myself I’d make up for it. I’d build something here and never be anything like my father.”

Her mouth had flattened into a hard line. When she finally looked at me again, her dark eyes were made of stone.

“I don’t want to hear about Andes anymore.”

“Elise—”

“Should I tell you about all the times my mother let me down? Should I bring up my dead father? My fear of abandonment? Your story about your dad explains your obsession with your company, butmineexplains why I will never be able to allow myself to be chosen second.”

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