Page 4 of By His Rule

I haven’t worked this damn hard to throw it all away by stealing from this insufferable jerk.

“S-Stealing?” I stutter, unable to believe what I’m hearing.

“Yes. Stealing. From right under our noses.”

“I haven’t. I wouldn’t. I?—”

“I’m sure it goes without saying that your employment here has been terminated with immediate effect,” he says cooly and calmly. As if this isn’t affecting his life in any way.

But then, I guess it’s not.

He’s hated me from the first day I started here. He’s probably silently celebrating that he’s finally found what he believes is a concrete reason to get rid of me.

“You can’t do this. You don’t have any evidence.”

His brow lifts as amusement and accomplishment glitter in his dark, calculating eyes.

“I’m willing to hand what I do have over to the authorities if I need to,” he warns.

“Or?” I ask, anger beginning to overtake the disbelief.

“Or you can leave and put your time here behind you.”

Sounds awfully convenient.

I don’t love my job.

In fact, I fucking hate it. But that’s not the point.

I need it. I need it and the money I earn more than anyone here could understand.

He leans back in his chair and folds his arms over his chest as if he’s already won.

I’d love to fight him on this, but I can’t afford it. The smug asshole knows it too.

I can’t risk a cent of the money I’ve got in my bank account, even more so now that I’m unlikely to get any more out of this place.

I’ve given it my all for two years. Sure, it’s far from my dream job. It’s not the reason I came to Chicago, but I always hoped it would be a good steppingstone to get where I really want to be.

I close my eyes for a beat and one building, one company, comes to mind.

I was in my junior year in high school when I came across a job advertisement for a well-known hospitality company. I immediately Googled them, and right there and then, I promised myself that I’d do whatever it took to get there.

I was desperate to live in a cool city. To have a fancy job. To commute, to live in a flashy apartment. To spend my evenings out with friends and party as hard as I worked.

The excitement I felt when I received my college acceptance letter was beyond ridiculous. I was giddy in a way I’d never felt before.

It was my first step to the life I’d been dreaming of.

Girls like me who come from families like mine don’t get the opportunity to go to college. They don’t get to leave their hometown, let alone get a chance to embark on their dream life and career.

I told myself that I was one of the lucky ones. But really, it was nothing but hard work and dogged determination.

Dragging my eyes open, I focus on my boss. My ex-boss.

“You’re making a mistake,” I warn.

“It’s a risk I’m willing to take.”

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