Page 43 of Beauty and the Boss Man

I take a deep breath and try to change the subject. “Hey, Boss Man, don’t think you’re going to get out of answering my question. I told you my sob story. Time to tell me about Jane.”

“Damn, I thought you’d forgotten,” he teases with a wink.

“You know me better than that.”

He takes another bite and swallows it down before answering.

“Jane and I met when I was just starting the business. We met at a birthday party for a mutual friend. She was sweet, and we had a lot of fun. I would work during the day, and she’d plan our evenings. Over time, we were practically living together. Jane didn’t work, but I didn’t mind. She handled the housework and the cooking—all the stuff I didn’t want to do. We each did our fair share.

“But as time went on, I got busier with trying to get the business up and running. I wasn’t home a lot during the evenings, and when I was, I was typically too tired to do anything. I tried to give her attention still and make sure she felt appreciated, but I just couldn’t do it all. She hated that I worked so much and would go shopping and spend money while I worked, which made me feel like I needed to work more to get the business up and running.”

He pauses for a moment before continuing. “I suggested she try to find a hobby—something that brought her joy. She started taking yoga classes, and then that slowly transformed into a whole healthy kick. She became obsessed with losing weight. I thought she was great before, but if she wanted to do something that made her feel better about herself, I wasn’t going to stop her. She started spending all her time at the gym and eventually came to me and confessed she’d been sleeping with her trainer and was leaving me to go be with him.”

“What a bitch,” I say, reaching for another slice of pizza.

Aiden crosses his arms over his chest. “Eh, I don’t know. She made some good points. I probably should have appreciated her more and made her more of a priority.”

I stop him. “No, fuck that! Aiden, first of all, I can’t imagine that you completely ignored this woman. I bet you were still wonderful to her, and even if you weren't, that’s no excuse for an affair. If she was that unhappy, she should’ve just left.”

“And second of all, so what if you didn’t dote on her twenty-four hours a day? Part of a relationship is being there for the other person when they need you. It’s giving 75% when the other person only has 25% in the tank. You don’t give up on someone when they’re chasing their dreams.”

I realize I’ve gone off on a rant and try to dial it back a bit. “I just mean you seem like a good guy—you are a good guy. That shouldn’t be taken for granted.”

I’ve avoided looking at him this whole time, and when I finally do make eye contact, he’s giving me a warm smile.

“Thanks, Romy. It’s always nice to hear that,” he replies.

I feel like we’ve stepped into a bit of an awkward situation, so I opt to change the subject once again.

“Are you ready for a card game a little more challenging?” I ask.

“Poker?”

“Yep. Do you play?”

He smiles. “It’s been a while, but I think I remember.”

I collect all the cards and shuffle them before handing them to Aiden to deal.

We decide on Five Card Draw. Before Aiden can start passing out the cards, I stop him.

“We don’t have any chips to play with,” I say, looking around, trying to find something that will work.

“We could always play Strip Poker,” he offers.

I look down at what I’m wearing. “We both are wearing just our robes. It’d be a pretty quick game.”

He shrugs. “I’m okay with that. I don’t want to wait that long to get you naked anyway.”

I feel my cheeks blush. “Oh yeah?”

“Yep. But here’s a better idea—a little wager.”

“Oh, I can’t wait to hear this.”

He leans on the table, his elbows resting on the cool wood. “Whoever wins gets…special kisses…from the other.”

“Special kisses?”

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