Page 80 of Beauty and the Boss Man

The only time he’s spoken to me is when he needs me to do something work-related, and although I know that’s my job, it doesn’t make this any less difficult..

He promised me nothing would change. He promised me everything would be okay—no matter our relationship status.

I guess we aren’t fucking anymore, so he doesn’t have to be nice. I feel so stupid.

This is why sleeping with your boss is a bad idea. How could I have done something so reckless?

And what if it never gets any better? I don’t know that I can deal with this version of Aiden forever.

Standing up, I walk over to make myself a cup of coffee. My eyes are drawn to the small window not far from where I’m standing.

Aiden is walking by with Tom, his second in command.

The windows in the trailer are thin enough that I can eavesdrop.

I hear Tom say, “So, the Stevens job fell through?”

Aiden nods.

“What the hell happened?”

Aiden sighs. “Fucking Jason Rush. He saw me at the conference and had his people sneak in with a lower bid.”

“We can’t play ball with them? Make them a better deal?”

This time, he shakes his head. “No, if I bid any lower, we’d lose money. I’ve got a bottom line to meet.”

I’ve looked at the financials, so I know what he’s saying is true.

“I’m sorry, man. That job would have been huge for us. Guess you shouldn’t have gone on that trip, huh?” He gives a joking laugh.

I wait for Aiden to say something to defend our time together, but it never comes.

Instead, he says, “Yeah, no joke. Live and learn.”

Tears burn behind my eyes because that trip meant everything to me, and clearly, it meant nothing to him.

Or maybe it meant something to him too, but he turned bitter when I didn’t want to keep it going.

Out the window, I can see Aiden coming back inside, so I hurry back to my desk as though I wasn’t just being nosey.

I try my hardest to hold back tears as he comes in and grabs his keys off the desk. “I’m leaving for the day,” he growls before flying back out the door.

The second it shuts behind him, my tears begin to fall freely. This place, this job that used to be home, now feels like my hell.

Aiden was right about one thing: that trip was a huge fucking mistake.

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