Page 2 of Unforeseen Love

“Oh, come on, I didn’t mean it like that.” Theo tries to placate him, holding his hands up in the air.

I give him a look that I hope conveys I don’t believe him and push to my feet.

“If you’ll excuse me, I have some admin to take care of before my shift starts.” Leaving my coffee, I make a hasty getaway to my office, desperately needing a moment to myself, wishing I could already have a do-over.

How did I not know he was Ewan’s nephew? And most importantly, why does he always get so much pleasure out of making me feel small? Is it because he’s good looking? Looks will only get someone so far when their soul is ugly. Honestly, I take my career choice seriously. I never could understand why someone like him would want to do this job. And now it makes a little more sense if it’s in the family, but still, he’d be much better equipped as a jester.

See? He’s already turning me into a bitter bitch.

There’s a knock at my door, and I take a deep breath.

“Come in,” I call out and move to sit behind my desk.

Ewan walks in with my mug and places it down on the coaster I have on my desk.

“Thought you could do with a fresh one,” he says and takes a seat opposite.

“Thank you,” I say, sincerely touched. He’s always been so welcoming and kind to me. It breaks my heart that he’ll be leaving, but I understand why––he’s not been well, and he wants to take this time to spend with his wife.

“Listen…” He leans forward. “I gather from your reaction that there’s some ill-feeling between you and my nephew. But what he said, he didn’t mean it like that. I can guarantee you your job is safe, as well as your living arrangements. This is still your home. You have absolutely nothing to worry about in that department.”

I love that he’s trying to console me. Theo is a wanker, and people don’t change. Whether I can endure him as my boss, only time will tell, I guess.

“That means a lot, thank you.”

“Honestly, Sienna, I’ll talk to him. He might be taking over from me and the business side of things, but if you have any problems, you come to me––I still get the final say.”

I nod and reach for my coffee and take a sip. That might be the case, but he’s not the one who’ll be left working with him. For the first time since working here, I can’t wait for my working day to end.

ChapterTwo

Theo

Fucking hell… Sienna Morgan. Her hair is tied up in a tight bun on top of her head, and I wonder if she were to free it, if she'd let loose a little.

Call me a bastard, but even after all this time, I still get off on riling her up. I always did get a sadistic kick out of ruffling her highly strung feathers, especially seeing as she still appears to have that huge stick stuck up her arse. It would appear some things never change.

I mean, of course, she's fucking gorgeous, with long wavy matte black hair and fair skin, which only makes her greenish-blue eyes pop even more against her long lashes. She's about average height for a woman, and curvy. And not to mention her naturally plump lips, but I swear I don't ever think I saw her smile the entire time we were at Uni together.

Okay, maybe I was partly to blame whenever I did see her. I liked to goad her. It was simply to get some sort of reaction from her, and it's not like she didn't give as good as she got anyway.

Now, as luck would have it, I'm about to become her new boss––and just when I thought things were going to be boring.

My uncle was quick to reprimand me before stalking off to placate her with a cup of coffee, not that it matters. She's got thick skin, and she'll give back just as good as she gets, I have no doubt. She'll need to get over the fact I'm going to be her boss. Which, I might add, gives me a twisted kind of pleasure.

Sienna has always had a way of drawing out the worst in me. Honestly, it was never my intention to wind her up, but she has always made it so easy. Even after not seeing her for a few years, I find it difficult to rein it in. Besides, I might as well have my fun with her––the past year has been hell, and she's actually given me a reason to smile. Not the forced smiles I've been putting on for the sake of my friends or Aunt and Uncle.

Honestly, I'm just glad to be away from Ireland and back home, not that I didn't love it there, of course, I did, but it's all the reminders and everything it represents. It's all still too raw. It's why I came home, to start fresh, but moving on is fucking hard—I never expected my girlfriend and my best friend to cheat on me.

I walk around the flat, the place I moved into when I moved out of home, and honestly, as shit as my reasons are for returning, it's good to be back.

It was always my intention to take over the family business––granted, it's sooner than I anticipated with his health issues. According to my aunt, Uncle Ewan has been becoming a little clumsy and has been having muscle cramps and twitching.

After making him finally go to his GP, he was referred. They ran tests and diagnosed him with Motor neurone disease. He's in his late forties and has always been active and healthy, which is why this was a shock to everyone.

Now more than ever, it's important I make this work. I want to make him proud, to prove it wasn't a mistake to take a step back. I owe him and my aunt so much.

Of course, I want to put my stamp on things and make some changes––don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with how things are, but I just feel there's room for improvement. No doubt Sienna will challenge my authority, but it just makes it all the more entertaining.

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