Page 15 of Rosabel and the Billionaire Beast

“He needs constant care, and I can’t be there for him if I’m here working for you, the Jerk-faced Beast Boss who can’t be bothered to compliment me to my face. Do you have any idea how much I do for you, and you can’t even say ‘thank you’?” Her voice climbed in pitch.

I was stymied. The route I’d been following had forked, revealing paths I didn’t know were there, and I didn’t know which one to take.

I knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to tell her how sorry I was. I wanted to show my concern and let her know that I cared.

And therein lay the problem.

Then again, she was no longer with Pete. Would it really be so bad to let her know how much I did? Ulrich was in jail now, after all.

Even so, the memory of the anonymous threat I’d received floated in the recesses of my mind.

I rubbed a hand behind my neck and gestured to the chair in front of my desk. “Maybe you should sit down.”

“I don’t want to.”

Hm. Being nice didn’t work. Maybe if I reverted to our typical banter, she’d snap out of this.

“Okay, then. Quit. See how well you care for your dad when you’re too broke to feed yourself.”

Her brown eyes flashed. Her jaw angled to one side. “You have some nerve.”

“Just putting things into perspective for you.”

Because I was. It was the truth. If her dad was truly this sick and needed extensive medical care, the last thing she should do was quit a good-paying job.

She bared her teeth and inched closer. “Believe me, I haveplentyof perspective. I’m stuck.”

Her voice turned cloudy. Lost. With her arms hanging at her sides, she paused long enough to find some of her pluck again.

“I’m totally stuck. You clearly take me for granted. So give me one good reason why I should stay.”

“Because I need you?—”

That was all. I needed her.

I wanted her.

What was more, I wanted to be the one to comfort her. I couldn’t stand the thought of her being somewhere else, relying on someone else, of not seeing her every day, of not hearing her voice or having the little inbox in my chest that emptied daily and only filled when she was near.

I hated the fact that she was hurting right now—and the fact that I didn’t know what to do about it.

Her eyes widened. She lifted her chin.

I know how you feel about her.

I couldn’t go there. I couldn’t tell her, not until I got her as far from Westville and from that threat as I could.

I thought fast. “I need you to come to Arkansas with me.”

It wasn’t only the threat to her safety that wouldn’t die. I wanted her with me when I went to smooth things over with my family. Rosabel’s presence often made me quick-witted when I was trying to settle deals—probably because I was subconsciously trying to impress her. I needed the boost of confidence she gave me to help iron out my family’s years-long mix-up.

Or maybe it was because I just liked being around her.

Mom wanted to know if I was in a relationship. Rosie and I had been in a sort of battle-of-the-sexes association since she’d started working for me. That was a relationship all its own, wasn’t it?

The only unknown was Rosabel. Even if I got her to agree, my family would never accept that I was dating my assistant.

Assuming she would even consider it.

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