Page 62 of Rich and Bossy

I have to get out of here.

I don’t care if I get in trouble for not sitting through that trash meeting another minute. Honestly, I dare Paul to say anything to me. He thinks I’ve been trouble before now? He hasno idea. Now, the lines are drawn, and I’m damn sure going to be a headache until the day they march me and my stuff out the front door. That’s the kind of rage spreading through me as I scramble around, trying to find a way to make sure I get out of here before he tries to catch up to me.

Can’t believe I slept with that douchebag.

“Hazel, wait!”

I start to panic. I don’t want to hear his lies.

I should’ve known he would follow me, too. He’s so damn predictable.

Why didn’t I see this coming? I knew it would, but we have been lying low, making plans. Making sure they think my first little conversations were just some venting, and letting things die back down.

It was Campbell’s idea. Make them think I was just blowing off some steam, then dropped it, so we could regroup in secret for a real, major push.

It’s like I have a blind spot when it comes to Paxton, though. I can’t find a way to tell Campbell about it either. I feel awful about that, considering she was adamant about us facing reality, but how do I explain that to her?

There’s a door at the end of the hall, a set of back stairs. One thing I can be sure of is that I know this building way better than the man who owns it. That’s for damn sure.

It’s a quicker getaway than waiting for the elevator, plus more discreet, so I launch myself through the door and fly down the stairs the way a person does when they’re not thinking. If I start thinking about the way my feet hardly touch a step before bouncing off again, I’ll get tangled up and break my neck. I feel like I’m in one of those parkour videos on YouTube and they almost always bite the dust. At least I’m sure they do twenty times, before they get the good shot on camera.

It’s the only way to get away from him, though. He’s a world class athlete, and I’m barely over five feet tall.

Of course, I hear the door bang shut, and he’s hot on my heels, because he can’t take a hint.

His voice is almost deafening, echoing off the cement steps and cinder block walls providing perfect acoustics. “Just wait a second.”

“Leave me alone!” I snap before throwing myself out through a metal door leading to the pitiful little arrangement of picnic tables and benches which is supposed to be our outdoor break area during nice weather. This is supposed to be a perk for all of a couple months out of the year because it’s so damn cold.

I can barely pull enough air into my lungs to stay upright. It’s like there’s an elephant sitting on my chest. How fast did I get down those stairs? Had to be a record.

I bend at the waist, hands on my knees, staring at the ground and wondering if I’m about to throw up all over it. Wouldn’t that be something? Maybe I’ll wait until Paxton joins me so I can projectile vomit all over his expensive suit.

He bursts out through the door. “Congratulations. You made me chase you out here.”

When I glance up, I find him hobbling a little and wincing. It must be his injured knee. Maybe it still bothers him from time to time. Like when he chases a woman down three flights of stairs at top speed.

“Get. Lost.” I can barely pull in enough air to get those words out. Hating him is better than feeling sorry about his knee, which for some perverse reason I still do. I want to ask him if he’s okay, but no, I’m not doing that. No way.

“You finished?” He demands in a sharp, tight voice. “Or do you want to discuss this like adults?”

“What makes you think I want to have a discussion with you?” I look up toward the third floor and can’t help but grit my teeth. “The message was loud and clear.”

“You can’t think I approved that.” He stares at me blankly, like I’m the crazy one here.

“You can’t be serious? You can’t seriously think I believe that.” My surprise that he would even try to lie his way out of this is insane. I’m not upset anymore. My face is literally on fire. “You really do believe everything you said about me being naïve, don’t you?”

“I’m telling you the truth.”

“Sure.” I give him a thumbs up, smirking. “One of us believes it.”

He turns around and yanks at his hair, like he wants to pull it out. “I keep forgetting how childish you are.”

“You’re a…” I stop myself before I curse him up and down. The nerve of him, making himself out to be a victim, attacking my age again because he knows how bad it’ll get to me. “You’re the one who looks like he’s about to squeeze out some Oscar-worthy tears. I said leave me alone.” I go to walk past him.

He steps right in my path, blocking my way.

“Move.”

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