Page 46 of Coffee Break with the Billionaire

“Off an album or of all time?”

“Off the album.”

“Are you a Swiftie?”

“Actually, no. But it’s a way to get to know my latest employee.”

“You want to get to know me because I’m your employee?”

“Sure. I’m a good boss.”

Fenella chuckles. “Okay, then. I’ll go with Smallest Man Alive because it reminds me of Tiger.”

“He really messed you up, didn’t he?”

She takes a moment before answering. “He really didn’t. It wasn’t enjoyable to catch him cheating on me, but I’m almost as mad at how I reacted as at what he did, and that shows that I didn’t careallthat much.”

“Very mature of you.”

“I have my moments. Why aren’t you dating anyone?” She glances over to gauge my reaction. “Just getting to know my boss,” she says cheerfully.

I take a moment before I answer. This isn’t like Stella or Sophie, or even Edie, with their constant questions about my lack of dating life. Or Wyatt bugging me. This isme alone in a car with Fenella, and since it’s probably going to be a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence, why not be honest?

“I guess it’s because someone messed me up,” I confess. “It took me a while to get over it, and I didn’t want to start anything until I was sure.”

“Why did she leave? Small town,” she adds. “People talk.”

“Edie or Leodie?” I guess. “Or Sophie.”

“Possibly all of the above.”

I chuckle. “Mia.” Her name doesn’t completely eradicate my good mood, so that’s a start. “If you didn’t get her name.”

“It’s more important to find out what she did and why,” Fenella says. “I can make up some good names after that.”

“She left… she left because she didn’t want the life I offered her,” I admit. Saying her name is one thing, rehashing her reasons is another. “The life I wanted wasn’t enough for her. I wasn’t good enough for her.”

My words hang between us, lit by the dim light of the dashboard.

I probably shouldn’t have admitted that.

“I don’t see it that way,” Fenella says quickly, too quickly for the thought to have just popped into her mind. The way people talk about my relationship with Mia shows how everyone has an opinion. Everyone has a way it could have been fixed, salvaged, saved.

Ask anyone in town, and they have an opinion on what went wrong with Mia and me, even if they don’t know the details.

For the first time, I realize Fenella and I have more in common than I would have thought.

“And how do you see it?” I ask stiffly.

“You say she didn’t want what you were offering, which I guess would be safety and security. A comfortable life, with family and friends.”

I can’t help but cringe at her explanation. “You make it sound extremely boring.”

“Not for some.”

“For you?”

Fenella pauses, mulling over the question like she’s got a new flavour of candy in her mouth. “I have financial security, but that’s it,” she begins. “I’ve never been in a long-term, committed relationship, but if I was, and it wasn’t the right guy, I could see feeling like I was trapped.”

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