Page 32 of Claiming My Cocky Boss

I pushed myself off the door and headed for the kitchen. Grabbing another cup of coffee, I sat at the table, pondering Carla's words.The office in disarray? Not surprising. Without supervision, people tend to slack off. However, the mention ofmissing funds had been bothering me for weeks. Issues like that don't just disappear on their own. There was definitely something amiss; I just hadn't pinpointed it yet.

I finished my coffee, set the mug in the sink, and then headed over to the desk, flipping through the stack of papers Carla had dropped off. New client proposals and contracts for security setups were about the usual. I could handle it remotely, sure, but there was something about being out of the office that made me feel like I wasn’t getting the full picture—that I wasn’t in control.

I scanned through the contracts for about an hour, and a sudden realization sparked in the back of my mind. The tux. My checkbook.

Shit

I headed over to the chair where my rented tux had been tossed the night before. Reaching into the inner pocket, I pulled out the checkbook and absentmindedly flipped through it, my eyes narrowing as I hit the middle. One check, pulled from the center of the book, was not in order and labeledvoidon the duplicate.

What the hell?

I sat at my desk, staring at the checkbook in front of me, confusion settling in as I tried to figure out why the check was missing. No matter how hard I thought, I couldn’t remember writing it, and pulling a check from the middle of the book wasn’t something I ever did.

An uneasy feeling crept in, bringing back the memory of the door left ajar when I returned from Mia’s. At the time, I brushed it off, blaming it on forgetfulness or the pain pills. But now... now that explanation seemed weak. Something wasn’t right.

Pacing around the cabin, my eyes scanned every corner—windows, drawers, cabinets. Everything appeared untouched, perfectly in place. Yet that one missing check stood out like a red flag. The possibility of someone having been inside began to takeroot. Someone with access. Derek had a spare key, as did a few others. It had never crossed my mind to worry about that, but suddenly, doubt crept in, tightening its grip.

Finally, I pulled myself together and called the bank to trace the missing check. The customer service rep was polite, but my cheeks burned with embarrassment when he informed me that no such check had come through.

I hung up and settled back at my desk, the phone oddly heavy in my hand. The urge to call her, to hear her voice, and share this unsettling feeling gnawed at me. But she had asked for space, and calling her now would only make it seem like I was pushing too hard. Still, I couldn’t shake the thought of her—how much had changed between us at the gala, and how being with her made me want to hold on, even if it meant bending my own rules.

Instead of dialing, I tossed the phone back on the couch and limped over to the kitchen. I needed to clear my head, and there was only one way I knew how to do that: breakfast for dinner.

I whipped up some egg whites and turkey bacon, the sizzle filling the silence as I tried to push everything out of my mind—the missing check, the situation at Edgewater, Mia. It all circled back to her. No matter how much I tried to focus on work or on finding the embezzler, my thoughts kept drifting to her.

When dinner was ready, I flopped down on the couch with my plate, flicked on the TV, and landed on a football game. I wasn’t really watching, though. My mind was miles away, stuck on the one thing I couldn’t control: Mia.

I’d never been one to worry about someone else like this before. Hell, I didn’t even know if she’d ever want to be a part of my life in Dallas. She wasn’t cut from the same cloth as the women I’d dated before, and that’s what I liked about her. But I couldn’t shake the feeling that asking her to leave Cedar Coveand move to the city and be a part of my world would be too much.

And if I pushed her into that, if I forced her into a life she didn’t want, I knew it’d be over before it even began.

I finished my dinner, tossed the plate on the coffee table, and leaned back, my mind still racing. The game droned on in the background, but all I could think about was Mia. The way she smiled, the way she made me laugh, the way she didn’t give a damn about my money or my name.

I dropped my phone back onto the table, running a hand through my hair in frustration. The whole situation with Mia was a tangled mess I couldn’t seem to unravel. She wanted time and space—things I wasn’t great at giving, but I knew I had to. If I pushed too hard, I’d lose her, and that was a risk I wasn’t willing to take.

Sinking down onto the couch, I stared up at the ceiling, thoughts swirling in a chaotic blur. The missing check, the unlocked door, the mess at Edgewater—none of it mattered as much as figuring things out with Mia. She had a way of getting under my skin, making me want more than just a casual fling or a convenient relationship. I wanted something real, but I wasn’t sure how to give her that without dragging her into my world.

Closing my eyes, exhaustion finally pulled at me. The noise in my head dulled, but the thought of Mia lingered, her smile, her stubbornness, her warmth. I had to find a way to make this work, to make her see we could have a future together. But before I could figure out the answer, sleep finally took over.

Sixteen

Mia

I stepped into the park office early, the stillness of the morning air broken only by the hum of my computer booting up. My coffee sat untouched on the desk, the steam curling lazily upward. I wasn’t ready to face the day, not after the weekend, but routine dragged me along whether I wanted it to or not.

Clicking through my inbox, I scanned through the typical emails—schedules, updates, volunteer requests—until one stood out from Frank, the park director:Meeting Recap: Saturday Park Director Update.My brows furrowed. Saturday? I hadn't even realized there was a meeting while I’d been out with Liam.

A quick glance at the subject line revealed that the email contained a video link. My curiosity was piqued. I hesitated, my fingers hovering over the mouse. Should I watch it now or after I’ve settled in? Something about the sudden meeting made me uneasy, and the last thing I needed was more surprises.

Before I could decide, the office door creaked open, and I looked up to see Tessa standing there. I immediately noticed the furrow in her brow and the tightness in her shoulders.

"Hey, everything okay?" I asked, pushing my chair back from the desk.

Tessa’s gaze dropped, and my stomach twisted. Something was definitely off.

Stepping further into the room, she offered a weak smile. "Yeah, I mean... Daisy's okay, right?"

I blinked, momentarily thrown off by the change in topic. "Daisy? Oh, yeah. She’s fine. Nothing serious. What’s going on?"

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