Page 115 of Enforcer

ALYSSA

Today was as good as any other day. Working for PwC is an honor, but I haven’t been able to muster the excitement old Alyssa would have walked through the glass revolving doors with each morning.

Not when Dante hasn’t let go of the reins choked around my throat since he woke from his coma.

I kept up with him through updates via Brynne and Slate. It tore me up to leave, but I knew it suited both of us.

Dante is the kind of man who doesn’t know what’s good for him, even if it walloped him over the top of his head and told him so.

The texts come at all hours, sometimes even while I’m asleep. At first, they’d make me cry. Sometimes, they still do.

There’s an ache in my chest where my feelings for him won’t die, and I rub at it absently as I stare out of my office window.

“Late night?” Ken asks.

I turn, faking a smile at him.

He’s leaning against the doorframe, tie undone, and jacket gone. His sleeves are rolled up, and there are two glasses of something brown in his hands.

Ken is my boss. He’s older, married, and has children my age. Where most men his age in this business are crude and out of line with how they deal with women beneath their station, Ken is kind.

“Yeah. I was finishing up the accounts you sent over this morning.”

His eyes widen as he crosses the room and hands me a glass. “All of them? I expected them next week, Alyssa. Not today.”

“I know.” I turn back to the floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook the city below.

How do I tell him I’d only dove into them because of all the texts from Dante? How do I admit to using work to escape the needling feelings inside me that have me warbling on a good day?

“Well, I appreciate you being so prompt. Maybe now you can take those days off we talked about.”

I scoff, sipping from my drink.

Bourbon. He’s a man after my heart.

“Days off? I don’t recall you mentioning me taking time off before, Ken.”

“I just did. Listen, I know something’s going on with you. I’m a gentleman; I know better than to pry into the affairs of a woman, but I also have daughters and a wife, so I know how to spot burnout from a mile away. Even if you don’t need them, take some days off. For me?”

I think about Brynne’s text earlier about false labor. Even though it wasn’t the real thing, I know it’s coming sooner rather than later.

She’s about to pop any day now, and baby Nico will be here.

“I could use some days off, actually. My best friend is about to have her baby, and…”

Ken cuts me off, “Good! Take as many days as you need. After all, you already finished the accounts for the next two weeks.”

“You’re sure this is alright? I only started six months ago and don’t want to get in trouble…”

He shakes his head, and I clamp my mouth shut at the look on his face. “I’m the boss, remember? You’re a better employee than most of the staff on my floor, Alyssa. Take the time, be with your friends. Babies are a blessing; soak up all the time you can.”

I smile, finishing my drink. “Thank you, Ken.”

He reaches over, hand open for me to give him my glass. “Well then, go on. Get home.”

I can’t help but laugh as I pad over to my desk and slip back into my high heels. Ken waits for me to shut everything in my office and slip into my jacket.

I stop as I pass him. “Thank you again. If you need me…”

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