Page 51 of Snowed In with the Bosses

Liam’s stride carried him past Ethan. He kicked the door closed in passing and slammed his hands onto his hips. “How are we going to fix this?”

“Did you tell her we fixed the issue with Robbie’s client?” I forced my hands to relax before I hurled the chair into the wall. The scumbag had been kicked from our client list and all his emails, calls, and texts sent to the police for further investigation. Robbie’s concerns about coming to us set off more than one alarm bell in my head. We were supposed to be there for our employees. What had happened to make any of them think we would not stand with them? I understood that it was difficult for a woman to come to one of us—since we were all men—and talk about possible sexual harassment. But Robbie refused to talk to anyone except Clara. Why? Where had we failed? The unknowns circled around in an unstoppable wave.

Ethan and Liam sank into chairs across from each other. “I told her. She thanked me very politely, in a way that said she was grateful and fuck off all at the same time.”

Yeah, she’d gotten good at that in the last two weeks. I racked my brain for anything that could have set her off. Was she done with us? That made no sense. Electricity still sparked in the air every time we were together. I caught her looking at me, that hunger in her eyes and it devastated us all that she refused to talk about what was bothering her. Work-wise, we were all in good standing. Harrington loved Clara’s input on the project, and we were moving along at a good pace.

“Have either of you had sex with Clara since the theater?” They’d told me about the theater, and I’d cursed my shareholder meeting for a solid five minutes before I calmed down.

“No,” Ethan answered for both him and Liam. “Seems she’s avoiding that too.”

Unease danced its way along my spine, the sharp taps warning of the wrongness happening. “We need to spend sometime together outside the office.” I recalled what she said the day after her illness. “She told us we were causing a scene. And she was right. In the office, we have to treat her like everyone else. But out there…” I pointed toward the snowy town about to slip from winter into spring. “Out there, we can be ourselves. Maybe she’ll talk to us away from here.”

“How are we going to get her to go anywhere with us?” Liam fiddled with a pen, taking it apart and laying all the pieces out on the table. He picked up the spring and bounced it between his fingers several times. His attention locked onto the device, but he shot a quick look at me. “She’s said no to every lunch and dinner invitation.”

“Yesterday, she told me she was tired and wanted to go home.” Ethan reclined, his legs stretched out and his hands behind his head. “That’s not the first time, either. I wondered if something happened with her mom, but I’ve been reassured her mother is fine.”

As fine as a woman recovering from cancer and chemo could ever be. I leaned over the table, resting my weight on my closed fists. The bite of pain along my knuckles kept me in place. I relished the physical ache to knock back the emotional blows. “What about shopping? We could take her downtown, get her mind off the project. Maybe we’ll learn what’s been bothering her.”

It was a long shot, but they were all desperate enough to make an attempt.

Ethan rocked forward and back in the chair. “Sounds good to me. Who’s going to ask her?”

“I will.” Liam planted his feet and stood. “She responds best to me when she’s stressed.” A side-eye followed by a smirk begged me to argue, but Liam had a point.

“Only because you’re less threatening.” I crossed my arms and gave him a smile that made most men shit their pants.

Liam threw his head back and laughed in my face. “Yeah. Exactly. I’ll meet you downstairs.” He spun on his heel and walked away, stopping once he reached the door. “With Clara.”

He said it like a challenge, and both Ethan and I knew him well enough to understand he’d reached the point where he would convince Clara or die trying. Maybe not anything as dramatic as that, but Liam had a stubborn streak that served us well through the years.

“Well. Let’s go.” Ethan stood. “We might as well wait for them at the car.”

I allowed Ethan to lead the way from the office, not bothering to stop and chat like we sometimes did to the employees we passed along the way.

Liam and Clara stood together in the lounge, their heads bent close together against the backdrop of Silverbrook. They made an interesting pair, and when Clara smiled and nodded, it burst through me with the force of a lightning strike.

Liam’s subtle nod pushed my feet faster, urging me outside in a matter of minutes.

By the time I’d brought up the car and parked at the side entrance we always used, Clara and Liam were waiting for us. She slipped into the backseat with Liam and tucked her hands over her stomach.

“Where are we going?” Her voice came out wrong, almost fearful. But a look in the rearview mirror showed excitement in her eyes.

I tightened my grip on the steering wheel and pulled out into the late afternoon traffic. “There’s a new shopping mall at the edge of town. I thought we’d check it out.” Her smile of approval pressed my foot harder on the gas. Silverbrook flashed past, the businesses turning to housing developments, and then back to shops that eventually ended at the Silver Mall, a giant buildingthat covered five full blocks and offered anything a person could ever wish for. Except the one thing I truly wanted: Clara.

I longed for her to trust us enough to talk about whatever bothered her.

Liam and Clara’s chatter filled the car throughout the ride. They’d talked about work, her mom, Robbie’s project and how she was feeling better about the situation now that the client was gone from the business. Clara thanked Liam for that though I’d been the one to give the man the boot and a fierce talking to that had my vision blotching at the edges as I worked to keep my temper in check. The praise and thanks mattered little in light of Clara’s obvious discomfort around us. Something had shifted in the last two weeks, and I was determined to find out what caused her sudden change in attitude.

Ethan directed me into the underground parking garage with the careful precision he put into every action. It took less than a minute to find a parking spot and make our way to the elevator that would deposit us in the center of the mall. Clara walked in the center of our group, a place where no one else had ever belonged.

“Where do you want to go first?” I slid my hands into my pockets and stared up the escalator at the variety of shops lining the upper balconies. Skylights in the roof let in massive amounts of natural light that caught on the glass and chrome storefronts even this late in the day.

“Pick a store.” I fell back a step, putting her in front of me.

Clara hesitated, then stepped onto the escalator. We crowded in behind her, enjoying the view of her backside.

Liam wiggled his eyebrows. “Anyone else feeling like a bodyguard.” He stiffened his shoulders, making them bulge inside his jacket. “Don’t worry, Miss Perry, we won’t let anyone bother you.”

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