Page 15 of Forbidden Grumpy Boss

Harvey slaps the table. “You gonna bet, or what?”

I glance at my hand and throw in my chips. “I’m in.”

But my mind? It’s far from poker. All I can think about is Leah, and how the hell I’m going to make it through work tomorrow without screwing everything up again.

Chapter five

Leah

I’ve made many questionabledecisions in my life, but taking a job working for the man who discarded me like last season’s shoes after we spent one unforgettable night together? That has to be at the top of the list.

I close the door behind me, leaning against it as I take in the sight of my tiny apartment, trying to calm the storm inside me. How is this even real? Of all the people in this city—hell, in this world—it had to beSilas.

God hates me. If not, he just likes laughing at me.

I drop my bag on the floor, feeling the day's weight press down on me as I catch my breath. The faint sounds of keyboard clicks tell me that Penny is still on the couch, probably buried in some coding project she’s been working on for days. The smell of coffee from this morning lingers in the air, stale but familiar.

It almost helps ground me, but the memory of seeing him,Silas, again jolts me right back into the chaos swirling in my head.

“Is that you?” Penny calls from the living room. “My employed best friend, ladies and gentlemen.”

Penny looks up as I walk into the living room. She’s in her usual spot, legs tucked under her, fingers dancing across the keyboard of her laptop, like always. Her messy bun sits lopsided on her head, and her oversized T-shirt readsI Code, Therefore I Am. Classic Penny.

“You’re back early,” she says, glancing over at me before her gaze sharpens. “Wait. You look . . . I don’t know.” Her eyes widen. “Wait, you didn’t tell me you got the job, Leah.”

I flop onto the couch beside her, kicking off my boots and rubbing my temples. “I think I just took a job working for the guy I slept with five years ago.”

Penny's eyes widen, and she slams the laptop shut, theclackof plastic on plastic cutting through the room. “Wait,what?!”

“Yup.” I nod, more to myself than to her, as if hearing it out loud might make it feel more real. “Silas. You remember him, right?”

Her face twists in confusion. Then, understanding dawns on her. “RomeSilas?”

“Yeah,” I groan. “That one.”

“No way. No freaking way.” Penny shakes her head like she’s trying to shake off the disbelief. “You mean the guy who told you to fuck off after that incredible one-night stand? That Silas?”

I roll my eyes. “Thank you for putting it so delicately, Penny. But yeah,thatSilas.”

Penny leans forward, her face lit up like she’s just been handed the juiciest gossip of the year. “Details, babe. I need every detail. What does he look like now? What did he say? Are you going to work for him? What the hell is a Roman man doing as a CEO in New York?”

“He’s American, Penny.” I shut my eyes, Silas's face appearing in my head.

“Really?” She frowns. “Why have I been imagining an Italian man all along? Okay, what about my other questions?”

I hesitate momentarily, staring at the cracked ceiling as if it holds some answers. “He looks . . . the same. Maybe a little grayer, but just as annoyingly hot. Still tall, still ridiculously fit. And yeah, I took the job. I had to. The H.R. guy offered too much money for me to turn down.”

Penny blinks. “Leah, are you sure about this? That shit really messed with you for a while, you know? Even when you eventually told me about it, you were still pretty hurt.”

“I know,” I say, exhaling. “But that’s why I have to prove to myself that I can handle this. I need the money. And besides, I’mnot the same person I was back then. I’m not some twenty-year-old kid anymore. I can do this.”

She eyes me suspiciously for a moment before her face brightens. “Hold on. Let me Google him.”

“Don’t you dare—”

“Too late!” Before I know it, her laptop is open, and Penny’s fingers are already flying across the keyboard, pulling up tabs faster than I can blink. “Let’s see. Okay, so . . . wow. He’s ridiculously hot, what the fuck?”

“Yeah, he’s still a massive douchebag, though.” I hold my growling stomach. I need some food, and I need it fast.

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