Page 26 of Forbidden Grumpy Boss

“I’m sure you are,” I reply, my voice cold, as I let my gaze shift to Lizzie, who’s already back on her phone, scrolling through TikTok while sipping white wine.

He follows my glance, then sighs. “Look, I know things between us haven’t been—”

“Spare me the speech, Dad. I’m only here because it’s Mom’s anniversary. That’s all.”

The hurt in his eyes is barely there before he hides it, replaced by that familiar businesslike demeanor. “I understand. But while you’re here, we could talk about the studio. It’s time you stop running from your responsibilities.”

I raise an eyebrow, then burst into laughter. “Jesus, Dad. We’re not even five minutes into dinner yet, and you’ve already made it about work.”

“Leah, you have responsibilities, and I won’t—"

“Responsibilities? You mean, the ones I’ve spent the last five years avoiding because I didn’t want to become a puppet in your little empire?”

He sighs, but before he can respond, the doorbell rings.

I glance at him, confused. “Were we expecting anyone else?”

Lizzie’s head pops up from her phone. “Oh, is it him?”

My father grins and nods, clearly excited about whoever’s at the door. “I think it’s time you met my best friend.”

Best friend? Who the hell is this?

As my father moves to answer the door, I take another gulp of wine, bracing myself for yet another person I’m sure I won’t like. The door opens, and I hear Dad and his apparentbest friendtalking.

There’s something about the voice. It sounds so familiar.

I turn to Lizzie. “What’s the name of this best friend Dad’s yapping about?”

Lizzie glances up from her phone at me and flashes a smile. “Oh, you’ll love him. His name is—”

Just then, Dad steps in and interrupts, “Leah, meet my best friend, the one and only Silas Waverly.”

My heart drops into my stomach.

Silas. Of all the people in New York, it has to be Silas Waverly walking into my father’s house. The man who just offered me a fake engagement. I stare, my fingers tightening around the stem of my glass, and I do my best to mask the shock.

But inside? I’m screaming.

Chapter ten

Silas

It’sfunny how quickly everythingcan go from simple to absolutely fucked.

One minute, I’m showing up at my best friendHarvey’s mansion with a bottle of wine, expecting a casual dinner and maybe, ifI’m lucky, some good whiskey. The next minute, I’m standing here, staring intothe eyes of the woman I just proposed to. The same woman I had no idea wasHarvey’s daughter.

Yeah,absolutely fucked.

And Leah? She looks just as stunned as I am,her brown eyes wide with disbelief. There’s no way she knew, either. At least,I hope to God she didn’t know. Because if she did, if she’d kept that from meall this time—no.

No, she didn’t. I can see it in her face. Herexpression’s too raw, too unguarded, for this to be some kind of setup.

But we both play it cool. We have to. Harvey’sstanding there, grinning like he’s just invited his two favorite people in theworld to dinner, and I’m holding a damn bottle of wine like it’s a peaceoffering.

“Leah, Silas is practically family,” Harvey’ssays, beaming at us like he’s proud of himself. “Silas, meet my daughter,Leah.”

Leah and I glance at each other briefly—toobriefly, like we’re strangers.

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