Page 38 of Forbidden Grumpy Boss

I shake my head. “No. I’ll call you if I need anything.”

The car’s already idling outside when I step out of the building, my pulse racing as I slip into the backseat. The driver takes off, speeding toward Silas’s house like every second counts.

And maybe, it does.

Chapter fourteen

Silas

I hear the doorbellchime and expect Leah, her shoes clicking against my hardwood floors, to say some sarcastic quip ready to fly. Instead, I swing the door open, and Harvey’s standing right there, eyes sharp, posture rigid, and the distinct feeling that I’m about to get a verbal lashing.

There are a few things in life you don’t expect to find on your doorstep. An angry best friend who also happens to be your fake fiancée’s father? That’s one of them.

"Silas," he says my name like it’s a warning, like we’re about to square off in a boxing ring.

"Harvey." I clear my throat, keeping it light. "What are you doing here?”

“You want me gone?” he asks, his tone cryptic.

Something is going on, I can tell. “I don’t want you gone.” I raise my phone to look at the time. “I just wasn’t expecting you.”

"You weren’t expecting to be confronted about why you’ve hired my daughter without mentioning it to me?"

Ah. So that’s what this is about. I try to ignore how my pulse kicks up a notch, wondering if Harvey’s somehow managed to find out about the engagement, too. He can’t know. No, there’s no way. Not unless he has some psychic powers I don’t know about.

"Leah’s a grown woman, Harvey," I say, leaning against the door frame like I’ve got nothing to hide. "I didn’t think I needed to get permission to hire her."

His eyebrows raise, but his expression doesn’t soften. "Permission, no. A heads-up? Definitely. We’re supposed to be friends, Silas."

I grimace. This feels like a trap. "I was going to tell you."

"Really?" He crosses his arms over his chest, his joints cracking with the movement. The man is in his mid-fifties, but he still looks like he could bench press a truck. "When it was convenient? When the two of you were playing house behind my back?”

“Playing house?” I feign annoyance. “She is working for me, not married to me.”

“When were you planning on telling me?”

"Tonight, actually." I give him a tight smile, hoping my driver’s is still a few miles away with Leah. "But here we are."

He doesn’t look convinced, but he lets out a grunt. "You know, Leah and I, well, things are complicated. I don’t want her working for you to complicate them more."

"That’s not my intention." I stand straighter now, gesturing toward the living room. "Why don’t you come in? We can talk about this."

Harvey hesitates for a moment, glancing over his shoulder. The hallway light casts deep shadows on his face, making his look even more severe. I glance at the elevator behind him, hoping it won’t open with Leah inside. "Fine. But I don’t have long. I’ve got an early meeting tomorrow."

I lead him inside, feeling the air thicken with each step. This conversation could blow up in my face at any second. And the last thing I need is Leah walking in during the middle of it. Harvey can’t know about us. If she turns up now, how exactly do I explain myself out of that situation?

The situation is balanced on a knife's edge, and I’m trying to avoid getting cut.

Harvey sits on the edge of the leather couch. I sit across from him, trying not to look like I’m on trial. “Where’s Caleb?” He looks around.

“In his room.” I glance towards my son’s bedroom. “Want me to call him?”

Harvey shakes his head. “Look," he starts, rubbing his hands together, "I don’t know if you noticed the other night, but Leah’s mad at me. I know she’s angry at me for many things, but I want to fix that. Hiring her, maybe you can get her to listen to me again, help me mend fences."

There’s an edge of vulnerability in his voice that I don’t expect, and it catches me off guard. I was ready for the anger, the protective father routine, but not this.

“Harvey, you know I can’t make her do anything she doesn’t want to do.” I shrug, keeping my face neutral, even as my brain screams to get him out of here before Leah arrives. “Leah’s independent, strong-willed. She’ll come around when she’s ready. You have to give her space."

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