Page 30 of Even if It Hurts

He was my boss—my surly, frightening boss. That was all...thathadto be all.

But with every unsteady breath, I saw a dark, narrowed stare. With every silent reprimand, I heard the veiled amusement that had a way of slipping into his unforgiving words. With everyreminder of my relationship with Jackson, my thoughts drifted back to a tall, imposing man with a tightly clenched jaw.

“This is bad,” I whispered to the dark room, the words barely scraping past my shame.

Every instinct was telling me to quit because this could only end badly. But how was I supposed to walk out of this room and quit a job with no explanation? Because there was absolutely no way I could tell that man I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him. And how was I supposed to walk away from the baby I was holding when I’d already vowed to make sure she thrived in this new life—when I’d been crushed just hours before at the thought of this job being taken from me?

With a determined breath, I shook my head before nodding fiercely as I moved to the crib to lay Kaia down.

I could do this. I could bury my fascination with the man who seemed to be as cold and uninviting as the apartment he lived in until it was no longer an issue. I could do my job and not let my absurdly handsome boss become another reason for my relationship with Jackson to become even more unstable.

Right?

Once I was sure Kaia wasn’t going to wake up, I hurried from the room all while trying to figure out how to let Asher know I was leaving without having to face him again. But I slowed to a stop once I made it out of the hallway because he was there, directly in front of me, sitting on one of the living room couches.

“What is it, Miss Pearson?” he asked without ever straightening from his hunched-over position or turning to look at me.

I didn’t comment on theMiss Pearsonor ask why he’d reverted to the formality after finally calling me by my first name, I just awkwardly cleared my throat and started walking again...toward the front of the apartment.

“I’m leaving,” I informed him.

If I hadn’t been watching him out of the corner of my eye, I wouldn’t have noticed the way his head snapped in my direction a split second before he stood, gripping the notebook I’d been furiously writing in all day. “And if she wakes up?”

A stunned breath burst from me as I turned on him. “Then she wakes up, Mr. Briggs.”

“Asher.”

“Right, I don’t care what your name is,” I said firmly. “This is awkward enough because of what happened last year. Which”—I hurried to add, hand already raised to stop him when his lips parted—“I know we aren’t talking about because apparently we aren’t adults, or whatever. But you’re my boss now, so get used to hearingMr. Briggs.

“And you clearly have no experience with babies or caring for anyone other than yourself,” I went on, waving irritably at him, “but if you’re going to have custody of that little girl, you need to learn how to take care of her. Or get a full-time, live-in nanny, which I refuse to be because I think Kaia deserves better—she deserves a sense of family.”

I sucked in a quick breath and pressed my hands to my twisting stomach once the words were free. Worrying over the repercussion of them, desperately wanting to take them back even though they were true, and wondering what exactly had come over me for me to talk like that to anyone.

But when Asher finally spoke, that trace of amusement was there again, knitting through his deceptively calm and terrifying tenor. “Interesting...Ada said you were a people-pleaser and exceedingly kind, almost to a fault.”

“I’m sorry. It’s been an emotionally exhausting week,” I confessed when I realized he was waiting for an explanation. “Not like yours—sorry. I really have no room to complain about anything.”

“Don’t apologize for saying what you think,” he mumbled as he glanced at the notebook before carefully setting it on the large coffee table. “Not to me, anyway. I appreciate honesty over everything else.”

Then I could only assume my great-aunt hadn’t told him about my years in Tennessee. Probably for the best considering what he was entrusting me with.

Rocking back a step, I said, “Well, I’ll?—”

“I need you to stay late tomorrow,” he said over me, stilling my feet again. Just as I was about to remind him that I refused to be a full-time nanny, he added, “Told you there would be days we have security details. Tomorrow’s event isn’t scheduled to end until seven, and that’s only the portion where we’re at the venue.”

I nodded as I took in the information and tried figuring out how late I would potentially need to stay. “Okay, I’ll be here.” After taking a step back, I hesitantly said, “But maybe next time you could give me more notice than a handful of hours before that shift begins?”

The corner of Asher’s mouth tipped up in a smirk that both stunned and fascinated me because it took me right back to the coffee shop; wanting nothing more than to kiss a stranger again to see if the irrationally beautiful reaction he’d incited had been a fluke or something else entirely.

And my traitorous heart responded.

“I forgot,” he admitted. “I’ve never had to run my schedule past anyone other than my team.”

Why did wonder and excitement rush through my veins at his admission? Why did my thoughts run wild at all the possible implications of that statement?Whyhad this man always been so intriguing when he was someone I needed to avoid for so many reasons?

“Right,” I finally managed to say, the word coming out soft and unsure as I forced myself to continue backing away. “Well, good night.”

I didn’t wait for a response or to see what expression would cross his face next, I just turned and started for the elevator.

---