Page 38 of Dear Grumpy Boss

I sniffle, swallow, pack up all my stuff into the tote bag, and open the door.

To find my brother standing at the end of the corridor, his broad frame filling it up. His face is wreathed in lines of concern but there’s no judgement there.

As I walk toward him, fresh tears fall onto my cheeks. I scrub at them roughly, but more come.

His mouth has a tight set to it as I reach him. Brown eyes, so much like our papa’s, search mine. “Should I beat him up?”

Color floods my cheeks. “Don’t be ridiculous,” I manage.

“You hid it well,” Adam says.

I shrug.

He takes my tote bag and wraps a beefy arm around my shoulders. “If it helps, he looked worse than you when I saw him earlier.”

“It doesn’t,” I snap at him. Then I sigh. The corridor is empty and bright, exactly how I feel. “I’ll get over him, Adam. Don’t ruin your friendship over some false macho pride please.”

“So, no beating him up?”

“The question you have to ask yourself is why you would want to.” My heart sits in my throat, making words hard. “He gave me the world.”

And removed himself from it.I keep those words to myself. As much as I love my brother, the feelings are too raw and private to discuss with him.

Kind and sensible that he is, Adam doesn’t say anything.

I lean into his frame, knowing that at some point in the distant future, I’ll feel better about this.

Just not today. Or this decade.

Fifteen

Zayn

“Yo! Sleeping beauty! Wake up!”

The voice isn’t loud but it still booms around me.

I groan, shift on the couch where I face-planted earlier and pop open one eyelid.

Three faces greet me, one glaring while the other two are filled with curiosity. That the glaring face is my best friend’s makes me want to disappear.

“Go away,” I mumble, closing my eyes against the shattering golden light.

“Adam here is committed to violence and since the man is an ex-army sniper, I thought it better to be present,” Nathan says, with far too much glee in his voice. I fight the urge to plant my fist in his face. “As your older brother and your business partner, I take your physical well-being seriously. Since Adam is also a beefy motherfucker, I asked Max for additional support. Also—”

“Oh, just shut up, will you, Nathan?” I say, sitting up.

The pain I’ve been bottling all morning rises to the surface when his sharp silver gaze takes in my current state. Discovering that he was my half brother at the age of sixteen saved my life. Though our mother had been long gone by then.

He took me away from my bullying father and showed me what unconditional love meant. If he probes my mental state now…I’m not sure what I might do. Bawling like a baby wouldn’t be the most embarrassing thing on the list.

“If you truly mean to be useful, go make me a cup of coffee.”

Nathan sighs. “That coffee machine looks like it belongs on Starship Enterprise. I don’t know how to work it.”

“Fuck, you’re a spoiled ass,” I say. “For a confirmed bachelor with a grown-ass stepdaughter, you should know the basic minimum.”

“And who do you think spoils me?” Nathan asks, clearly asking for a fight.

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