Page 36 of Her Bossy Daddy

Chapter Nine

Lacey

I kept my distance from most of my colleagues and everyone else at work for almost a week but one day I spotted Milly’s red-soled high heel shoes in the bathroom. Liam told me to let things blow over at work while he sorted everything out. I wanted to listen, but every time I saw her I wanted to break the heels off her shoes or throw food on her too-short dress. The opportunity presented itself.

“I heard what happened between you and Liam. I’m glad they’re shipping him back to Ireland.”

“What?” Milly stilled beside me, and her eyes darted to mine in the bathroom mirror. “Did you say Liam O’Connell is going back to Ireland?”

“Yeah. His girlfriend broke up with him when the sexual harassment suit hit. The company can’t keep on someone who is such a high risk. I mean he’s been with the company for seven years without even one disciplinary action, but maybe it’s just because he’s so handsome. Handsome men like that can get away with whatever they want. No one ever said anything.”

“Liam O’Connell has a girlfriend?”

“Well, he had one. They were going to be married and everything.”

“What do you mean they were going to be married? How would you even know that?”

“I met her out at the pub one night and then while I was running errands yesterday I bumped into her again. She’s going back to live with her parents. At least she found out before they actually tied the knot.” Shit. I don’t know why I made up all of that! I attempted to be casual but Milly frowned.

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Because I pegged you all wrong. We’ve had our ups and downs but this is serious. Our boss, soon to be ex-boss, fooled everyone.”

Milly blinked several times as she processed the information I had fed to her. “I don’t understand. Something isn’t adding up. I figured our company would suspend him or give him mandated training or something. They’ve spent thousands of dollars for him to relocate to the United States for this position. Why would they cut all ties like that? Plus the part about his fiancée just leaving doesn’t make sense, Lacey.”

“Would you stick with someone who has been sexually harassing his coworkers or worse?”

“It’s all rumors. No details have been shared.” Milly turned to face me. “Why you are telling me all this?” she repeated.

“We’ve spent so much time with him, probably more than anyone else because of the out of office lunch meeting and the pulse checks. I figured you would feel the same.” I shrugged. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have mentioned it.”

“Lacey, you don’t even gossip about the weather. What is this?”

“I’m not gossiping. This is the reality, Milly. Our boss is getting fired. At least I think he is.”

“You’ve never talked to me before other than work stuff and that one awful time where I ended up in human resources, so where exactly are you going with all this?” Milly tilted her head to one side, studying me with an odd expression.

“I thought we were past all that. Okay.” I held my hands up. “I didn’t think anyone else would understand. We’ve spent the most time with him after all.”

“I wish he told me about his girlfriend or whatever. They were living together?”

“When did the two of you talk about your relationships?” It was a pointed question, and I wanted a real answer.

“We’ve gone out for drinks a few times.”

I stared at her for several seconds, trying to determine if she actually went out with Liam on more than one occasion. “You’ve hung out with him outside of work?”

“Just because he caught you at a meeting, buttercup, doesn’t mean you’re magically connected.”

“I’m sure his girlfriend saw the signs well before this information came out.” Bile rose in my throat, and I swallowed hard. I fought the urge to scratch her eyes out, as if I needed yet another reason.

“Probably not. He’s one smooth talker. My more flattering assets were of great interest to him, and we weren’t talking about my portfolio.” Milly’s lips slowly formed up into a smile. She knew she had the upper hand. “Someone as sexy as Liam O’Connell couldn’t possibly keep it in his pants.”

My fingers twitched, and I sought the satisfaction of slapping the grin off her mouth. Instead, I nodded and forced my own smile. “I’ve got to get back to work. I really don’t want to think about this situation anymore.” I pushed past her and exited the bathroom. A bizarre mixture of anger and hurt filled me, and I couldn’t process both feelings at once. Liam had a lot of fucking explaining to do.

* * *

On my lunch break,I slipped into one of the quiet rooms. It was a tiny room with a desk and a chair, enough for a small meeting, or if you need a place to focus on a project. The best feature was the soundproofing done to keep it truly quiet. I pressed Liam’s number on my cell phone and waited for him to pick up. He answered on the third ring.

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