Page 83 of The Boss Problem

“Don’t worry. He’ll come out of there in a few minutes and start berating you for worrying over him needlessly,” I said, attempting to bring some lightness in my voice.

Her gaze met mine, and I could see how hopeless she felt. She must be exhausted, and I wished I could get her and Henry and take them home right away.

I put my arm around her, and we stood side by side, looking at the building. I hoped no one was in that wing, from which plumes of black smoke surged out wildly. The heat was oppressive, and ash and soot would occasionally drift our way with the wind.

Around us, people were crying, shouting, and sobbing. It was chaotic, and I caught people’s guesses for how the fire could have started. Every idea felt extreme, but it seemed the fire alarm had sounded too late, with flames already spreading, fueled by the wind. I tightened my hold around Chloe, wishing I knew if Henry was fine.

“Henry’s classes are usually held in the very same wing as the fire,” she said, her voice breaking. “I called all his friends on my way here. None of them knew where he was.”

Fuck.

I was reminded of how desolate she had been the night Lucas was missing. The night she’d admitted to me how losing Henry was her biggest fear.

She checked her phone again to see if she had heard anything, but a moment later, she tucked it back in her pocket, her body trembling. “How come no one’s got any information on him?”

“You look at the bottom two rows of windows,” I said, “and I’ll keep an eye on the top three.”

She flicked her gaze to me in surprise. “You knew—” She shook her head. “Of course you knew I was hoping for a sightof him through the windows.” This time, her expression became determined. “All right, let’s keep looking.”

“Because standing still and waiting are not things Chloe does,” I murmured, gripping her hand and rubbing my thumb over her palm.

Her resolute expression weakened for a minute. “You remember way too many details about me,” she said, not taking her eyes off the college building for even a second.

Where was that damn phone call to tell us they’d found him? It had been ten minutes since I’d made that call, and that had been ten minutes of extra stress for Chloe. Just like how stressed she might have been because I hadn’t called her for the entire duration of my conference.

“I’m sorry I didn’t call you after I left for DC,” I said. “I needed some time to think.”

She looked at me briefly. “It’s okay.” After a moment, she wrung her hands, looking miserable. “I need to stop my mind from playing out every worst-case situation possible,” she said.

“What did you do while I was away?” I asked, giving her a distraction.

She paused from looking at the college to glance at the assembled students on the track. Still no Henry.

“Will showed up at my doorstep.”

Will.

The way that name burned my throat was enough to tell me what I needed to know. I was too far in now. I didn’t want that man’s name on her lips or that damn man asking for her time after what he did to her.

“I hope you told him to go to hell,” I growled out through clenched teeth.

She shook her head, still distracted. Now, my worry for Henry was mixed in with my anger at Will.

I fumed. “Did he explain himself for bailing on you that night on your supposed date?”

She hesitated. “He said he’d had time to think about it and wanted to give the date a second chance.”

The jerk. He didn’t deserve any more chances from her.

My mouth was dry as I spoke. “I hope you shut the door on his face.”

“Well, he had flowers and asked me to go out on a walk with him.”

“A walk?” I tried to curb my anger. “Did a walk change your feelings for him?”

She met my gaze, parting her lips to answer when she froze. Her phone was ringing. She brought it to her ear just as my phone buzzed with a text message.

It was a text from Desmond that simply said,Found him.

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