Page 10 of Boss Unavowed (Boss 2)

Farren thought back to when she had first met Rogan and had just started working for him. He had gorgeous, sexy women parading in and out all the time.

“I hate her already,” Shea said with the obligatory, enemy of my friend is my enemy best friend support, but making it totally believable.

Farren sighed, appreciative but still at a loss on what to do about it. She knew her insecurities ran deep, and they had mostly nothing to do with the man she shared her heart and her bed with.

“So, my dad showed up at Gramma’s the other day when I was picking up Harley.”

Shea’s eyes went wide and her chin dropped to the floor. “You’re not serious.”

Shea had been around when Farren’s father had disappeared back when they were kids, barely teenagers. She’d been around before that, too, when he’d used Farren as a punching bag when he’d had too much to drink, which was all too often.

If that man had been anything, it was an angry drunk, a non-functioning alcoholic, likely resenting the fact that Farren’s mother had left them both when Farren was still a baby. He’d been an irresponsible guy, forced into responsibility by his own parents who made sure he didn’t drink himself out of it.

When James, Farren’s grandpa, had fallen ill years before he’d passed, it had been a lot to ask of Gramma to tend to her husband’s health and keep her free-spirited son in line, too.

“I’m serious,” Farren replied.

“So how are you feeling about that?” Shea asked, cautious.

Farren blew out a deep breath and rubbed her temples. “I don’t know. I mean, my head tells me not to give him the chance to walk out on me again. What’s he even here for, anyway? You know he probably just wants something… Right?”

She looked to her best friend as though she hoped she might have another perspective to add.

“That’s a tough one, Farr,” Shea admitted. “What is your heart telling you?”

Farren looked over to her precious, sleeping baby.

“I mean, he’s my dad, you know? No matter how awful someone is to you, if you love them, you still hold out hope.”

“Just be careful. You have someone else to think about now,” Shea warned, pointing her soup spoon at Farren to drive her point home.

Farren smiled.

“You’ll make a great mother someday-”

Her sentence trailed

off when her attention was directed to a figure in the distance behind Shea that she couldn’t ignore. It was Edith Underwood walking out of Victoria’s Secret, the lingerie side, with a couple of bags in hand.

“What the hell?” Farren whispered under her breath.

Shea turned to see what Farren was looking at. “What? What is it?”

“Edith Underwood. I just saw her coming out of Victoria’s Secret with two bags of lingerie. Right before her business trip with Rogan tomorrow.”

“Where is she? Want me to go mess her face up a little bit?”

Farren’s attention was directed back to the crazy, cynical girl in front of her. Once again, she wouldn’t have put it past Shea to make good on her over-the-top threats.

She shook her head. “No, this shouldn’t surprise me. Ugh!” she groaned. “I hate this. I’m so confused right now.”

“What are you going to do?” Shea asked, reaching to grasp Farren’s hands from across the table.

Farren thought for a moment. “I’m going to talk to Rogan. I don’t want to tell him not to go, but maybe I can just go with them.”

Shea pulled her hands back and clapped them together. “Yes! And you can leave little Mr. Harley here with me to babysit while you’re gone!” she offered.

Farren laughed. “How about you watch him for me for a few minutes while I run into GameStop to get a new game that just came out?”

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