Page 43 of The Powerful Boss She Craves

So had Kate, Phil, Theo and Liyana. And, like him, they all had to live with the consequences of their actions.

Kate pulled back from him and pulled her fingertips under her eyes, collecting the few tears that had gathered there. She touched her neck, her eyes wary. ‘I’m tired of fighting, hating, feeling sad and resentful.’

He understood that more than she knew. ‘So am I, Kate.’

She swallowed and nodded. ‘I’m not sure what I’m going to do. I’m not making any promises but...do you want me to let you know if I decide to...?’

He understood her reluctance to spell it out. It was too big for words. ‘Yes, please.’

Kate nodded once, abruptly, and swiftly walked over to the couch, where she picked up her bag and pulled it over her shoulder. She gestured to the door. ‘I’m going to go now.’

Staying where he was, Micah nodded. She had his entire sympathy—he couldn’t imagine having to make such a hard decision on his own, and his heart bled for her. He felt exhausted and emotional but also relieved; progress had been made today.

He jammed his hands into the pockets of his suit. ‘Kate?’

She turned to look at him. ‘If you ever need to talk again, to talk to someone who loved her and knew her, you can always talk to me. I was young and stupid, but I loved her.’

Her smile was small but there. ‘Thank you, Micah.’

She walked out of his office and closed the door behind her. Micah, feeling battered, slid down the glass wall to sit on the carpet, his back to the window. He dropped his head and closed his eyes, fighting tears. Losing Brianna had hurt—it still hurt—but he didn’t love her a fraction as much as he loved Ella.

How would he cope if he lost her? He wouldn’t. He’d crawl into himself, shrivel up and die. Not to be dramatic, but he didn’t want to live in a world that didn’t have Ella in it.

What if something happened to her? What if he lost her, what if she left him? What if he was reading their relationship wrong and she still intended to get onto that London-bound plane next week?

What the hell had he been thinking, allowing her to get so close, to slide into his heart?

And why did he think that things were different with her, that he could have a normal life, that he even deserved to be happy? Kate was thinking about letting her child die and he’d been consumed by thoughts of Ella—occasionally even allowing himself to think about having her as his wife, living with her at Hadleigh House, being a husband and a father.

What the hell was wrong with him?

Micah didn’t make his meeting with the Swedish businesswoman. Or any other meeting that day.

It was much later that evening when Ella stepped out of the lift on the top floor of Le Roux International and looked around the empty reception area, wondering where the twins’ second-shift PA was—they worked insane hours and needed after-hours help. She looked at the opaque glass walls of Micah’s office, frustrated that she couldn’t see inside. She didn’t want to barge in on Micah if he was in a meeting, but she’d just come from seeing Dobson and she wanted to share her news.

Pulling her phone out of her bag, she banged out a quick message to Micah, asking what he was doing. His reply was brief.

At my desk, working.

Great, it sounded as if he was alone. Walking across the spacious area, she knocked on his office door and pushed her way in. Micah sat behind his desk, his head in his hands and his shoulders hunched. He jerked up abruptly but his face was sheet-white and his eyes red with fatigue...

It had to be fatigue because he couldn’t possibly have been crying, could he? ‘What are you doing here?’ he demanded. His happy-to-see-you smile was absent.

She dropped her bag onto the seat of the closest chair. ‘I need to run something by you. Are you okay?’

Every hint of emotion drained from his eyes and face as he sat back and, very deliberately, placed his ankle on his knee. He looked past her to his door. ‘Since when do you barge into my private office without my permission?’

Ella glanced back at the door, winced and shrugged. ‘Your PA wasn’t at her desk.’ She pushed away her embarrassment at being scolded like a junior employee. She had more important things to discuss right now.

‘Sorry, I know you have a lot on your plate, but I need to talk to you.’

‘Could it not wait until I had time to talk toyou?’

Wow, he was in a snit. She’d never seen him so cold, so irritated. Well, he’d soon get over it when she told him her news.

She’d start with the good news first. ‘I think it’s a go for Cathcart House.’

His expression didn’t change. ‘What are you talking about, Ella?’

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