Page 64 of Broken Boss Daddy

I listened as my dad went on about my lack of decision. I wondered when he was going to give up trying to run my life and figured that he most likely wouldn’t. He probably didn’t even realize that he was doing it in the first place.

“I spoke to Jessica about this—”

“What?” I sat up straighter, focusing all my attention on him. “What did you speak to Jess about?”

“About the job.”

I had half the mind to yell at him. “Why would you do that, Dad?”

“Because she needed to know exactly what this move would mean for you.”

Suddenly, everything made a lot more sense. I understood why Jess told me to take the job and walked away. It was because of him.

Anger didn’t describe what cursed through me. How could he think that getting involved in my affairs was a good idea? My career was one thing, but my family was something completely different.

“My life is bigger, more important, than my career,” I said through clenched teeth.

My father tried to say something, but I told him I had to go and promptly hung up on him. Breathing heavily, I knew I was going to miss my shift at the hospital. I couldn't go in feeling like this.

Grabbing my keys, I stormed out of my apartment. There was only one place I needed to be, and it wasn’t there.

Chapter 27: Jessica

The bed sank as I sat down, giving way to the weight of my body. Reaching across my bedside table, I picked up the small item that had been sitting there for weeks.

The object was no bigger than my pinky, but it held a great deal of sentiment. The figurine was the small teacup fromBeauty and the BeastGrant found in some random antique store during one of our spontaneous road trips we took with Abby—back when things seemed a lot simpler.

It warmed my heart, for he unknowingly got me something that I wasobsessedwith when I was a little girl.

For one entire summer during my childhood, I would watch nothing else except that specific movie.

He had gotten our daughter something small as well. Abby’s face lit up at the gift, and I swore there wasn’t a day that went by without her talking about it in some shape or form.

It was the first time I actually thought of us as a family.

Abby burst through the open doorway of my bedroom, stealing my attention away from the teacup. Putting the gift back in its place, I tried to put all my attention on my daughter and not focus on what could have been.

“Mommy,” Abby whined. “Is Grant coming today?”

She had been asking for him a lot more lately. I would be pleased, if I knew I wouldn’t have to break her heart soon.

“Do you want to see him?” I asked, although I already knew the answer.

“Please, Mommy.”

Looking at a pouting Abby, I was reminded of just how alike father and daughter really were—more than ever. I would even go as far as saying that Abby was more like Grant than me, and that thought brought on a whole new onslaught of emotions.

The time had come to let her know that her “best friend” might not be around much longer.

With a fake smile, I picked her up and sat her on the bed next to me. Abby cuddled into my arm, playing with the fraying strands of my ripped jeans. “Baby, Mommy needs to tell you something.”

I shifted us so that I looked her straight in the eyes. “Grant might go away for a while.”

“For a long time?”

“Maybe.”

“But I don’t want him to go for a long time,” she whispered.

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