Page 91 of Boss Level

“What is this? Where are all your books?” Roger’s voice cut through the somber-sweet mood.

I stood and turned to find him standing in the doorway. “It’s what it looks like. I’m cleaning out the bulk of my things.”

“Why?” Roger’s laugh was tight.

I stared at him for a moment. Was he joking? “Because we agreed it was best for both of us if I moved on. Away from the firm. I wasn’t planning on sneaking out in the middle of the weekend, but I do want to get a start on moving my stuff.”

“That wasn’t… We weren’t… That was a disagreement. It happens,” Roger said.

What? “This wasn’t a lovers’ quarrel. You and I have a different opinion about how this firm should be run, and I’m moving on.”

Xander straightened up and turned to stand by me. I loved knowing he had my back.

Roger raised his brows. “There’s always compromise in business. We refine contracts for a living, you know that better than anyone.”

“Yes, there are times when compromise is appropriate, for me, this isn’t one of them. If you’re going to work with Dale Monson, I’m not going to work with you.” I didn’t want to have the exact argument we’d already had, but if Roger needed to hear it again…

“Speaking of Dale,” Roger said. “I just got off the phone with him as I was driving in.”

Why did every alarm in my brain just go off? “Okay.”

“He wanted to let me know he’d found his wife, and he was heading over to pick her up.”

Fuck.

Xander was sprinting toward the exit, and I was right on his heels. Maybe nothing was wrong. Maybe it would be fine.

I wasn’t willing to take that chance.

I slammed the tailgate shut on my SUV, as Xander slid into the driver’s seat. I was barely inside before he was pulling out of the parking lot.

“Call her,” he said.

I’d already dialed, but her phone rang again and again before it went to voicemail.

We were overreacting, and this was fine.

My gut said otherwise. Why did we have to be downtown, the weekend before Christmas, when we needed to be there, at her place?

I dialed again. “Dale knows where to find Claire. Call me back the minute you get this,” I said, then hung up and sent the same thing in a text.

Please let us be overreacting.

32

judith

The sound of someone hammering on my door made me frown. When the noise got louder, and Dale’s shouted, “I know you’re in there,” reached Claire and me, the air all rushed from my lungs.

I knew how this went. I’d seen my mother go through it, and in this moment, my memories were as fresh as if it happened yesterday. “How did he know…?” I was asking myself more than Claire.

“I swear, I only told my mom.” Her voice was tiny. Terrified. “And she promised just between us. Oh my gosh, I didn’t… what do we do?”

Two things we wouldn’t do were cower or cave. “Do you want to go home with him?”

Claire’s hesitation was another reason for my heart to drop. “No,” she said. “I really don’t.”

“Okay.” That was enough for me. “Call 911. Tell them you’re separated from him and you don’t want him here. Stay out of sight.”

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