Page 32 of My Forbidden Boss

»An affair?« he repeated bitterly.

»Was it more for you? Then tell me now!« I begged. I needed to hear from him that all this hadn’t been in vain. That I hadn’t lost my brother over something that didn’t mean anything.

»You’re right, we need to stop this.« His voice was cold and distant, a chill creeping down my spine. »Take the rest of the day off.«

23

Wesley

Three days had passed since Elliot caught us. Brianna had called in sick afterward, and I was losing hope that we could rectify things.

Naturally, it was more important for her to clear things up with her brother than to stand by me. She wanted to end it? And I could do absolutely nothing about it if she decided so. This situation was new to me, and I had no clue how to react properly.

Perhaps all that which beat deep in my chest, constricting with longing, was just a temporary phase. Something I had convinced myself of because it felt so good in the moments with her. Yet for her, it was just an affair, something without meaning. Nonsense, something inside me screamed.

There was a knock at the door. »Come in,« I said, ignoring the dull hope that Brianna had returned.

Instead, Trish Hastings appeared, who had stepped in for Brianna. She came to my desk and placed a stack of papers on the table. »Your mail, Mr. Crush.«

I nodded to her, and she didn’t hesitate before darting out of my office. Perhaps it was my grim expression or the fact that I was noticeably grumpier than usual, but I didn’t care. At least I was alone again.

I leaned back in my desk chair and stared at the ceiling for a moment. It was pathetic, the sorry figure I presented, but I couldn’t deny that I missed her. Everything about her.

To distract myself, I reached for the mail and flipped through the letters. One in particular made me suspicious. My name was written in fancy script, along with the company’s address. No sender, but something about it drew me in, perhaps because it looked different from the other formal correspondences.

I reached for the letter opener and tore it open, pulling out the letter.

»Dear Mr. Crush... blah blah blah... hereby I resign from my employment with you as of...« I let the letter drop, unable to comprehend what I held in my hands. Brianna was resigning. Without an explanation, without a last word to me? Was that all I meant to her? The fact that she slinked away without the courage to look me in the eyes once more infuriated me. Even if it had indeed been a fleeting affair for her, she couldn’t deny she had felt the same storm of emotions.

My fingers clenched around the paper into a fist. Once again, I was left alone. I grabbed my phone and dialed the last number in my call history. »Mrs. Williams? Yes, this is Wesley Crush. I regret to inform you that I must cancel the apartment. I’ll likely no longer be in the city as of next week. Thank you.«

24

Brianna

Istared into the rear-view mirror of my car. Damn, I looked a wreck. My hair was frizzed into a disorderly bun on top of my head, I was without makeup, and dark circles framed my eyes because I hadn’t been able to sleep. Instead, I’d been tossing and turning, mulling over possible solutions, yet none were satisfactory. Elliot was still furious with me and refused to answer his damned phone. I had filled his entire voicemail. From our parents, I learned that he had disappeared for the past few days, only to resurface this morning. Wherever he had been, he was in bad shape, and I had to address the situation with him now. We were still a family.

And Wesley? A pang of guilt hit me as I sent off my resignation without discussing it with him beforehand. What was happening between us had been so intense and had consumed me so quickly that I had needed the past few days to reflect on everything. Yet no matter how things proceeded with us, or if there was even something like a future, I could no longer work as his assistant. I had always been proud of my job, which I enjoyed tremendously, but in Wesley’s presence, I was no longer myself.

If I wanted to find myself again, I had to change jobs urgently. Isabelle had called me when she found out Elliot had been around and I had fled and called in sick. Of course, I had to tell her everything, and she offered to look around for me because she knew someone who had started an interesting start-up and might be looking for an assistant. But first on my list was reconciling with Elliot.

I stepped out of the car and walked along the footpath towards our parents‹ house. They had left for work this morning, and the interior was immersed in complete silence. Elliot was probably sleeping off his binge, having been away for three days. Damn, I was worried and should have already discussed his current situation. Not just what had developed between Wesley and me, but how my brother was in general. Something in his life was going completely off the rails.

I crossed the house and reached the basement entrance. As I opened the door, it felt like stepping into a time machine. It smelled of stale air, and I could hear Elliot’s snores from the top. The lighting wasn’t great as I put a foot on the stairs, but I didn’t want to wake him by turning on the light. So I carefully descended, spotting the silhouette on the futon bed in the corner. His legs protruded a bit over the edge, he had once been sturdy, but since playing professional football, he had grown into a muscular giant. I realized that I may have been stuck in the past, never truly seeing my brother as an adult. Perhaps it was because he never missed a chance to show what a massive child he still was. Was there a reason he behaved this way?

»Hey,« I said, gently shaking his back, sitting on the edge of the bed. I switched on the dim bedside lamp, and he blinked against the light. As the fog of sleep cleared and he recognized me, his facial features tensed up.

»Bri?« he asked gruffly, rolling onto his back.

»It’s me, I’m not a dream,« I attempted to lighten the mood.

»More like a nightmare,« he grumbled, rubbing his face with his hand.

»Elliot, I’m sorry, truly!«

»What? That you had something with Wesley behind my back or that you lied to me about where he works? I could have imagined a lot from you, Bri, but only positive things. That you would deceive me like this...«

»I didn’t know how to tell you! You have to believe me, I never wanted to hurt you!« I pleaded.

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