Page 52 of Forbidden Bond

Oh, I didn’t realize I failed to inform them. Truth is, the past week, the mere thought of her felt like needles stabbing my chest. It hurt, and I hate that it hurt so I tried not to think about her at all.

“I didn’t fire her. She left,” I say tiredly.

“What do you mean, left?” Cara questions through narrowed eyes.

I shrug, “She quit, gave up, resigned—it’s all the same thing, Cara. The point is she’s gone.”

“You could have told us. Instead of keeping quiet and making me question her absence all on my own, you could have told us she quit.”

“She didn’t give me an official resignation letter, so I didn’t think there was a need for an official announcement.”

“Don’t play that with me right now, Topher,” she says angrily. “I brought her here. I was the one that told her she could work here and then she just disappears.”

“You know you could just pick up your phone and text her instead of bothering me, right?” I question, frowning.

“I tried but she’s not replying to my texts. Something happened. And you need to tell me what.”

I sigh. “I really don’t feel like dealing with this right now, Cara. Later, okay?”

“Why? Because of that dumb magazine that had a picture of you two last week? Did you or did you not know her last name was Malone before hiring her to work here?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I mean, it’s kind of annoying that you’re trying to turn your back on her now because of some bullshit rivalry your families have.”

Something icy climbs up my chest. She doesn’t know the full story, which is why she’s throwing accusations like this, but it’s really starting to piss me off. My eyes latch onto her green ones.

“I didn’t fire Katherine and I never told her to stop coming here. We may have had a falling out,” I say—understatement, “but if she’s not coming to work, that’s her decision. I don’t really have any use for an employee that ditches her work without so much as a heads up, anyway.”

It’s cowardly and I hate it. I don’t want to see her, and at the same time, I want to make sure she’s okay. But whatever’s going on isn’t on me. She made a choice and she fucked up. I’m literally collateral damage.

Cara looks like she has something else to say but Ellis steps forward and places his hand on her shoulder.

“Hey, Car, you’d better check on that Buick again. There’s some fluid leaking out of it.”

He gives her a stern look. After a few seconds, she lets out a soft groan and walks away. His brown eyes meet mine.

“I’m not going to tell you how to run this place, boss, but Katie provided some much-needed extra help around here. Things were running smoothly for once.”

My hand goes up to my hair and I pull softly in frustration. “I know. I’ll figure it out.”

“Alright.” He moves closer and places a hand on my shoulder, his expression kind and warm. “Take care of yourself, Toph. You look like shit.”

I arch an eyebrow. “What do you mean? I look impeccable as always, I’m sure,” I say, my mouth curling up into a smile that feels entirely forced.

Ellis doesn’t smile back. “Just take care of yourself.”

That night as I’m leaving, I get a text from Katherine. Three words.

Katherine: Can we talk?

For some reason, that makes me chuckle. The text feels like she’s trying to sweep everything that happened between us under the rug, which is totally on brand for her. But I’m not about to give her an out like that. I’m tired of the back and forth between us. Christian was right, the last thing I should be doing right now is getting involved with her. Not now with everything that’s going on with my family. I barely hesitate before texting her back.

Me: Not interested, Katherine.

The worst part is, as soon as I send the text, a part of me wants to take the words back. Which is when I realize just how much I’ve started to care.

CHAPTER 17

---