Page 65 of Grumpy Boss in Love

ELLIOT

For the first time in a long time, I felt… not lonely. The night seemed to be surreal because in what reality did Elliot Westwood completely relax in the presence of anyone? And in her apartment no less.

After the most erotic shower I’d ever had, Ruby introduced me to her insane diet of sugar and massive amounts of calories. We had pastries, chips, and ice cream. When I lectured her about eating healthier, she told me to pipe down because her apartment was a non-uptight zone.

Then she handed me a can of something to drink that hadreal fruit juiceon the list of difficult to pronounce ingredients and asked if I was happy. I laughed and did as she said. I shut up and enjoyed the wonderful chaos that was Ruby Bennet. She made me watch a Telenovela for Christ's sake. No wonder why she was such a drama queen. We retired to her bedroom after our fill of junk food and television drama.

“Will you tell me what happened tonight that had you so upset?”

The question gave me pause. My eyes darted to Ruby. She was on her side, her head propped up on one hand. She watched me closely as if gauging my reaction. Already, the discomfort that usually came from sharing too much about myself rose. I was quiet for so long that Ruby misinterpreted my silence.

Her face flushed, and her eyelashes lowered. “I’m sorry. I was just worried because I’ve never seen you so sad. It’s none of my business, anyway. I don’t want you to give me an updated NDA tomorrow.” She laughed, but I heard the echo of hurt in her voice and saw her embarrassment.

“It’s not that I don’t want to share…” I struggled to put her at ease because she didn’t deserve to have her feelings hurt just for caring. “It’s hard for me. I’m not accustomed to it.”

Her gaze met mine. “I get it. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.” She then gave me one of her sweet smiles as she leaned in and kissed my cheek. “Good night, Elliot. This was the best slumber party I’ve ever had.”

My lips twitched with amusement at her labeling this a slumber party. As she shuffled under the covers to get comfortable, I blurted, “I had dinner with my stepmother.”

She paused to look at me. “How was it?”

I swallowed. “Eye-opening.”

Her eyebrows furrowed.

Releasing a long sigh, I sat up and leaned back on the headboard. Ruby followed, getting up to position herself on her knees so that she faced me. She looked so worried, so interested in me. Other than my cousin, I didn’t get many people who had a genuine concern about or interest in my life. Everyone focused on my last name and my bank account. Surely, I could lower another layer of my guard and talk to Ruby.

“Jane invited me over. It turned out to be a dinner ambush.” Ruby canted her head in question, and I explained, “She knew I would have avoided the visit if I knew I had to sit through an entire meal with her.”

Ruby let out a laugh. “It seems your stepmother knows you well.”

“She does… surprisingly.”

“Is Jane… not nice to you?” she asked hesitantly.

“On the contrary, she’s always been wonderful to me, all things considered. She had every right to hate me and to mistreat me even. I’m the product of her husband’s affair. One of them anyway.”

I watched Ruby intently, waiting for her to start badgering me about the juicy decades-old Westwood scandal. That’s what everyone else did when they ran across the old news.

However, Ruby’s expression simply softened, and she reached over to do that thing with her thumb—smoothed over the skin between my eyebrows. I had grown to like the gesture. “That doesn’t make you any less awesome.”

I smiled slightly. “Miss Popular thinks I’m awesome. I really must be.”

She rolled her eyes, and I chuckled. After that, I relaxed enough to share everything. “I would have understood if she took on the evil stepmother persona, but she never did. She ensured that I was as well taken care of as Ryan. She was just standoffish for most of my life. As a child, it hurt my feelings when she didn’t give me hugs and kisses like she did my brother. I was too young to understand why she avoided me, but I did when I got older, so I tried to stay out of her way.”

Ruby shuffled closer to lay a comforting hand on my thigh. “What happened at dinner with Jane?”

Wiping a hand over my face, I recounted everything Jane told me. I shared how destroyed I was to discover that my mother traded me in for a check. “I get that she struggled financially to care for me, but I think she should have fought harder to stay in my life. Another person who didn’t choose me…”

Ruby’s eyes shone with sympathy. “What do you mean?”

I shrugged. “I was never accepted by my father, Jane always loved Ryan more than me... naturally. I was the second choice to take over the family’s business, even though I was more qualified and ready for it than my brother who wasn’t interested in business. I’ve always felt like an afterthought in my family.”

“Oh, no. That’s an awful thing for a child to carry,” Ruby said.

“Yes, now you see why I’m the cold bastard everyone accuses me of being.”

“What? No one…”

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