Page 63 of Boss of Her

Simone knew the place. Every gay and bisexual woman in Los Angeles did. And while the small venue wasn’t officially a gay bar, it was a popular spot for women to meet and catch up. Or to hook up.

And that was where Jade was going.

Footsteps approached Simone’s office. She straightened up just as Jade stepped through the door.

Simone held up the box of pens. “I took these from your desk. Get some more next time you’re in the supply room.” She returned to her desk, taking a seat behind it. “And bring that to me.”

Jade set the rolled-up floor plans on Simone’s desk. “Is there anything else you need?”

Simone shook her head. “Go. Enjoy your evening.”

Jade returned to her desk and shut her laptop, packing it into her bag along with the rest of her things. She was almost out the door when she turned around and hurried back to Simone’s desk, planting a rushed kiss on her cheek as she mumbled a goodbye.

Simone watched her leave. There was an anxiousness in her movements, her voice. An evasiveness, even.

It was the kind of evasiveness Simone was uncomfortably familiar with. She’d been hyper-attuned to it ever since she was a little girl dealing with her parents' fraught relationship, her father’s cheating ways. She’d spotted it in negotiations and business deals, seeing through her competitors’ lies. She could tell when someone was hiding something.

And Jade? She was hiding something.

Simone crossed her arms. Jade had no obligation to share what was going on in her personal life. But over the past months, they’d grown closer. They’d shared their darkest desires, their dreams. There was a bond between them, unspoken but strong.

And Simone longed to speak the words that would make that bond real. But that went against everything she’d ever learned, everything she’d experienced. Her parents’ endless fights, their shouts echoing through the house as she cowered under her covers. Her father’s secrets and lies, the way he’d make her keep his affairs secret from her mother, until finally, the truth came out, breaking their family apart.

Her mother, telling her that she could never,evertrust anyone. That love was a lie, that relationships only ever ended in heartbreak and betrayal.

Why would things with Jade be any different? Why should Simone trust her? Jade had never given her a reason not to.

At least, until now.

7 p.m. The Fox.It was already quarter to 7, and the bar was a 15-minute drive away.

Simone stood up. She knew what she needed to do.

Simone arrived at the bar with a few minutes to spare, slipping through the doors at the heels of a group of women. While it was still early in the night, the small bar was already packed.

She edged around the crowd, finding a corner where she could see the entire room. It only took her a few seconds to find Jade. She sat alone at the bar, a drink before her, barely touched. She didn’t look around, didn’t glance at the door as if waiting for someone. She simply stared down into her glass.

Simone waited. And the longer she waited, the louder the voices warring in her mind became.

Coming here was a mistake.

I need to know what she’s doing here.

Spying on her like this is wrong.

I need to know if I can trust her.

But all Simone’s thoughts fell silent when she spotted a woman approaching Jade at the bar.

Simone studied her through narrowed eyes. She was on the shorter side, with reddish brown hair and pale skin. A stranger? A friend?

Something else?

Simone waited. Jade had her back to the woman, so she didn’t notice her. Not until the woman was standing right next to her.

Jade turned and spoke a single word. A greeting? The woman’s name? Simone was too far away to hear, but she could see them clearly.

She watched as Jade gazed into the woman’s eyes, hypnotized.

---