Page 55 of My Boss's Sons

“Soph? What happened?” The growing pit in my stomach needed to know that she was okay.

She lifted her head and her red-rimmed eyes looked greener than ever. “I hate him. I fucking hate him, Ethan. I’ve never felt so disgusted and…scared. I don’t want to go back there. I don’t want to be here at all. I just-”

My shocked face registered to her and she cut herself off. I shook my head and cleared my throat. “What happened?”

She looked away and tried to climb out of my lap. “Nothing. I’m just having a weird day. I’m… I’m sorry.”

I held her where she was. “Who do you hate, Sophia?”

She wiped her eyes as more tears leaked out but she looked anywhere but at me. Her voice cracked when she spoke. “The guy with your dad.”

Something in the back of my mind said she was lying but I didn’t understand why she’d lie to me about it. Or, if I did, I didn’t want to think about it. “What about him?”

She pushed at my chest until I let her move off of me and as I watched, she started methodically picking up the folders she’d thrown around. Judging by the state of them, I had to wonder how many times she’d done the same thing before. “He was just a pig. Forget it.”

“No. I’m not going to forget it. Tell me what happened. I’ve never seen you like this, Sophia.”

“You’ve only known me for a little over a week, Ethan. Maybe I’m always like this. Maybe I’m just a messy person who throws tantrums a lot.” She froze and her shoulders sank. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be rude to you. I’m just… Shit like this happens sometimes in this world and there’s not always a way to fix it.”

I sat up. “Explain, Sophia.”

“That guy was just a pig. He talked to my chest and rubbed my shoulders. It was just creepy and I didn’t like it. It’s infuriating to know I’m smart and talented and then be treated like a pair of tits for someone to ogle. Sometimes, I can handle it. And thenthere are days like today. I just couldn’t sit there for a minute more.”

Fury burned its way up from my stomach and filled me until all I could think about was breaking that guy’s jaw. “Why didn’t my dad do anything to stop him?”

Sophia looked away too quickly. Her lip wobbled again but she fought back more tears. “Maybe he didn’t notice.”

“I’m sorry, Soph. Men like that are disgusting. I’ll take care of it. You’ll never have to see him again.” I thought I was helping but her eyes went wide and she shook her head so hard her hair flew everywhere.

“No! No. Just…leave it alone, please. I have to deal with it myself.” She saw me start to argue and held up her hands. “I’m eleven years older than you, Ethan. Do you know how fucked up it is that I’m having you take care of me? Not to mention that I’m supposed to be training you. This is wrong on so many levels. I won’t let you get involved.”

“You won’tletme get involved?” I frowned. “Sophia, there are eleven years between us but not the ones that would make it acceptable for you to act like I’m a child who can’t help.”

She sank even lower. “No, I didn’t mean it like that. I just mean… I don’t want anyone else involved. I’ve been trying to get a promotion for three years. If I ever want to move up, I can’t be seen as a complainer. It doesn’t matter how valid the complaints are. I have to be better than everyone and also appear manageable. If you talk to anyone for me, it’ll hurt my chances in the future.”

My stomach felt like there were rocks inside it. “Sophia… That’s fucked up.”

She went back to picking up folders. “Yeah, it is. But I’m not going to change it from my current position, so I just have to deal with it for now.”

I didn’t mention anything but I fully planned on talking to Dad. I knew how she felt, but she didn’t know Dad like I did. He wouldn’t let her be treated that way. He’d step in.

“Promise me, Ethan.”

I cleared my throat and nodded. “I promise.”

I didn’t like lying to her, but I had to do something. I couldn’t let her go on feeling the way she was. She looked so defeated and overwhelmed. I had to try to do something.

“I’m sorry you saw all of this. This is the place I come when I’m overwhelmed. I like to destroy this place and then put it back together before leaving. It’s therapeutic.” Sophia looked up at me through her lashes and smiled timidly. “Do you think I’ve lost it?”

I pulled her into my lap again and shook my head. “Not at all. It looked kind of nice actually.”

Her eyes brightened and she almost looked like her normal self. “Should we…do it together?”

“It?” I blushed when she laughed and I realized what she’d meant. “Shit. Sorry. I didn’t mean-”

She gently kissed me and rolled her eyes. “Come on. Make a mess with me.”

45

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