Boss in the Bedsheets - Kate Canterbary Page 0,103

she's here. Is that correct?"

Since my brain was busy commanding my legs to carry me forward, it missed the panic switch cue from my gut to run, hide, fight, claw, kick. Whatever it took to hold on to the world where I didn't have to be small and invisible, that was what I had to do. As I rounded the corner and came face-to-face with the reason I'd pined for an organized spice rack and a life belonging to me. The reason I hadn't been asked if I liked cheese in years.

I stopped in the reception area, a shoulder's width of distance between me and Ash and an entire ocean between me and Denis. I folded my arms over my chest, clutching the files with both hands until the edges bit into my skin. Then I held them tighter, welcoming the grooves and cuts as frustration—no, anger, this was anger—drenched me like a summer storm.

"What are you doing here?" I asked Denis.

"There you are. I knew I was in the right place." Denis put on a show of clutching his chest before motioning to Ash. "Thanks for your help. If you don't mind, I could use a minute alone for a private discussion with my girlfriend."

"You're in my office. I'll stay, thanks," Ash replied.

"We have nothing to talk about," I gritted out. Ash was staring at me and hoping for some kind of explanation, I knew this, but I couldn't offer him that yet. That would come later, when I'd fixed this.

"We have everything to talk about, Rose," Denis replied. "What were you thinking, going off on your own? This isn't good for you. It's not smart." He blinked at the modern office space like it was a cold, empty shell not unlike his impression of my brain. "Did you really think you'd be able to do this? By yourself?" Not waiting for a response, he continued, "Come along. We'll go home where you belong. Where you're needed. We'll forget about all this nonsense and get back to our routine."

"I am not going anywhere with you. Not now," I said. "Not ever again."

Denis pressed his teeth into his top lip as he chose his response. "This isn't the time to let your emotions get the best of you, Rose. Call up some maturity, would you? You know I don't appreciate when my girlfriend acts like a child in front of others."

"I am not your girlfriend," I replied. "I have nothing to say to you. We're finished."

"Now that's not true and you're well aware of it," Denis said in that lofty, professorial voice he'd cultivated while I'd juggled jobs to cover our rent. "Please, Rose. Stop making a fool of yourself. I haven't the time for your juvenile games."

"Watch yourself," Ash growled.

"I know you think that's going to shut me up because it's worked all the other times you've thrown those words in my direction," I replied. "But it's not working anymore. I've given you enough of my time. You should leave."

"Yes, you should," Ash said.

Denis ran a hand over his thin, straw-colored hair as he stared at me, his lips parted and his jaw working as he searched for a sharp response. Those didn't come quickly to him. Eventually, he said, "I'm unimpressed with your behavior today but I do require a minute, Rose, as you have something of mine." He glanced at Ash. "In private. At the minimum, you owe me that much for everything I've done for you."

I didn't understand how I'd wasted years of my life on this man. How I'd ever looked at him and thought, this guy is going places and I want to go there with him. More than that, I didn't understand how I'd accepted the ever-shrinking box he'd fashioned for me without complaint.

"I owe you nothing," I said. "You shouldn't have come here. I don't even understand how you found me."

Denis held out his hands, offered a stiff shrug. "You really must learn how the world works, Rose. Airline tickets, credit cards, cell phone tower pings, email logins. Very simple to track."

I stomped my foot on the floor. "How did you find me here?"

"You really don't understand anything, do you?" he mused.

"What did you say?" Ash boomed. "No, don't repeat it. Just get the hell out of my office."

Denis eyed Ash again, this time with unshuttered suspicion. If I had to bet on it, I'd say he was trying to figure out what Ash was getting from me. There was no other