I went back to transcribing notes I’d taken from an earlier meeting. The whole time, my mind kept drifting back to something Travis had said …
If you two divorce, there’s no way you’ll keep working here, is there? No. That means you’ll be out of a job.
Stupid as it made me, I hadn’t even thought about that. But he was right. There was no way I could continue to work here afterward. Not only because it would look weird to others if I did, but because I didn’t think we could go back to being simply “boss” and “PA.”
Our dynamics had sort of shifted slightly. The marriage might be a sham, but we’d kissed, touched, shared secrets, and even lived together. He wasn’t my husband, no, but he also wasn’t simply my boss. I didn’t think I could go back to booking dinner reservations for him and his lady friends.
I’d always felt a twinge of jealousy whenever I’d thought of him with other women. But I’d been able to box that away and keep professional walls erected between us. Those walls weren’t so steady anymore. And it would be hard to move on because my simple crush no longer felt like a simple crush. It had grown. Shifted. Lost its harmless air.
Plus, how the hell was I supposed to explain to any potential boyfriends that I still worked for my ex-husband? They’d consider that a red flag for sure.
Putting it all out of my mind for now, I went back to work. The rest of the day passed rather quickly. We were soon sitting in the car on our way back to his estate. Dane’s black mood hadn’t whatsoever improved, and the atmosphere was so thick it was palpable.
He didn’t speak a word. Nor did he work on his phone. He just stared out of the window, his expression as hard as stone.
I gave him the space and silence he seemed to need, knowing better than to try to appease him. He’d harshly rebuff those attempts for certain, and then I’d have to flip him off again.
No sooner had the car pulled up in the courtyard than Dane was slipping out of it. Without a word of goodbye to Sam, he prowled up the path and disappeared into the house.
Skirting the hood of the car, I smiled at the driver. “I’ll, um, see you tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow, Mrs. Davenport,” said Sam, giving me a pitying look. He probably thought that me and Dane had had some kind of lover’s quarrel.
A little stiff around my neck and shoulders, I decided to go take a bath before I ate dinner. Soaking in the hot water did wonders for my aching muscles, so I was feeling a lot more relaxed when, clad in my pjs, I later went down to the kitchen.
I was rooting through the cupboards, looking for inspiration as to what to have for dinner, when Dane came striding into the room, seeming no less moody.
“I’m making beef stir fry,” I told him. “Want some?”
“Sure,” he clipped, not even sparing me a glance.
I blinked, surprised. He rarely ate dinner with me these days, so I’d expected him to say no.
As I began to line what ingredients I needed on the countertop, I snuck a quick glance at Dane. He was staring hard at the island, his gaze inward.
I badly wanted to ask what was bugging him so much, but I’d already tried that. He wasn’t going to answer. So I just idly talked while I prepped our meal, not once saying anything that required a response. I half-expected him to tell me to shut up or something, but he didn’t. He was probably blocking me out.
I continued to talk a little as we ate at the island, and then again when we stacked our dirty plates in the dishwasher, still not expecting a response from him. I often did the same when my dad’s mind was elsewhere. Like Dane, he tended to ignore me, but Simon usually relaxed eventually.
Closing the dishwasher, Dane sighed. “Why do you keep telling me how good Ryan’s PA is? You’ve circled back to her three times.”
I was secretly pleased he’d finally spoken, even if he was being snippy. “I was hoping to get an idea of what your personal feelings about Patience are.”
He shrugged. “She’s good at her job.”
“Excellent.”
“Why is it excellent?”
“Because I was thinking she’d be a good replacement for me when I leave o-Verve.”
Dane went very still. “Replacement?”
“Well obviously I can’t keep working there after the