Like a Boss - Annabelle Costa Page 0,78

I can’t take him back. Especially now that I’m pregnant with his child. Because if we get together now, we’re going to stay together. And I don’t want that.

I do wonder what Luke will be like as a CEO now that his father is dead. Everything he did was an attempt to impress his father, even though nothing worked. Maybe he’ll be a kinder boss now.

But no, that’s naïve. Luke is who he is. This won’t change him.

Thomas Thayer’s funeral is a huge event. It’s held at a large funeral home out in Weston, and the room is packed with family members, friends, colleagues, and some people I suspect are reporters. It’s an open casket, but I have zero desire to see Mr. Thayer’s dead body, so I steer clear of that. I see Luke in the front, talking to some important-looking people, looking devastatingly handsome in a black suit.

I push my way through the crowd to get to him. At first, I’m worried I’m going to have to wait in line to talk to him, but when he sees me, he excuses himself from the crowd and wheels straight over to me.

“Ellie.” Luke has purple circles under his eyes. “Thanks for coming.”

“Of course,” I say. “How are you doing? Are you okay?”

He nods. “Yeah, I am. Much better. Look, um, there’s something I need to talk to you about…”

“Oh?” I ask. Could he know about the pregnancy? He has a lot of connections so it does seem possible he could have somehow discovered it…

“It’s really important,” he says. “Can you meet me after the service?”

“What is it about?”

“You’ll see,” he says, and he sounds so mysterious that it’s almost like he’s the one who’s going to tell me that he’s pregnant.

A crowd of people is waiting patiently to talk to Luke, so I wander away to find myself a seat. I reach into my purse and pull out a package of soda crackers. Maybe it’s psychological or something, but lately, I haven’t been able to get through the morning without eating something. I used to be the kind of person who never ate breakfast, but lately, I feel queasy if I go till lunchtime without food. I guess breakfast really is the most important meal of the day.

Just as I’m settling into my seat, I hear a voice above my head saying, “Ellie.” I look up and it’s Sophie Thayer, Luke’s mother.

“Oh, hi,” I say awkwardly. It’s strange talking to the mother of the guy you recently broke up with.

Sophie slides into the seat next to mine. Even though her eyes are red-rimmed and puffy, she still looks very beautiful. She looks more beautiful at her age (fifty-five? sixty? I can’t tell) than I look at thirty-four or ever have or ever will. God, no wonder Luke is so hot.

“I just wanted to tell you,” she says, “Luke misses you tremendously.”

“Oh,” I murmur.

“He called me the night you broke up,” she says. “I’ve never heard him so upset in his entire life, even when he was first injured. He’s dated a lot of women in the past, but nobody I’ve ever heard him talk this way about. He loves you so much, Ellie.”

I look down at my crackers, unsure what to say.

“I know what he did to your company,” she goes on. “And I don’t blame you for being angry at him—I would be too. He made a huge mistake. But I can tell you, I know Luke better than anyone else in the world and he’s a sweet boy. Tom was the ruthless businessman, and Luke was trying to be more like him to impress his father, but deep down, he’s a good person. He always was.”

I look away. “I… I don’t know what to say.”

Sophie looks down at the crackers in my hand. “Soda crackers,” she notes. “I haven’t had those since I was pregnant with Luke.”

I stare at her in alarm, but she doesn’t say anything else. But she also doesn’t move. I would have assumed she’d want to sit up front with her close family members, but it seems like she wants to stay next to me.

I can’t help but wonder what she’d be like as a grandmother.

The service starts with a lengthy eulogy of Thomas Thayer. The clergyman catalogs Mr. Thayer’s life, talks about how he built up Thayer Industries, the charity work he did, and of course, his love for his wife and only son, Luke.

Sophie is crying quietly, dabbing her eyes with