Breaking up with My Boss - Alexis Winter Page 0,28
longing she causes me to feel.
“Okay, look, I’m sorry for yelling at you about your nails, but I had them done that way for a reason. We have several upcoming events, and I thought plain nails would match all of your dresses.”
“I didn’t know we had anything to go to other than your family meals.” The anger on her face begins to soften.
“I have a friend who’s opening his first art gallery, and we’ve been invited to the grand opening. There’s also a charity event my father is holding at the corporation next week. I didn’t tell you because I . . . I don’t know. I didn’t want to give you time to come up with an excuse to miss it.”
She lets out a long breath and her shoulders visibly fall. She sets down her fork and leans in toward me. “I wouldn’t try getting out of our arrangement, Matthew.”
“You already are,” I point out. “We’re supposed to be bonding and getting to know each other on a daily basis, but instead, you’re completely ignoring me.”
She nods. “You’re right. I thought that if living with me was unbearable for you that you’d get tired of it eventually and let this whole thing go.”
“Look, I know this is technically a punishment for you, but I don’t want it to feel that way. I want you to enjoy being here. So can we please drop the silent treatment and go back to how we were last week?”
Her lips form a soft, shy smile and she nods. “Yeah,” she agrees.
Eleven
Poppy
I’m thrown off guard at dinner. He really seems upset by my lack of interest in him and this game. I wanted it over, but not for the reasons he’s probably thinking. I wanted it over so I’d no longer have that embarrassing reminder of how he rejected me. I wanted it over so I’d no longer have to look temptation in the eye every single day. I wanted it over so these feelings would stop in their tracks. I just wanted everything to go back to how it was: me thinking he’s a sexy asshole. Seeing the human side of him has only made those feelings of attraction stronger. I didn’t want it over in order to have my freedom back or anything like that, although I’m sure that’s what he’s assuming.
I’ve holed myself up in my room for four long nights now, never coming out. If I needed water, I got it from the bathroom attached to my room. Anything else could wait. But with that talk out of the way, I feel like I should start coming out again. I don’t want him to think I’m still avoiding him, but I want to break the ice gently. After my shower, I decide to go to the kitchen for the chocolate cake I passed on after dinner. My hair is wet and hanging around me, soaking the back of my shirt that hangs to my knees.
I open the door and peek down the hallway, finding nothing and no sounds. I step out and walk through the living room then into the kitchen. I push through the swinging door and freeze when I’m face-to-face with him. He has the chocolate cake out of the fridge. It’s sitting on the island and he’s standing over it with a fork in hand, eating it directly off the cake stand.
He looks up at me with a grin—like he’s been caught. “Want some?”
I giggle and nod. “Yeah,” I agree, moving over to the cake on the other side of the island from him.
He opens a drawer and pulls out a fork, handing it over.
I take the fork and bend down, leaning against the island as I slide my fork through the fluffy cake. I take a bite and the sweetness overtakes me. “Mmm,” I mumble with my eyes closed. I swallow it and open my eyes, finding him watching me intently.
I feel the heat creep up my cheeks. “That’s really good cake,” I say out of embarrassment.
He lets out a silent laugh that sounds like air quickly blowing through his nostrils, but the corners of his mouth turn up slightly. “It is really good.” He takes another bite.
“You’re going to have to hit the gym twice as hard tomorrow,” I tease him.
He shrugs. “It’s worth it.”
I smile as I take another bite. He leans against the island in the same fashion I am, putting us almost nose-to-nose.