Page 104 of Bossman

Tears were starting to build, and I felt the burn of salt down my nasal passages as I swallowed them back down. I needed to get out of there.

“Go screw yourself.” His office door slammed back against the wall in my wake.

***

Packing up an office I’d settled in to less than two months ago wasn’t hard. All of my personal belongings fit in my purse. I made my rounds, saying goodbye to the people I’d become friends with. I’d told everyone another opportunity had come along that I couldn’t pass up. Josh had asked questions, and I’d told him I was going to start my own business with someone I used to work with. It was easier to explain than why I was leaving with no job lined up.

I’d almost made it to the lobby door when Sam caught me. “Reese? You have a minute?”

“Ummm…sure.”

She motioned for me to step into a conference room and shut the door behind us. “I have a lot of connections. If there’s anything I can do to help you find something new...”

I hadn’t told her anything different than I’d told everyone else. Yet she seemed to know I wasn’t leaving to start my own business. I assumed Chase had said something to her.

“Thank you.”

She hesitated, then looked me in the eye. “He cares about you. I know he does.”

“He has a funny way of showing it.”

“I know. He’s just hurting right now.”

“Why?”

Sam looked sad. “It’s not my place to share. But I thought it was important to let you know. Being with you was the first time I’ve seen him happy in years. I had hope.”

So did I.

“You’re a good friend to him,” I said. “I know that. And I’m glad he has you if he’s hurting. But if he can’t even share why he’s hurting with me, I can’t stick around.”

Sam nodded, understanding. She pulled me in for a hug. “I mean it. If you need anything at all, you have my number.”

“Thanks, Sam.” I swallowed. “Take good care of Chase.”

Chapter 34

REESE

I finally had a hot date.

At least I thought my brother was handsome. After a week of self-pity for all of my stupid man mistakes, I decided to take the one man I trusted with my love up on his dinner invitation.

We ate in the Village and rode the subway back to my stop. Even though I told him it was completely unnecessary to see me home, he always insisted.

When we came up the stairs from the subway, my phone buzzed in my purse. There were five missed calls, all from an out-of-state number I didn’t recognize. Figuring it was a spammy sales solicitation, I ignored it. Until it rang again as we turned the corner onto my block.

My heart began to race as soon as the caller said he was from my security company, and my alarm had been tripped. It was then I noticed a police car parked outside of my building. The alarm company put me on hold and checked in with the police, who said they were upstairs, and it was safe to come up.

Two uniformed officers were talking to my neighbor in the hallway when I stepped out of the elevator.

They turned toward me. “Ms. Annesley?”

“Yes.”

“I’m Officer Caruso, and this is Officer Henner. We responded at your alarm company’s request since we weren’t able to reach you to determine whether things were okay.”

“What happened?”