The Wrong Boss: Chapter 25

“And look!” Evie cried, holding up a math worksheet. “I got everything right on my addition tables and Ms. Emily gave me a sticker with a dog on it.”

“You got every question right?”

“Uh-huh,” Evie replied, beaming as she nodded vigorously. “Hailey said we should get ice cream to celebrate.”

“I wish I could celebrate with you.” I forced a smile to hide the pinch in my heart. I hated being away from my daughter, even though I knew this retreat was a great opportunity. (Opportunity for what? The bitter part of my mind scoffed. To make a good impression before I blew it all up? To be a star employee right before my big lie came to light?)

“We’ll celebrate when you’re back, Mom.”

“We sure will.”

“And then I can get more ice cream.” Her devilish smile flashed, and I saw her father in her features. He’d given me that exact smile when he’d told me to keep gloating about my victory at golf today.

Startled, I just blinked and forced myself to arch a brow. “You ready to practice? I found some good words today.” Since our nightly spelling practice had begun, I’d made a point of spending ten minutes searching for tricky words. Evie consistently impressed me with her spelling prowess; I was starting to think she actually had a chance at winning the spelling bee.

My daughter settled into her chair and told me she was ready. She correctly spelled “trunk” and “peanut,” but got tripped up by “gummy” by forgetting the second “m.”

Once we finished the list, Evie let out a sigh. “How many more sleeps until you’re back?”

“Just four more sleeps, honey.”

“Four?!”

“It’s not so many,” I told her, even though it felt like an eternity. “I’ll be back on Sunday night, and then we’ll have all week to prepare for the spelling bee. I’ll be back before you know it.”

“I guess,” Evie grumbled. She looked up, and the camera shuffled as Hailey came into the frame, cute baby belly visible first before the rest of her appeared as she lowered herself into a chair.

“I hear you owe Evie some ice cream,” I said.

Hailey curled her arm around my daughter and hugged her close. “Anyone who gets a hundred percent on their math homework deserves a treat.”

“And then we can get more when Mom gets back,” Evie added.

Laughing, I felt the warm glow of my love for my daughter. I tried not to think about what would happen after the spelling bee. Tried not to wonder how things would change once she found out about Cole—and once he found out about her. Hailey and I chatted for a few minutes, my daughter piped up a few times to add color to their story about walking back from school and having to catch a runaway dog, and then the two of them signed off.

My room was quiet and still in the aftermath of all that life and vibrance, and I indulged in a few minutes of sadness at not being where I truly wanted to be.

But—bigger picture. I was the adult, and it was my responsibility to provide for my daughter.

To that end, I opened up my files on the week’s catering and started making phone calls. Besides the food, Kaia had put me in charge of wrangling all the executives and their families for a few group activities, so I went over the itinerary for the week and cross-checked it against each person’s schedule.

It was tedious, detail-oriented work, but I didn’t mind. I was good at it. By the time I came up for air, the sun was slanting low over the horizon and my stomach was grumbling. I stretched out my back and got up, deciding it was time to go hunt for some food of my own.

I’d showered and changed after my afternoon of golf and now wore an A-line dress that hit me just below the knees. It wasn’t office wear, but it covered enough that I didn’t look like I was on vacation, either. The fabric was a pale blue that brought out the color of my eyes, and the bodice was structured in a way that highlighted my waist without being too tight. Wide straps and a square neckline framed my face, and as I fluffed my hair in the mirror, I decided it was presentable enough for a work retreat dinner that I’d probably eat by myself in the corner of the resort dining room.

The resort was arranged in a big U-shape, with the dining area in the center of the building. Kaia had explained that the family had residences on the far side of the U, closest to the golf course, and the employees were normally housed at the other end. The decor was all creams and blues, with big windows on the ocean-facing side of the building allowing glimpses of the beach and the water beyond.

I was greeted by a young man in a resort uniform by name. He walked me to a table in the corner of the dining room and handed me a menu. I ordered a simple chicken and veggie dish and decided on a glass of white wine because I was missing my daughter and feeling particularly tender as I sat alone, inhaling sea-scented air and wishing there wasn’t an axe hanging over my neck in the form of a secret that had to come out.

My meal arrived without too much delay, when I was about halfway through my glass of Semillon. I tucked in, shoulders relaxing as the simple yet delicious food hit my tongue.

I felt him before I saw him.

Glancing up from my plate, I watched my boss pull a chair out at a table on the other side of the room. His father was across from him, the older man stretching his arm out onto the chair beside him in a casual power pose. Cole’s eyes lingered on mine from across the space for the length of a breath, then two. Finally, unable to take any more, I picked up my glass of wine and broke the eye contact.

This had to stop.

Talking to my daughter had done more to remind me of what was at stake than running into my boss’s fiancée. Yes, he was attractive. Yes, our evening together was burned into my memory. Yes, he was the only man who’d ever made me feel like there was more to life than drudgery and small pleasures. I’d never felt as good as those few hours we spent together. Never met a man who could take me to such heights.

But I had to be realistic. We were never going to be together. He wouldn’t meet my daughter and decide that he wanted to play at being a family. It was much more likely that he’d either turn his back on us or try to muscle his way into our lives in a way that I didn’t want.

How could a few hours of pleasure compete with the responsibility of raising my child? How could I even let myself entertain the teasing glances and borderline flirtations?

The very first day I’d worked for his company, I’d told him I wanted to keep things professional. I might be at a resort, feeling the warm breeze on my skin, soaking up the early evening sun while I felt like I was almost on vacation—but I wasn’t.

I was still at work, and he was still my boss. It was time to get my head on straight again. These were the final days before the truth came out. I had to use them to prepare myself for the upheaval that would undoubtedly come.

I avoided looking over at his table, even though I could hear Chuck’s boisterous voice from across the space. I kept my eyes on my plate, on my glass, and on the view of the ocean beyond the windows. Then, dabbing my mouth with my napkin one last time, I smiled at the waiter, gathered my purse, and made my way back to my room.

Once I was safe inside, I let out a deep breath.

Mothers made sacrifices for their children every day, and I was no different. Cole Christianson would never again be mine the way he had been seven years ago, and that was okay. It was time for me to bury these latent feelings somewhere deep and inaccessible, once and for all.