Page 157 of Boss of Me

I force a cheerful smile. “Thanks again for the ride, Neeraj. I’ll see you in class next week.”

“You bet.” He smiles, dark eyes gleaming. “If you ever need another study partner, I’m really good at research.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Giving him one last smile, I climb out of the car and head up to the house.

“Marlowe, wait!”

I turn to watch as Neeraj jogs up the front steps with my backpack.

“You forgot this in the backseat.”

“Oh, crap. Yeah, I’ll definitely need that.” I take the backpack from him with a sheepish grin. “Thanks again.”

“No problem.” He winks and then jogs back down the steps just as Gunner arrives home.

My palms break into a nervous sweat as he emerges from the backseat of the car in a dark gray suit, jacket unbuttoned with no tie. With his phone pressed to his ear, he flicks a glance at Neeraj.

I cringe as my classmate grins like a starstruck teen and calls out, “Hey, how’s it going, Mr. Ransom? I brought your lovely lady home, safe and sound.”

Gunner nods coolly before shifting his attention to me. The look in his eyes makes nerves dance in my belly.

As he starts up the steps toward me, I mouthHiso as not to disrupt his conversation.

He presses the mute button on his phone and kisses me briefly on the forehead. “New friend?”

“Classmate.” I wave goodbye to Neeraj and follow Gunner inside.

Mr. Leland greets us with his usual polished reserve. “Your luggage is packed and ready to go,” he informs Gunner, who nods distractedly and thanks him.

My heart pinches at the reminder that he’s leaving for Germany to attend a tech conference. I would have been playing hooky tomorrow to travel with him, but he rescinded theinvitation shortly after our big fight in his office last week. He reasoned that it probably wasn’t a good idea for me to skip class after all. To hide my hurt, I agreed with him.

But in my weakest moments, when my insecurities are wreaking havoc on my mind, I jealously wonder if he found someone else to accompany him on his trip. Someone like Gianna.

I tamp down the thought as he starts across the foyer. “I was thinking we could eat dinner in the garden since it’s such a nice evening.”

“Not tonight,” he says over his shoulder. “I need to finish some paperwork before I leave in the morning.”

“Oh. Okay.” I swallow my disappointment and smile brightly at his retreating back. “Maybe when you get?—”

“Sorry, babe. I have to wrap up this call.” He presses the mute button again, resuming his phone conversation as he walks down the hall and disappears around the corner.

Mrs. Calder appears at the top of the staircase, fastening on a pair of earrings. “Hello, dear. How was class?”

“Good.” I smile as she descends the stairs. “You look nice. Is that a new dress?”

“This old thing? Heavens, no. I’ve had it forever. I’m sure you’ve seen it before.”

I haven’t, but I know better than to contradict her. “Hot date?”

“Just having dinner with Dale. Nothing to make a fuss about.” But the faint blush on her cheeks is a dead giveaway.

“You kids have fun,” I say with a sly grin.

“We always do.” Her smile dims when she gets a closer look at me. “How are you, Marlowe?”

“I’m fine,” I say quickly—too quickly. “Just a little tired. Been doing lots of research for a paper that’s due soon.”

She nods slowly, but I know she’s not buying my excuse. Pursing her lips, she glances in the direction Gunner had gone and then turns back to me, studying my face for an uncomfortably long moment.