Page 160 of Boss of Me

“Don’t be a fool,” he growls in frustration. “It’s a damn good opportunity.”

“I don’t doubt that. It sounds exciting. But I can’t accept the job. Not like this.”

He claws a hand through his hair, mussing it up again. “You’re being ridiculous and tiresomely stubborn.”

“So now I’m tiresome?”

“Right now, yes, you fucking are!”

I jab an accusing finger at the glossy artbook on the table. “Are you giving that to Gianna? Is she your new ingénue, Gunner? Are you replacing me with a younger, shinier model?”

He spears me with a dark look. “I’m not doing this with you anymore.”

His ominous words make my stomach knot up.

“Don’t you see what’s happening here?” I tell him, trying to control my rising panic. “You’re giving Harlan exactly what he wants, Gunner. Ever since I saw him that day at the café, you’ve been pulling away from me. He wanted to cause division between us, and you’re letting him?—”

“No,youdid that,” Gunner snaps.

My eyes hurt from holding my tears at bay. But I look at him resolutely and say, “I’m not leaving, Gunner, and I’m not quitting this job.”

“I’ll make it easy for you then. You’re fired.”

I suck in a breath as if he’d punched me in the stomach. “What?”

“You heard me. Your services are no longer required.”

“My . . .services?” I repeat through bloodless lips. “I’m in love with?—”

“I’m leaving for Germany tomorrow,” he coldly cuts me off, without a trace of emotion. “I’ll expect you gone when I get back.”

His words run through me like a sword, bringing a rush of tears and a fresh surge of anger. “You’re pushing me away because you’re unwilling or incapable of committing to a serious relationship. I feel sorry for you.”

His blue eyes turn to flinty ice. “I’ll put your severance check in the mail tomorrow. I trust you can pick it up at your previous address?”

Gathering my tattered pride around me, I lift my chin. I won’t beg even though I’m dying inside. “That’s fine.”

He nods curtly. “Goodbye, Marlowe.”

“Goodbye, Mr. Ransom.” I match his icy tone. “Wherever I end up working next, I hope I’ll have much better luck with my new boss.”

Something like regret flickers in his eyes before they harden again. He rakes me with one last dismissive glance, then grabs the artbook and stalks out the door.

I stand frozen in shock, unable to believe what just happened. As the shock gradually turns into raw anguish, I sag back against the bookshelf with a choked sob.

Just like that, the fairytale is over.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

marlowe

By some miracle i make itthrough the night, the next day, the next week and into the following month.

I survive, but I’m not really living. I’m just sort of existing, crushed by the weight of my heartache.

After the breakup, I moved back into my old apartment with Quinn. When the lease expired shortly afterward, we upgraded to a bigger apartment so we’d each have our own room.

A week later, Lilith Halifax called me.