Page 120 of Boss of the Year

“You left.”

“Did you expect me to just sit in the hotel room all day?”

He frowned. “I expected at least one response to the seven text messages I sent you. Or at bare minimum, a note. I gave you the same courtesy.”

“Oh, right. I forgot about thenote.” I threw my hands in the air, scaring a few nearby pigeons.

“Marie—”

“I sent Robbie a text that I was taking the day,” I cut in. “It was all perfectlyprofessional, especially since you gave me the day off and there was no reason for me to be there without a kitchen or food to work with.”

“That’s not the fucking point, Marie!” Lucas finally exploded, causing a couple exiting a townhouse across the street to stop and stare.

I waved weakly and gave a nod. “Good afternoon.”

Lucas didn’t even acknowledge their presence. “You were out there, in a strange city, not knowing hardly anyone or anywhereto go, and anything could have happened to you, and I had no idea where you were or when you were coming back, and?—”

He stopped, shoving his hands back into his pockets while he paced angrily in front of a row of boxwoods, looking like a trapped panther, although we were outside.

“So, that’s what this is about?” I asked. “That I wasn’t at your beck and call? I hate to break it to you, Lucas, but I’m not some servant?—”

“Actually, that’s exactly what you are.”

I reared as if I’d been slapped. “Howdareyou!”

He had the grace to look ashamed. He even pushed his hands over his face and groaned before shoving them through his hair, making it stand up on one side.

My chin trembled. I’d been called plenty of things in my life. I’d been teased throughout grade school, belittled by my family. I wouldnotcry because Lucas Lyons had decided to point out that I worked for him, not eight hours after he’d just touched me like I meant something else entirely.

When he looked back at me, it was as if he’d shoved a knife through his own heart instead of mine. “I never should have said that.”

“No,” I battled through grinding teeth and impending tears, “you shouldn’t have.”

“And I didn’t fucking mean it. You work for me, yes, but I haveneverthought of you like a servant, Marie, I swear it. I’m just—” He dragged his hands through his hair again with a hard yank and a grunt. “Fuck.”

Somewhere nearby, a church bell tolled the quarter hour, too delicate for how wrecked I felt inside.

“I made it thirty minutes into my first meeting before I came back to apologize. I handled the morning like an ass.”

“Yes.” I was still unable to keep my voice from wobbling. “You did.”

“But you were gone.” He shook his head like he still couldn’t quite believe it. “Robbie had your text, but all I could think of was how scared you were of the market in São Paulo. How you didn’t leave the penthouse without Robbie for a week.”

“I went out in Japan,” I protested, albeit weakly.

“With a driver and Robbie with you, half the time, and to villages with less than a thousand people. You’re making progress, baby, youare.But, goddammit, I still left you in a hotel room in a foreign city after…” He gestured helplessly between us. “After everything.”

When our eyes met, it was as if a chain between us was yanked taut. Lucas closed the distance in seconds and pulled me into his arms.

I didn’t even try to fight it. The hug was as fierce and desperate as I felt. It conveyed all the words he couldn’t say. The words I hadn’t even acknowledged in myself.

“I needed to know you were safe.” His voice dropped to a low hum as he held me, one arm around my shoulder, the other hand cradling my head to his chest. “I was so fucking mad, Marie. But really, I was just scared. Please forgive me.”

“You left,” I whispered against his lapel.

“I know.” His arms tightened around my shoulders. “I panicked, and I left, and I’ve been going out of my mind all day wondering where you were. Thinking about how you looked in that bed. Wishing I could go back and stay there with you. I’m so sorry, baby.”

“Oh my God, don’t call me that,” I mumbled, though I couldn’t find the strength to pull away. “I’m not your baby, Lucas. I’m not your anything.”