Page 13 of How to Break My Heart 1

“Thank you, Dr. Wilde.” I quickly stand, then reach out to shake his hand. The moment I do, I regret my decision. His hand is warm, inviting, andlarge.It is a simple touch, but enough to make me realize I am lonely. “I guess I’ll see you around.”

With my purse in hand, I turn to go. As I reach the door, Dr. Wilde calls my name. When I turn around, he’s sitting at the edge of his desk with his arms crossed.

I notice how muscular he looks with the coat tightening around his biceps and swallow the lump caught inside my throat.

“Outside the office, you can call me Marco…” His lips upturn and there’s a gleam in his eyes. “Everyone else does.”

I nod, then tilt my head, smiling.

Maybe, just maybe, things are not as off-limits as they seem.

CHAPTER 3

Aston

This guy must have the smallest dick.

My fingers tap against the wood-grain table with an impatient beat. It’s just after four in the afternoon, and this meeting has gone on forfartoo damn long. A meeting that could have been an email—but Chalmers insisted we talk about numbers inside the boardroom of our downtown office with every executive team member in attendance.

A waste of goddamn time and resources.

Chalmers is old-school and is always the last to get on board with the latest technology. He even wears those corduroy sport coats with elbow patches. They should be buried along with his stale cigar and coffee breath.

The only reason he’s on the board of directors is because of my father.

The absolute bane of my existence.

“Listen, Chalmers,” I begin while trying to curb my irritation. “We need to project the future, not fixate on past performance. Times are changing, and our focus needs to be on development and market demand. We are in the digital era, and commercial investment is heavily tied in with e-commerce growth.”

Beside me, Will, another board member, snickers. He understands exactly why Chalmers should be in a retirement village inBoca, not trying to impart his so-called wisdom onto usyoung folk,as he so annoyingly likes to refer to us.

The room is cold, and the air conditioner is blasting too high for my comfort. I spend most of my time inside this building, more than in my penthouse, it seems.So why the fuck can’t the maintenance guys get this shit right?We pay them more than enough money.

Unsurprisingly, Chalmers ignores my direction and goes on some tangent about the budget. Closing my eyes briefly to calm the fuck down, I open them to the sound of my phone vibrating in my pocket. I pull it out of my suit jacket, scanning my eyes over the text.

Little Brat

Do you know what day it is?

My sister, Madelina, is the biggest pain in my ass. We were born a year apart, so for all of my life, she’s been my bratty little sister who annoys me. When I was growing up, my parents hired nannies to take care of us because their social life took precedence. Madelina craved attention, and when our parents were too busy to notice, she focused on making my life hell. She would whine all the time, copy my every move, and despite the many times I warned her to stay out of my room, Madelina would end up sleeping at the foot of my bed when she was scared of thunderstorms.

Now, we’re adults, but nothing has changed.

At all.

Me

Thursday?

The three dots appear and bounce for what seems like forever. My eyes lift away from the screen as Chalmers rambles about the stock market crash of 2008.

Jesus fucking Christ—this man needs to be stopped.

My phone vibrates again, forcing me to shift my attention to the illuminated screen.

Little Brat

It’s Valentine’s Day!