Page 16 of The Grump’s Assistant

VINCENT

“ W ell, that was awkward,” the flirty blonde says, twirling her hair as she blinks up at me. “I’m glad it’s just us now though.”

She takes a step closer to me, but I hold my hand up to stop her.

The woman pouts, a look that is unbecoming and rather annoying.

In fact, everything about her makes me want to recoil.

She’s as fake as they come, and I know she wouldn’t have lasted one day as my assistant. I’m not looking to hire her on now.

“Thank you for informing me of the job mishap,” I say, clearing my throat.

“Like I said, we both were played. I’ll go ahead and take the rest of the week off to care for my father, then I’ll officially start on Monday?”

“I thought it was your mother who was unwell.”

“Oh. Right, yes, well, they both need caring for these days,” she responds, darting her eyes down to her purse and then over to the side, focusing on anything but me. “I may need a few afternoons off next week to take Mother for her MRI.”

“She needs an MRI for a broken leg?” It’s clear Jennifer is a shit liar, and I’ve had enough of liars for the foreseeable future.

Before the frustrating woman can say anything else, I throw the door of my office open and gesture for her to leave.

“The position is no longer available. You may see yourself out.”

Her jaw drops, and she stares at me in shock. Then, her face twists into an ugly, entitled sneer. “Is that it?”

“Send my well wishes to your father. Or was it your mother? For her head injury. Or, sorry, broken leg.”

She knows I’m not buying her bullshit. The woman swings her thousand-dollar purse over her shoulder and lifts her chin up high. She’s about to tell me something bratty, but I cut her off.

“Out.”

No sooner have her six-inch stiletto heels crossed the threshold than I’m slamming the door shut. Deflating against the wall, I comb my fingers through my hair, tugging at the strands until my scalp stings.

I try swallowing, but something is stuck in my throat. Jesus, I choke out a cough and wipe moisture from my eyes. What is wrong with me?

Pushing myself away from the door, I stride across my office and slam my fist down on my desk.

The heavy wooden surface creaks under the pressure, but I don’t feel any pain.

I should be furious. I should sue Juniper for every cent she’s wrongfully taken from me under the guise of my assistant.

I should call my best lawyer and have him drag her through the wringer.

Instead, I dig the heel of my hand into my chest, hoping to alleviate the tight ball of pressure forming over my heart.

I wipe away more wetness from my eyes, still not sure what is happening to my body.

Surely these aren’t tears. I don’t cry. Not for anyone or anything.

Certainly not for the woman who made me believe in fairy tales only to betray me in the end.

Then why can’t I breathe? The thought of going up to my penthouse alone, without my angel, twists something deep inside me. Pain sears through my lungs and heart, rattling me to my bones. I slump into my office chair, trying to gain some control of my body and emotions.

My eyes land on the note Juniper wrote to me a few days ago.

Work harder. Just kidding. I was trying reverse psychology. Did it work?

Why would she write this if all she wanted was a job? She didn’t have to go out of her way to get me dinner or try to make me smile, yet everything Juniper has done in her time here has been to make my life easier. Even when she’s sassing me.

I pick up the note, holding it between my thumb and forefinger and lifting it up to my nose. Like the crazy person I’ve become, I sniff the paper, hoping to catch some of her sunshiney scent.

Her words from earlier come back to me. What we have is real… I didn’t plan on falling for you.

“Bullshit,” I growl, pounding a balled-up fist against my chest. She was lying.

She had to be. I don’t understand people and their complicated motives.

Why can’t relationships be like a formula?

I can find all the right pieces, plug them into the equation, and come up with a solution.

Real life is much messier, and I don’t know how to handle that.

I don’t know how to handle these chaotic feelings.

All I know is that Juniper brought me peace. She crawled under my defenses and set up camp somewhere close to my heart. And then she ripped it out with her betrayal.

I grunt and stand up, not sure what my plan is, just knowing I need to leave. Everything in this room reminds me of Juniper, of how stupid I was to fall for her charms.

I storm out of my office, taking one look toward the elevator bank, where Jennifer is typing away on her phone and waiting for a ride down to the parking garage.

Spinning on my heel, I turn in the opposite direction, making my way to the stairwell instead.

It will be good to get some of this restless energy out.

Halfway down the second flight of stairs, I pause when I hear a muffled sound coming from further down. Cautiously, I take a few more steps until a quiet sob fills the stairwell, followed by a miserable sniffle.

Juniper?

Christ, is she hurt? Was she so upset she fell down the stairs? Fuck, if anything happened to her…

I leap down the stairs three at a time, hitting the landing with a thud.

“Oh my god,” I hear her gasp. I look over my shoulder and see her curled up in the corner of the fifth-floor landing. The sight breaks me.

Her arms are wrapped around her torso as her chest heaves with heart-wrenching whimpers. Juniper’s green eyes look faded, wary, and rimmed in red. Her delicate little cheeks are blotchy and wet with tears.

“Are you hurt?” I grunt out. She flinches away from me, and goddamnit, that hurts more than anything that’s happened today.

“S-sorry,” she stutters out, wiping her eyes and unfolding herself from her position on the floor. “I’m going.”

“No, I…” I what? I want her to stay? I love her? I’m a miserable asshole without her?

Juniper tilts her head to the side, waiting for me to finish. This is completely unchartered territory for me. I’m pissed. Right? I’m angry. She deceived me. Then why can’t I stop walking toward her? Why do I long to hold her against me and let her explain everything?

My window of opportunity is sealed shut when Juniper stands up, swaying on her feet. I reach out for her, but she backs away, taking a few steps further down the stairs. “Juniper…”

“I love you,” she blurts out.

I’m so stunned, I can’t even form thoughts. She doesn’t give me any time to recover before dashing down the stairs. I watch in horror as she trips and stumbles, only to catch herself on the railing.

“Wait! Juniper, are you okay?”

I follow her, chase her, really, but she nods her head and pushes the door open to the fourth floor. I’m hot on her heels. She needs to explain herself. Preferably while I have her secured in my arms, but I’ll take caging her in an elevator if necessary.

By the time I catch up to her, Juniper is slipping into the elevator, which is full of more of my faceless employees. “Juniper!” I yell, not giving a single fuck that I’m making a scene.

She presses her hand over her mouth to catch a sob, and shakes her head no. Those damn emerald eyes filling with tears. Fuck. I did that to her. My chest feels as though it’s being ripped open, the tattered remains of my heart tumbling out and landing at her feet.

Juniper’s emerald eyes never leave mine as the doors close, the elevator taking my angel away from me.

“Fuck,” I roar, the sound startling everyone around me into silence. I look around at my shocked and slightly frightened employees, knowing I need to calm down. “Everything is fine,” I grunt out, though no one believes me. “Back to work.”

I rub my eyes and roll out my shoulders before calling up another elevator. I could continue to chase after Juniper but she clearly doesn’t want to be around me right now.

Once I’m back in my office, I collapse into my chair, the energy completely drained from every part of me. A headache pounds behind my eyes and my stomach twists on itself, making me nauseated.

My phone rings, jarring me out of my disheveled state. Cutter’s name flashes across the screen and I’m quick to answer it. Two calls in the same week? It must be something serious.

“Everything okay?” I answer. It comes out jagged, my voice somewhere between a growl and whisper.

“Woah, should I be asking you that?”

“You first.”

“I’m okay,” he assures me. “More than okay, actually. I’m great. I… I called to update you on my girl.”

“Your girl? The trespasser?” This is a turn of events I didn’t see coming.

“Sadie,” he corrects. “I didn’t send her home the day I called you. I’m not sure how it happened, but she stayed the night again. And then another night. And then I couldn’t imagine life without her, ya know?”

I grunt in acknowledgment. I’m happy for my friend. Really, I am. Just because my epic love story turned sour doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate Cutter finding his other half.

“Anyway,” he continues. “I would love for you to meet Sadie some time. I also wanted to check on your situation with your assistant. Were you more diligent in ignoring your feelings than I was?”

I sigh heavily and press my free hand over my heart, trying and failing to relieve the hollow ache there. “No,” I finally answer.

“Ah, so things… didn’t turn into a happily ever after?” my friend guesses. “Honestly, Sadie and I had a rough spot, too. I was an idiot and had to grovel but it was worth it. She was worth it.”

“Grovel? You?”

Cutter chuckles. “Yeah, never thought I’d be the type. But I would have done anything to prove myself worthy.”

“Shit,” I mutter. His words hit closer to home than he knows.

“So, tell me what’s going on. I’m a relationship expert now,” he jokes. Sadie must have done a number on him. The man I talked to last week was a grouchy loner with a guilty conscience and a head full of darkness.

“I… I don’t even know. Juniper said… and I snapped and then she left, and… goddamnit,” I sigh defeatedly, running a hand through my hair. “I made her cry. I literally just fired her and sent her away in tears less than five minutes ago and my head is all over the place.”

“Oh, shit. So this just happened? I have great timing then, huh?”

“I think I messed up,” I say slowly, the words tasting foreign on my lips. I don’t make mistakes, but if I did, it would be someone else’s fault. Not this, though. I made Juniper cry. I fired her without giving her a chance to explain. I hurt her. Me.

“What happened?”

“I don’t know where to even start,” I tell him truthfully.

I replay the entire scene in my head. “I didn’t want to like her,” I say, my lip twitching into the hint of a smile.

“But she actually cared, you know? She asked how my day was and brought me meals. Even though her attitude was unprofessional, she had a certain charm.”

“Sounds like she’s exactly what you need to balance you out. I get that feeling. So, why did you send her away crying?”

“She lied.”

“About what?”

“Everything.” Even as I say it, I know it’s not true.

“Really? Everything ?” Of course Cutter would call me out on my shit. “Whatever happened, the emotions are real. I can tell you’re wrecked just from your voice. You must look like shit in person.”

I stare at my balled-up fists, squeezing hard and then letting go. I’m shaking as I inhale shallow breaths. It hurts. Every part of me aches. How did one woman destroy me so completely?

My father’s words come back to me, as they often do. Family was the only thing that kept him from achieving wealth and status. In that regard, maybe Juniper did me a favor. It might hurt like a motherfucker right now, but with Juniper out of my life, I can focus on my career again.

What we have is real.

Juniper’s whispered confession drowns out my father’s voice. Real. What is real? Money. Numbers. Things I can count and plan. Things I can control.

The image of Juniper’s soft smile in the morning fills my mind.

The way the sun kissed her cheek and hip as she lay on her side, her curvy figure silhouetted in the morning light.

Her sparkling green eyes lock onto mine, telling me without words that she’s real, too.

She’s flesh and blood, smiles and sass, strong and so damn beautiful.

What’s the point of climbing to the top if I’m all alone and miserable?

My father’s dream of unimaginable wealth doesn’t have to be mine.

I can want something different. Something more.

Something tangible, real, and worthy of sacrificing everything for.

Goddamnit, I want Juniper as my wife, my partner, my whole world.

“Fuck,” I groan, scrubbing a hand down my face. “I don’t know anything anymore.”

Cutter chuckles. “Yeah, welcome to the terrifying world of being in love.”

“Love,” I repeat slowly, letting the word sink into my bloodstream. “I love her.”

“I don’t think I’m the one who needs to hear those words,” Cutter says. He’s right. He chuckles and says something about going to get my girl.

I hang up without a goodbye, though I make a note to call him later. We’ll have to plan a visit soon and go on a double date. Never thought I’d be planning something like that with Cutter, but damn if these women haven’t changed everything about us in the best way possible.