He remembered when he’d purchased the set for Sloan. How had it gotten under the book shelves in his office? He held it up and let painful memories swamped him. He remembered coming home from some hideous function the three of them had attended, and heading into his office to send some emails. Sarah and Sloan had joining him, managing to coax him into forgetting his work for a while. He smiled grimly. He hadn’t taken much persuading. The desk had been christened well that night. It was probably when Sloan lost the cuff link.
Might have been better if it had just stayed under that damn book case.
Kinley pondered her boss all the way home. He was rude, arrogant, and, obviously used to getting his own way. What a jerk.
Oh well, she guessed after tonight she wouldn’t need to worry about him anymore. She was betting she wouldn’t have a job come next week.
She grimaced as her car screeched as it turned the corner onto her street. She really needed to get that looked at, and as soon as she had some disposable income, she would.
All thoughts of her boss and his rude manner fled as she got to her apartment building and parked right behind Sloan’s huge ass truck. Shit.
She’d texted him before leaving March Industries to tell him she was running late and would have to meet him at Alex’s party. So, what was he doing here?
She opened her car door, shutting it gently as he climbed out of his truck. Slowly.
“Sloan, I’m so sorry I’m running late. I’ll get ready quickly, I promise.”
He didn’t say a word, just stood there staring at her.
He had to wonder where she’d been. It was time to come clean. She couldn’t keep lying to him. It wasn’t right.
She licked her lips. Telling him out here wasn’t the best idea though. And she was very aware that he hadn’t spoken yet. Was he furious with her? Because she was late?
“Do you, um, want to come in?” Of course he does, Kinley. He’s hardly going to sit in his truck and wait for you to get ready. His silence was unnerving, and she felt the urge to fill the void. “I hope you haven’t been waiting long.”
She walked up to her apartment with him following like a big, silent shadow. It took her two attempts to unlock her door, nervousness making her hands shake. When she stepped into the apartment, she didn’t feel ashamed of its run-down appearance for once. Nope, all her concern was taken up by the man who followed her quietly inside. He shut the door and studied the deadbolt for a moment. Then he turned back to her and took in a sharp breath.
She glanced at him nervously; the look on his face was frightening, like nothing she’d seen on Sloan before. “I thought I was meeting you at Alex’s house.”
“Who is he?”
“What? Who is who?”
His gaze narrowed. “Don’t lie to me, Kinley.”
She sighed. This was it. He knew she was lying. She should have told him well before now. “I would have told you before—”
“Spare me the excuses,” he snapped. “How long has this been going on?”
How did he know?
“How did you find out?”
He snorted. “I might not be the smartest man around but I’m not stupid, Kinley. You’ve been busy almost every night these past two weeks. You’re obviously exhausted. You’re not getting much sleep. I want to know why you didn’t tell me.”
“Because I thought you’d be upset.”
“Of course I’m fucking upset,” he roared, startling her. He’d never yelled at her. Not once. And for the first time she felt a little scared of him.
Suddenly, he deflated, giving her a defeated look. Then he ran his hand through his hair. “Jesus Christ, Kinley, you should see the look on your face. No matter how furious I am with you for cheating on me I’d never fucking hit you.”
Her mouth dropped open. “You think I’m cheating on you?”
“You just said you were.”
“I most certainly did not,” she told him, her own temper rising.
“Yes, you did, you said . . .” he trailed off, looking uncertain.