Teaching The Boss
By: Mallory CroweOksana must’ve noticed the long silence. “Is everything okay, Sam?”
This was his chance. He could tell off Oksana and let her know exactly how important April was to him. He could break up with her right then and there, never look back at the selfish, indulgent creature he’d brought back with him from Paris.
“I’ll talk to her next week. Now, I think I left my jacket at lunch. Let’s head out and I’ll call the restaurant on the way to see if they still have it.”
April felt all the blood drain from her face. That was it? He’d known her for six years and had dated Oksana for three weeks! Was that how little she meant to him?
Her brow scrunched together and she struggled to catch her breath, but she wouldn’t let herself cry. Not over someone who obviously felt so little for her.
She twisted around and fell back against the cool wall as she tried to regain her composure. If she left now, she’d probably end up sharing the elevator with them. God, how embarrassing. Maybe she could hide out in the bathroom for a few minutes and once they were gone, she could leave gracefully.
Gracefully? Screw that. Not letting herself overthink it, April pounded her hands against the wall as she pushed herself forward.
“Damn it, April, wait,” called Sam from behind her.
“Was she listening?” asked a shocked Oksana. What April wouldn’t give to never hear her voice again.
April ignored them both and stomped over to her desk. She grabbed her purse from the floor next to her chair and reached for her computer. No. The computer was company property.
Once again, her emotions threatened to bubble up and she tried to breathe her way through it. No. She wasn’t going to give Sam or Oksana or anyone else in the damn building the satisfaction of seeing her cry.
“April!” shouted Sam from behind her.
“Go to hell,” she bit out. She needed to get as far away from him and his supermodel and this place as possible.
“At least let me explain.”
“Explain what?” She twisted around to look at the man she’d considered a friend up until five minutes ago. “Why she’s talking about you getting rid of me? Why the hell would you even be talking about me with her? I am none of her business and—” April broke off as she took another breath that did nothing to calm her nerves. “I’m leaving.” She turned away.
He followed her retreat to the elevator. “You can’t leave.”
She repeatedly jammed her finger into the down arrow and willed the damn doors to open. “I can do whatever I want. You don’t want me anymore, remember? God. After everything we’ve been through. Everything I’ve done for you!”
Sam slid between her and the elevator bay. April turned her gaze away, not wanting to meet his eyes. She knew she’d burst into tears at the sight of his beautiful face. One more reminder of the knife stuck in her back.
Oksana was nowhere in sight, which was probably for the best, considering April’s mood.
“I’m not trying to get rid of you. If you’d just listen—”
“Three weeks! You’ve known her three weeks! Why is she telling you anything about me? I have supported you—no matter what trouble you were in or what hole I had to dig you out of, I have been there. Three weeks!”
Sam was silent as the elevator dinged behind him. He looked down at her, expression tense with everything he held back. But April didn’t want to hear what he had to say. She just wanted to go home and forget this ever happened.
Yep. There were the tears. As they rolled down her cheeks, she pushed Sam aside. His hard muscles beneath her hand were proof of how much stronger he was, but he obediently moved aside.
Of course her last memory of Sam would be how fit he was. She was so pathetic. Stomping out like a three-year-old and crying her eyes out. Six years of dignity flushed away with one temper tantrum. She threw herself against the side of the elevator as she fished through her purse for her tennis shoes. With the state she was in, she wouldn’t make it ten feet in heels.
As the doors shut, Sam’s arm shot in and caused them to slide back open. He crossed into the elevator and once again stood in front of her, crowding her against the wall. April let out a defeated sigh. “Just go back to your girlfriend,” she breathed. “I don’t want to fight with you. I just want to go home.”
