SECRETLY MARRIED TO MY BOSS

chapter 10

Cora

Sophie bounces into my apartment, a box of wine tucked under one arm and a bag of fast food under the other.

Her red hair falls free around her face, and her dark brown eyes flit around the apartment as gunshots and sirens fill the night outside.

After a long week at work and an awkward discussion with Griffin about the kiss, celebrating the start of the weekend with my best friend is exactly what I need.

Sophie puts the food and wine on my yellowing countertop. “I wish you’d move out of this place. You could move in with me, you know.”

It’s not the first time she’s asked me to move in with her, and I doubt it will be the last.

While I appreciate the offer, moving in with someone else feels like a step back in my life. I like my independence after my last relationship.

Coming home and not having to answer to anyone else is a blessing in disguise.

Sure, it’s lonely sometimes, but it gives me time to think about what I want from life.

I roll my eyes and check the deadbolt on the front door. “It’s not the worst neighborhood. If you mind your business, everyone else will leave you alone.”

“Cora, you make too much money to live in a place like this.”

I wander back to the kitchen and grab a couple of glasses for the wine. “I know you‘re worried about me, but you don’t need to be. This apartment is only temporary. Once I’ve paid off all the debt, then things will be better.”

Sophie gives me a flat look before pulling ice out of the freezer. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“I’m not. Everything’s fine, Soph. I’m putting every extra penny I have toward the debt, and it’s starting to go down. I’ll be out of Victor’s mess in a year, maybe two, and then I’ll be good to go.”

Sophie dumps some ice cubes into the glasses. “I don’t think it’s your problem to deal with. You should take him to court over this. Make him pay back his own damn loans.”

“My name is on all of them too. It’s just as much my problem to pay them back as it is his.”

“And how much has he paid?” Sophie pours a healthy amount of white wine into each of our glasses.

“Nothing.” My cheeks burn at the admission. I reach for the wine and take a long sip.

Sophie sighs and opens the bag of food, pulling out burgers and fries. “Exactly. He gets to go and live life the way he wants while you’re stuck in this apartment. There’s a shooting outside, and you’re working with a man you can’t stand because Victor was an ass.”

“I’m not denying he was an ass at all.” I reach for a fry, popping it in my mouth. “I know I should make him pay some of the money back, but that means getting a lawyer. I really can’t afford one right now.”

“Or Jake would help you out. You know he would.” Sophie pulls herself up to sit on the edge of my counter and unwraps her burger. “Your brother is a professional baseball player with more money than he knows what to do with. You can’t tell me that he didn’t offer to make this all disappear.”

“He did.” I unwrap my own burger and take a big bite.

“Then why didn’t you let him?” Sophie swings her legs as she picks at her fries. “I want you to do what you want with your life, Cora. This isn’t it. Why are you letting Victor ruin your life?”

The question hits harder than it should. It’s been a few months since everything exploded with Victor, but our love was dying long before then.

Which is probably why he cheated, even when I wanted to work on our issues.

I take another bite of my burger, my chest tight. “It’s easier this way. If I force him to get involved with the bills, he'll be back in my life, and that’s the last thing I want. I just want to deal with the debt and then move on.”

“How long is it going to take you?”

“With the salary I get from Griffin and keeping my bills as low as possible, it should only take two years at the most.”

“And you think you can put up with Griffin Blake for that long?” Sophie snorts and puts her food down. “You two have never been able to get along for very long. He either says something that upsets you, or you go looking for a fight.”

“Well… let’s just say that things are different now. We’ve agreed to move forward and start putting the past behind us.” I finish my glass of wine and pick at more of my food. “I’m tired of being angry with him. It isn’t worth the effort that it takes.”

“So, what? You’re friends now?”

I push off the counter I’m leaning on and go to the window as a helicopter flies over, a spotlight shining down on the street. “Looks like things are about to be settled out there. See, nothing to worry about!”

“Cora!” Sophie smacks her hand against the counter. “Joking about your scary-as-hell neighborhood is not what you should be doing with your life. I’m really worried about your safety. And don’t even think that I’m switching off the topic of Griffin right now. You’re deflecting something.”

Red and blue lights flash off buildings. Dozens of people peer out their windows in the surrounding apartment complexes.

I shrug and turn back to Sophie. “Seemed like a more interesting topic than anything related to Griffin.”

“I know you’re hiding something. Spill it.”

My cheeks warm, and my stomach ties itself into knots. I’ve been friends with Sophie since preschool. She was the one who used to come over on days I was upset over things Griffin said to me.

She would hold my hand and promise that things would be better one day—that I would never have to see him again once we were adults.

And now look at where life has taken me.

I don’t have anyone else I can talk to about what happened on the retreat, but I know Sophie is going to be disappointed with me. She’s going to think that I’ve lost my mind, and then she’s going to chew me out.

I fill my glass and take another sip of wine to steel my nerves. “While we were in Colorado, I went out and ended up drinking and dancing with Griffin. And then I… we kissed, and when I woke up the next morning, I was in his bed, and he was on the couch.”

Sophie’s jaw drops. It snaps shut before falling open again. There is a strangled noise that comes out of her as she reaches for her wine and downs it.

“Repeat yourself.” Sophie fills up her glass. “Because I know there’s no way that you kissed the man who made you miserable when we were kids. You slept with him?”

“No, no, we didn’t sleep together—it was just a kiss. If you think that’s the biggest problem with kissing Griffin, then the situation might not be that bad.”

“Might not be that bad?” Sophie slides off the counter and storms over, taking my face between her hands. “Cora, are you out of your mind? What in the world would possess you to kiss him?”

“We were drunk. I had a drink or two, and so did he. And then we were dancing, and something clicked… and we kissed. It was just in-the-heat-of-the-moment kind of thing.” Groaning, I close my eyes and lean into her touch. “Ugh, I know I screwed up. I never should have gone to the bar with him, but I can’t bring myself to regret it. The kiss was good.”

Sophie’s hands drop, and she takes a step back, shaking her head. “At least the kiss was good, but was it worth ruining your life? What if he decides to fire you to keep the scandal from getting out?”

“That doesn’t make sense.” I walk over to the lumpy couch and sink into the cushions. “Griffin isn’t going to do anything about our kiss. We talked and agreed that it won’t happen again, and then I returned to work. That was a few days ago, and nothing has happened since.”

“And how do you know he will continue to leave you alone? Cora, you should have thought this through.”

“If he fires me or gives me hell, Jake will step in. He always does because he doesn’t believe I can care for myself. Which means that Griffin wouldn’t dare screw with me because Jake is one hell of a scary man when he wants to be. And I know they’re very close.”

I pull a blanket down from the back of the couch and cuddle into it. Sophie sighs and grabs our wine from the kitchen before joining me.

“Cora, you’ve gotten yourself into a big mess.”

“Don’t I know it?” I groan and tuck my legs beneath me. “Would it make it worse if I told you that he’s been the star of too many dreams since?”

Sophie sighs and grabs the remote, turning on the television and looking for a movie to watch. “It doesn’t make it any better, but I don’t think it makes it worse either. As long as you focus on work, you should come out on the other side of this unscathed.”

“Work is what matters. Paying off the debt is my only concern right now, and then I’m going to start saving more.”

“And then you’re going to start the media company you’ve always dreamed of, right?” Sophie gives me a stern look. “Because we’re not going to throw our dreams away over another man again.”

“Victor is out of my life, and I’ll never let anyone back in it. You don’t have to worry about that.”

“Oh, I do worry about that.” Sophie selects a romantic comedy and tosses the remote onto the chipped gray coffee table. “Is he still bothering you?”

“No. I haven’t heard from him for a couple of months. I think he’s finally let go of the thought that I’ll come crawling back to him.” I sigh and tilt my head back against the couch, looking up at the ceiling. “Why the hell did I let my life get this complicated?”

“Because you have this tendency to put your trust in the wrong people, and you’re too stubborn to give up on things even though you know you should.” Sophie bumps her knee against mine. “I love you, girl, but you need to work on yourself. Screw whoever else comes along. You’ve got more than enough already going on in your life.”

“I know. Griffin is the new problem. Everything is going to be fine, though. I have it under control.”

The words are a lie. I have nothing under control.

I may not know what I want when it comes to Griffin, but I do know that the kiss should never have happened… because his lips felt too good, and I keep wanting to replay the moment.

I can’t deny the fact that I felt the bulge in his pants rubbing against my pubic bone while we kissed…

But Sophie is right; I need to throw myself into work and resolve my problems.

I have to focus on moving forward, and kissing my boss at a work retreat will only hold me back.

It’s time to focus on me.