Breaking the Boss's Rules

‘I tell her that my life is very happy as it is, but thanks for the advice. But the emails keep on coming.’

The woman sounded unhinged—which begged the question: why was Joe going along with her?

‘I’m not getting this. What happened to being ruthless? Tell her to get knotted and say that you have your love-life perfectly under control.’

‘I can’t do that.’ Joe shifted in his seat, discomfort clear in the set of his jaw and in the frown that slashed his forehead. ‘This is important to her—I just need to figure out why.’

Realisation dawned with a sense of inevitability that stuck in her craw. Joe was hung up on an ex-girlfriend. What was it about her that attracted men who held ten-foot torches for old lovers?

‘You OK?’ Joe asked.

‘I’m fine.’

What else could she say? All she’d wanted from Joe was a great night between the sheets. He’d given her that—it made no difference if he’d harboured feelings for an ex whilst he did so. Yet somehow … Damn it, it did. Bad enough that he regretted the night—now the attraction was even further sullied. But that wasn’t Joe’s problem. It was hers. She’d offered her insight and she’d make good on that.

‘Absolutely fine. What did today’s email say? Obviously she’s upped the ante or you wouldn’t need my input.’

‘Today’s email informs me that Leila has lined me up with a series of potential girlfriends because she wants me to—’ he hooked his fingers in the air to indicate quote marks ‘—”find true love and embrace the peace and inner tranquillity that this true love will bring”.’ He snorted and pushed away from the table. ‘Little wonder I’m a bit green about the gills.’

Imogen frowned—why on earth would Leila want to set Joe up with a friend of hers? Come to that, why was she so worried about Joe’s love life?

Joe exhaled a sigh. ‘No way do I want to face a line-up of women, all trying to bring me to a sense of inner tranquillity. Come to that, it would hardly be fair to them. I’m not on the looking-for-love market.’

‘Just don’t go. That way the line-up can’t get you.’

‘It’s not that’s simple, Imogen.’ He tipped his palms in the air. ‘If Steve and Simone ask you to their wedding will you go?’

‘That’s different.’

‘Why?’

‘For a start my mum and Steve’s mum are friends—or at least they went to school together. So no doubt my parents will go, and Mum will want me to go so that everyone can see that I’m OK. And Steve and I were together only recently—we share lots of mutual friends and I guess I’ll want to show them that I’m not licking my wounds somewhere. So it’s a matter of parental pressure and pride. That’s not the case for you.’

‘But it is important to you that everyone thinks you’re OK?’

‘Well, yes …’

‘It’s important to me to see that Leila is OK. And I need her to believe that I am OK.’

The words shouldn’t hurt as much as they did—yet each one impacted her chest with meaning. Joe was still in love with Leila, but he was willing to stand aside and watch her go to her true love. Leila knew Joe still loved her and was doing her best to get him to move on. Any minute now Imogen would need a bucket.

‘If it’s important to Leila that you find love then I guess you’d better find a woman, fall in love and take her to the wedding.’

Then perhaps as a finale everyone could watch a herd of flying pigs perform a musical.

‘Don’t be sil—’

Joe broke off, leant back in the stylish boardroom chair, and surveyed her with a thoughtful expression that set alarm bells off in her mind. The last thing she wanted was for Joe to suspect her state of mind—hell, she wasn’t sure she understood it herself yet. She just knew she was sick and tired of hearing about men and their love for their exes. Been there. Done that. And it was getting old.

To her relief the intercom buzzed to herald the arrival of the pizza.

Joe lifted a hand. ‘Just give me a second. I’ll grab the pizzas.’

‘OK.’

Imogen had no intention of taking this conversation further. Joe would have to figure this one out on his own. Maybe he should storm the wedding and declare his love. After all, surely he wasn’t the sort of man to stand aside and let the love of his life marry someone else without a fight.

It was nothing to do with her. Yet the insidious feeling of yuck still made her skin clammy. It seemed every which way she was doomed to being second-best.