The Billionaire Boss Next Door

He catches me on reflex, but when he stands me upright and sees that it’s me, his warmth drops about twelve notches.

“Greer.”

I can’t even really blame him. I know he’s played a huge part in this, but it was really selfish of me to avoid him for so long, too. The man deserves at least some kind of explanation.

“Trent.”

“Good to see you’re feeling better.”

I force myself to smile even though it hurts. “Me too. Listen, do you think we can talk for a minute? Privately.”

He glances behind him at the workers he was obviously in the middle of something with and then back to me and nods. “Guys, I’ll meet you down there.”

They nod and take off at a near run, thankful to be dismissed from our awkward encounter.

Trent turns and heads down the hall, and I follow. I presume he knows somewhere we can go without being heard—at least, without being heard clearly.

He uses his master key to open the door to one of the suites in progress, ushers me in, and closes the door behind us.

When he finishes, he turns his back to the door, leans against it, and crosses his arms over his chest.

I literally hate that our relationship has come down to this. That those sparkling green eyes I love so much look at me so differently now.

But I know it’s for the best.

I clear my throat a couple of times to moisten it, and then I dive right into the speech I’ve been practicing.

“I’m sorry I’ve been avoiding you. I’ve had a lot on my mind, and I know…I know I didn’t handle it well.”

He sighs. “I’ve been worried about you.”

“I know. Again, I’m sorry. I really am, and I don’t know if it helps make it sound more sincere at all, but I don’t normally say that—apologize.”

He nods, and when it’s clear that’s all I’m going to get, I go on.

“I owe you an explanation.”

He nods, and I clench my fists.

Is he going to do anything other than nod? For Pete’s sake, the guy’s always got something to say, and now he’s all clammed up.

Deciding to categorize it as a good thing, I charge on.

“I’ve been thinking…and I don’t think a relationship between us is a good idea. Working together and dating…it’s just not going to work. I thought maybe it could, but…it can’t.”

For the briefest of moments, his green eyes glaze over with something that strongly resembles hurt, but it’s gone between one blink and the next. So quickly, in fact, I’m not really sure I ever saw it at all.

And then, he shoves off of the door with a foot and walks toward me.

I hold my breath so hard, a balloon forms in my chest.

“I agree.”

You do?

He turns, walks to the door, and opens it to go. He looks back over his shoulder one last time to leave me with a few clipped words. “We’re finalizing the bathrooms on Wednesday. Make sure you’re ready.”

I nod, but I don’t let go of the breath I’m holding until he’s gone.

Just as you’d an expect of a popped balloon, I deflate completely.

A simple parting of ways is exactly what I wanted.

So why does it feel so wrong?

Trent

“Sometimes I can’t believe this shit,” I say, taking a swig of my whiskey and looking out at the bar with distaste.

I fucking hate going out, but thanks to my sassy-tongued, blue-eyed, perfectly terrible neighbor whom I really fucking wish I didn’t like anymore, I hate staying in even more these days. Four fucking weeks since she up and declared us over, and I’m still a hot fucking mess.

I didn’t want things to end, but Greer was determined.

I could see it in her eyes and the defiant way she held her petite shoulders, and I could hear it in the way her voice lacked her usual sassy softness. She was all fucking business. One-hundred-percent ready to break things off.

Call it pride or self-preservation or whatever the fuck you want, even though I hated what she was saying, I just went with it. Told her I agreed. Just laid the fuck down and let her end things between us.

“God, I can’t fucking believe the way it all turned out,” I clarify. “I can’t believe we were ever together, and I can’t believe we’re apart. The whole thing is a big ole fucking mystery, and I’m the victim. I can feel the blood all over. Brutal. Maybe I should just stick to random hookups. Kiss women on New Year’s Eve and forget them. It worked for me once.”

It’s the first time Cap’s been down to visit since Carnival, and the meeting of my best friends’ minds and my heartache is long overdue.

Quince snorts, and I turn back to look at him and Cap as they hide their faces behind their beers. “What? What is this about?” I ask, swirling a finger at their faces.