The Wright Boss

by K. A. Linde

  “I don’t believe you. You’re already getting half of everything that’s not covered in the prenup. What more could you want from me?”

  “Everything.”

  “Well, you can’t have everything.”

  “Then, just you.”

  “No. You know what? I’m not having this conversation with you any longer. I’ll have my lawyer contact you, and if we can’t settle this in a reasonable way, then we’ll go to mediation, or we’ll go to court. Your choice, Miranda.”

  Her eyes were wide with alarm, as if she had finally realized that I was serious.

  “Take me to dinner tonight. Have one more night with me.”

  “No,” I said at once. I didn’t want to spend any more time with her than I had to.

  “And I’ll sign.”

  I paused. Was she serious? One dinner, and she’d end all of this? It seemed too good to be true. And you know what they said about things that were too good to be true.

  “I don’t believe you.”

  “I swear it.”

  Just then the door crashed inward, and Morgan’s face appeared in the door.

  Oh, man, how I loved my sister for her impeccable timing.

  “Heyyyyy!”

  “Oh, Morgan,” Miranda said deprecatingly. She raised her chin a notch and flashed her a fierce smile that could only be seen as a threat. “How good to see you. As always.”

  “Same, Miranda. What are you doing here? Just took a wrong turn and ended up in Lubbock, huh?” she asked in the slow voice usually reserved for misbehaving toddlers.

  “I’m here to see my husband. You don’t have to be so patronizing.”

  “Oh, big words. So adorable,” Morgan said.

  I tried not to laugh. “Morgan.”

  “Are you going to let her talk to me like this?” Miranda asked, whirling on me.

  “You think I have any control over her?” I asked.

  “He doesn’t,” Morgan confirmed.

  “How did you even know she was here?”

  Morgan shrugged. “Gossip travels quick.” She whirled back on Miranda. “Ready to go home now? Buh-bye!”

  “You can’t make me leave.”

  Morgan touched her hand to her chin and contemplatively gazed up in the air. “Hmm…last I checked…I was the vice president of this company. That kind of makes me…in charge around here. I know that must be hard for you to comprehend since you don’t have a job. Your idea of work is being a stay-at-home wife, which means spending all of my brother’s money and generally being a bimbo.”

  “Fuck you, Morgan.”

  “So, as you can see, I can make you leave.”

  I laughed. I couldn’t help it. Morgan had been waiting for this moment for too long. She was enjoying herself way too much.

  “It’s okay. She’s going to go. Aren’t you, Miranda?” I asked.

  “What about dinner?” she asked.

  I knew she had asked on purpose, right in front of Morgan. Not her smartest move though because there was no way that Morgan would think that was a good idea. I was still on the fence and leaning toward holding on strong and not giving in. Seemed the smartest option. But, still…if there were a chance.

  “I’ll think about it.”

  “Don’t think about anything,” Miranda said. She eyed Morgan disdainfully. “Just text me.”

  “It’s time for you to go!” Morgan interrupted. “You’re trespassing on private property, and if you don’t get out of here, I’ll call security.”

  Miranda shot her a vicious glare. “You’re such a bitch, Morgan.”

  “Fine by me!” Morgan shot back. “Now, out!”

  Miranda gave Morgan one more angry glare before sending me a simpering look and stomping out of my office. I was glad to have her gone, but I knew we had made a spectacle of the whole ordeal. That meant, Heidi had probably heard some of it, which was probably not that great. I needed to talk to her and clear the air.

  “You are not seriously considering going to dinner with her?” Morgan said, rounding on me. “What the hell did she say before I showed up that would make you consider that?”

  I shrugged. This was a conversation I didn’t want to have with Morgan either.

  “Oh my God, you’re not getting back together.” She reached out and grabbed my arm. “Please, for the love of all things holy, tell me you are not getting back together with her!”

  “We’re not getting back together. Calm down,” I said with a laugh.

  “Oh, thank God. I thought I was going to have to stage an intervention. I would get the entire family together. We’d meet at Jensen’s place. It would probably involve a PowerPoint presentation and lots of whiskey.”

  I held my hand up to stop her from continuing, but I was grinning. “I get it. No one in the family likes her.”

  “Understatement.”

  “And you’re all thrilled that my marriage is dissolving, and we’re divorcing.”

  “Very.”

  “And you don’t care how it happens as long as it’s done.”

  “Well, more or less. I mean, I want you to be happy. And I’m certain you’ll come out of this happier than you were before. I don’t know how you lived with her this long.”

  “You know, she wasn’t always like that with me.”

  “Or you were just banging and didn’t care.” Morgan put her hands over her eyes. “Horrible mental image.”

  I laughed. “You’re a riot, Morgan. Now, really, what are you doing here?”

  “Hello? I saved your ass. I heard—and I quote—‘Landon’s hot wife is here.’ So, I ran as soon as I could to take care of it. You’re a softy. Like this dinner thing…”

  “Look, she promised she’d sign the divorce papers if I went to one more dinner with her.”

  Morgan scoffed. “She’ll sign anyway.”

  “She hasn’t yet.”

  “We’re not in dire straits here. She’s going to sign. She has to.”

  “I’d like her to do it today.”

  “And do you think going to dinner with her will somehow miraculously make her do that?”

  “I don’t know, but if it will, isn’t it worth pursuing? I will do anything to make her do this faster,” I told her.

  Morgan grimaced. “Don’t say anything. You don’t know what she’ll come up with.”

  “I’ll think about it. I don’t know what I’ll do.”

  “Please do not do anything stupid. There’s still time to stage that intervention.”

  I laughed and patted her on the back. “You’ve done enough for me, Morgan. The divorce will be finalized soon, and then we can all move on from this train wreck.”

  “I won’t hold my breath,” she muttered.

  “Always a ray of sunshine.”

  “I run a business. I don’t need to be a fucking ray of sunshine. I just need to get shit done.”

  I held up my hands in defense. “If only we were all as amazing as you, Morgan.”

  “Don’t do anything stupid, okay?”

  I flashed her a grin. “Do I ever?”

  “All the time. You and Austin. You’re going to give me gray hair.” She shook out her long brown hair before moving toward the door. “If you’re going to do something stupid, then don’t blame me when it backfires in your face, okay? I’m warning you now.”

  “Warning noted.”

  I wasn’t an idiot. I knew that Miranda had something up her sleeve. But I wasn’t sure if it was enough to let this all go or to give in to her demand. Either way, I knew that I needed to talk to Heidi and make this right. Because Miranda was right.

  I was seeing someone else.

  And the reason I wanted this divorce finalized as quickly as possible was all for her.

  Twenty-Three

  Landon

  Morgan left my office and headed back upstairs. I peeked my head out of the office and found a wall of eyes staring at me.

  Apparently, none of that had been subtle. Morgan and Miranda weren’t exact
ly inconspicuous. I guessed that everyone at least had known that I had marital problems if they hadn’t heard our discussion of a divorce. Thankfully, much of it had been muffled before Morgan catapulted into the room.

  But the one set of eyes not on me was the one I was looking for. Heidi had her head buried in her work. She was purposefully not looking up. I wondered if she was even reading or if she was just staring.

  Well, fuck working the rest of the day. I straightened my tie and strode toward her. I knew she didn’t want anyone to know about us while I was her boss, but I wasn’t about to wait around all day until I could see her after work. I didn’t want to stress her like that.

  Before I reached her, however, one of the other engineers stood up and blocked my path.

  “Hey, Landon!”

  I tried to reach for his name in my mind. I’d been trying to memorize all my employees’ names, but I hadn’t been here that long. This guy did not ring a bell.

  “Hey, man,” I said with a Wright smile. “What’s going on?”

  “It’s Matt,” he said in a rush.

  “Right. Matt. What can I do for you?”

  “I wanted to give you a high five, man,” Matt said, holding his hand up.

  I gave him a blank look but high-fived him anyway. Why was this guy treating me like we were best friends when I was clearly his boss and didn’t know him at all?

  “What for?”

  “You have a really hot wife!” Matt said.

  Heidi’s head snapped up at that. Her gaze settled on Matt, as if she could burn through his skull with laser beams from her eyes.

  “I mean, they don’t make them like that around here, if you know what I mean.” He chuckled twice.

  I was barely able to control the disgusted feeling that washed over me. Heidi was not.

  I straightened up and stood a head taller than him. “You should remember who you’re speaking with. I won’t condone people degrading women in such a manner in my office.”

  Matt stammered, “Uh, yeah, totally. Sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it. I thought it was a compliment.”

  “That’s what concerns me.”

  Matt opened his mouth and then closed it. “I, uh…”

  “Don’t worry about it. Just try to be more respectful in the future.”

  With that, I eased past Matt and straight to Heidi.

  She glanced up from her work. “Can I help you?”

  “Yes. As a matter of fact, I need to see you in my office.”

  “Did I do something wrong?” she asked, tilting her head at me.

  “On the contrary, I wanted to discuss Jim’s old job. I’ll be talking with everyone throughout the week, regarding the new position.”

  “I see.” She stood slowly to her feet and stared up at me with part confusion and part fear in her eyes.

  “After you.” I gestured for her to go ahead.

  She took a deep breath and then walked right into my office. She didn’t look around once. She strode past all her male colleagues, ignoring their questioning stares. I snapped the door shut as soon as she was inside.

  “That was…interesting,” Heidi muttered.

  “More like outrageous.”

  “Which part? Morgan or Miranda?”

  “Yes,” I told her, striding to the desk.

  She plopped down into the chair in front of my desk and warily looked at me. “I’m guessing I’m not here to discuss the new job.”

  “Not exactly,” I admitted.

  “I figured. So…Miranda is back. What does that mean? Are you back together?”

  “Did you not hear the shouting match?”

  “I heard Morgan bossing Miranda around. I don’t know where you stand on her.”

  “Same place I’ve stood with her since the reunion. I’m leaving her. It’s over.”

  “But she doesn’t want that?” Heidi guessed. She picked at her nails and tried not to look up at me.

  I sighed heavily and walked around to where she was sitting. I reached out and took her hand in mine. I was surprised that she let me. “Hey, this still doesn’t change anything between us. That’s why I wanted to talk to you.”

  “So, you’re not going to dinner with her then?” She watched me, as if nervous that I would lie.

  “I don’t know. I wanted to talk to you about that.”

  “What’s there to talk about?” She slid her hand out of mine. “You clearly want to go.”

  “Hold up. I clearly do not want to go, but she said, if I went, she’d sign the divorce papers. That seems like a good thing for me and you.”

  “Just dinner?” she asked suspiciously. “That’s what she said.”

  “Yep.”

  “And do you believe her?”

  “I don’t know,” I told her honestly. “What do you think? Is it worth a shot?”

  “Honestly, it sounds like a horrible idea,” Heidi said.

  “Then, I won’t go. Easy enough.”

  “But,” she said softly. She cringed, as if she hated even having this thought. “I do want it to be over, Landon. I hate hiding. I hate all of this.” She dramatically splayed her hands out. “It sucks.”

  I reached for her and pulled her close to me. I hated seeing her hurt. I hated knowing that I didn’t know how to fix all of this.

  “Me, too, Heidi. You know I hate this as well. I don’t even want to hide you.”

  My lips softly brushed against hers. She dissolved into me for a heartbeat before breaking away.

  “Landon,” she hissed. “We’re at work!”

  “I know. I’m sorry. I can’t help it around you.”

  “You are my boss. I am your employee. There is a line we’re not supposed to cross, and you keep hurdling it.”

  “With pleasure.”

  She shook her head. “I hate the idea of you spending any time with Miranda. She’s unpredictable, which makes her a liability. However, if you think you can make headway, then go.”

  “Heidi—”

  “I’ll be fine. I’ll just…go hang out with Em. She’ll understand.”

  I winced. Yeah, I’d hurt Emery. I’d been a total dick. I regretted how I’d acted, and I still carried a great deal of guilt over how that had all gone down. But to have Heidi insinuate that Emery would understand because Heidi was feeling the same way Emery had all those years ago? That felt like a punch to the gut.

  “I’m not going. Not if you’re hurting half as much as Emery was.”

  Heidi sighed. “No, I didn’t mean that with you. I meant, Vanessa,” she said, mentioning Jensen’s ex-wife. “Em goes to see Colton every month and has to deal with her. She can commiserate. Seriously…just go, but don’t enjoy it.”

  A small smile quirked on her lips, and all I wanted to do was take them for my own. To take her right here on this very desk.

  “I could never enjoy a single moment spent with her…when I could be spending it with you.”

  She leaned forward and offered me a short peck. “Good. Now, make the bitch sign the damn paperwork.”

  I laughed. “Deal.”

  I was on my way out of the office, contemplating how to address Miranda about dinner, when Austin and Patrick came up on either side of me.

  “Hey, bro,” Austin said, nudging me.

  “Hey, hey,” Patrick said.

  I could smell the whiskey coming off of Austin. Jesus Christ.

  “Have you been drinking on the job?” I asked Austin.

  He shrugged unapologetically. “Maybe?”

  “One day, they are going to fire you.”

  “Doubtful.”

  “And not why we’re here,” Patrick said with a grin. “We heard that wifey showed up at the office today.”

  “God, have you been talking to Morgan?” I asked.

  “She said that you were going to dinner with Miranda,” Austin said. He raised his eyebrows in question.

  “Yeah. I’m going to get her to sign the paperwork.”

  “Not a good idea,” Austin s
aid.

  “What would you know about good decisions regarding relationships?” I asked with a laugh. “Either of you actually. Have you ever had a serious girlfriend?”

  “Oh, there was that one time,” Patrick said.

  “No, there wasn’t,” Austin said.

  “I mean…you were serious with that HR chick for, like, a hot minute.”

  “Julia?” I asked. “I didn’t know y’all dated.”

  “We didn’t,” Austin said with annoyance. “This isn’t about us. This is about Miranda. I mean, I know you’re banging Heidi…”

  “Could you keep your voice down?” I ground out, looking around the parking lot wildly. Luckily, there was no one nearby. But, Jesus!

  “And Miranda has a way of fucking you over, dude. I mean, you had to marry her before you realized she was a massive bitch.”

  I stopped walking once we reached Jensen’s Mercedes that I was still borrowing. I stared at both of them. I knew they meant well, but they couldn’t possibly understand where I was coming from.

  “Appreciate the concern, guys, but she’s signing the paperwork. That’s it,” I told them.

  “Should I take care of your girl while you’re away?” Patrick asked with a laugh.

  Before I knew what I was doing, I had slammed Patrick backward. He was pressed up against the SUV next to my car, and my hands were fisted in the front of his suit coat him. His eyes widened in alarm.

  “Dude, I was joking!” Patrick cried.

  “Do not ever make a joke like that about Heidi again,” I growled. “Ever.”

  “You know I’m just fucking around,” Patrick said.

  “Landon, bro,” Austin said, placing his hand on my sleeve.

  “Ever,” I repeated.

  “Got it,” Patrick said. “Clear as day. No jokes about Heidi.”

  I released him with a shove and clicked the key fob to open the car. “I’m going to this fucking dinner with my soon-to-be ex-wife, and it’s the last goddamn thing that I want to do. I want this marriage to be over. I want to move on with my life. So, while I appreciate y’all trying to steer me in the right direction,” I said, looking them in the eyes, one at a time, “back the fuck off.”

  Patrick straightened out his suit and gave me a two-fingered salute.