Breaking up with My Boss: An Enemies to Lovers, Office Romance (Love You Forever Book 4)

by Alexis Winter

  She smiles wide and throws herself into my lap, giggling and kissing me. I’m lost in her, and any thought of leaving doesn’t even register as I hold her against me.

  “So you like it?” I ask around our kiss.

  She smiles and nods, but doesn’t stop kissing me.

  “It’s perfect,” she says, pulling back to look me in the eye.

  “Stop that,” I say, voice hard.

  “Stop what?”

  “Stop trying to distract me with your midnight eyes. We have to leave. We have a flight to catch.” I can’t hold back my smile.

  She laughs. “But I just realized that we’ve never done it on the boat.”

  She’s right. “All right,” I agree, lifting my hips and pushing my shorts down as she moves to straddle me.

  With one arm wrapped around her lower back and the other between her shoulder blades, I pull her down on me and enter her like home. The plane can wait, and if it doesn’t, there are other options. But being with her in this way will always be the most important thing. She’ll always come before everything else—always top priority.

  With the light breeze blowing and the boat softly rocking, we both come undone in record time. I fill her with every last drop and she tenses around me, welcoming it like it quenches a thirst. I kiss her one last time, knowing that this is how we’ll always be. I’ll make sure of it—never slacking on my efforts to keep her happy. Never pushing her to the back burner for something more pressing. She is my life.

  When we’ve both managed to regain control of our bodies, she removes herself from me to fix her clothing, then she takes her seat with a smile and I start up the boat. As we make our journey across the water, I can’t help but take her in: her wide smile, her shining eyes, her dark hair blowing in the breeze, the way her skin shimmers when the light hits it, and her sun-kissed shoulders. I burn it all into my memory, knowing that each year we come here, we’ll both be a little different—a little older, but still just as much in love.

  I used to worry about where the future would lead me, but with her by my side, I no longer worry, because I know it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter if I lose all my money or all my possessions, because I’ll always have her. And as long as I always have her, I’ll always be rich.

  Finding that one person who was meant for you—finding true love—is more important than anything money could ever buy. And if you have your other half, hold on to them. Don’t let the pressures of the world get you down or tear you apart. We’re born alone and we die alone, but we don’t have to be alone. As long as you’ve loved, you’ll always have that person with you, even in the darkest of times . . . even in the end.

  She looks over at me and although it’s too loud to hear with the wind in our ears, she mouths, “I love you.”

  I smile. “I love you. Forever.”

  If you LOVED Breaking up with My Boss then make sure you check out Foster and Harley’s story in My Accidental Forever!

  My Accidental Forever SNEAK PEEK

  First he bailed me out of jail.

  Then we ended up accidentally married...yeah I know, it's a wild ride.

  Thats when I found out he was already promised to someone else.

  Cue operation secretly getting divorced and pretending I’m not falling for him...

  Chapter One

  Harley

  “I’m engaged!” my best friend, Cora, nearly screams as she jumps up and down in front of me. Her right hand is fanning her face. The left is held out, showing off her beautiful, sparkling diamond ring for me to see.

  I do my best to force a smile, hoping and praying that it looks genuine, but who am I kidding? I’m not good at faking anything. My resting bitch face always gives me away. “Congratulations,” I say with as much enthusiasm as I can muster as I take her left hand in mine and look at her ring.

  She pulls me forward into a rib-crushing hug. Her giggles turn to tears. “Oh, Harley. I didn’t think this day would ever come,” she says, sniffling. “Now you’re the only one that’s left.”

  Yeah, rub it in. That makes things better.

  Let me start by saying that I’m not your stereotypical girl. I’ve never been one to dream of my prince charming or the perfect wedding. It’s not that I’m just dying to get married, but it sucks that I’m the last of my friends who is still single. Sarah has two kids already. Jessica is pregnant. Lilly, Meredith, and now Cora are all engaged. And myself…well, I have a couple of foster dogs at home, no real boyfriend, and no intentions of settling down any time soon. I feel like everyone is just way better at this adulting stuff than I am. It feels like I just discovered that I’m in a race and I’m already in last place.

  “I know,” I agree. “But I think I’ll always be the single one. You know, the cool aunt who keeps the secrets and sneaks alcohol at all the kid parties,” I joke, and she pretends to ignore the hint of sadness in my tone.

  She forces a laugh and playfully smacks my arm. “You’re a riot,” she says, blowing me off. “Seriously, aren’t there any guys who may stick? I know you’re seeing like three dudes right now right?”

  I roll my eyes. “I am not ‘seeing’ three of them,” I argue.

  She gasps. “You are too! There’s Brett, the motorcycle racer. There’s Tony, the almost MMA fighter. And there’s Will, the aspiring musician. You don’t think any of them will stick?” She sits back down in the chair across from my desk and I follow suit.

  “Well, let’s see. Brett,” I start ticking them off on my fingers, “he’s already out of the picture. He’s gone to Florida for a race. We went one two dates and no I didn’t sleep with him.” I hold up my second finger. “Tony, he stopped talking to me when I didn’t put out on the first date,” I say, and she gasps as she leans forward to smack me across the arm. I quickly dodge away, out of her reach. “And Will, he’s still around but it’s nothing serious.”

  She shakes her head. “How could you leave Tony like that? He was hot as hell, Harley!”

  I nod. “I know, but he seriously sucked at fighting and thought he was amazing and I’m not down with a dude that expects me to suck his dick because he bought me a steak. Fuck right off bro.” I shrug. “I want a winner, not a loser who always has black eyes,” I joke.

  She rolls her blue eyes and shakes her head, making her red curls sway with the motion. “Seriously, you keep being this picky and you will end up alone.”

  I laugh. “Well, I’m always going to be this picky, but while you guys are all tied down to your husbands and kids and PTA meetings, I’ll be out living my best life and traveling the world. So, who’s really losing here?” I ask with a wink, but keep my tone light and playful as a smile stretches across my face. We both know I’m kidding but what she doesn’t see is how much I’d actually love to be tied down like that.

  She giggles. “I guess it all depends on what you want. I want to be married, have a couple of kids, always have my best friend with me, through thick and thin. But good for you for not following along with all these boring traditions.” She rolls her eyes and I can tell she doesn’t believe a word of my story.

  “Yeah, I mean, all that marriage stuff is good for you and the girls, but I’m just not that type.”

  “That won’t stop you from joining us at the bar tonight, right? To celebrate?” She offers up a smile as her shoulder rise.

  “I wouldn’t miss it,” I promise. “I’m so happy for you babe. Just because I might not want the same things as you doesn’t ever diminish my happiness for you and all our friends.”

  “Good,” she says, standing up and heading for the door to my office. “I’ll text you the details, but plan for a wild night,” she says, pointing at me.

  I hold up my hand and wave as she makes her way out of my office. The door softly clicks closed behind her and I’m finally alone. A long breath leaves my lips slowly as I lean my head back against my chair. My eyes find the white ceiling and flutter closed.

  Like I said, I don’t want marriage. I don�
��t want to be tied down. I don’t want to go to sleep with the same man every night. At this point, I’m not sure if I’m reminding myself of this or trying to convince myself. Jealously and guilt naw at my stomach. I hate that I feel this way. I don’t want to be jealous and that’s why I feel guilty. My jealously got in the way of being happy for Cora, and she deserves nothing less. Tonight, I will be happy for her. I will be excited, even though it feels like all my friends are growing up faster than I am. They’re moving on with their kids, husbands, and fiancés and here I am, scraping together my pennies for the fifty cent drafts at Stella’s. My life has seriously gone off the rails.

  With that thought, I think I’ll take off early today. I close all the windows that are open on my computer and shut it down. I shut off the lamp on my desk, grab my phone, keys, and bag and start for the door. I lock my office behind me and then make my way through the shelter. The sound of barking fills my ears as I make my way down the hallway and into the front lobby. Jenna is standing behind the desk, her attention on the computer screen. When she hears my footsteps, she looks up. “Taking off early today?”

  “Yep, I’ve just had all the fun I can handle,” I tell her, leaning against the counter with my keys and phone in each hand.

  “Any plans? Got a hot date or anything for the weekend?”

  I roll my eyes. “No hot date, not yet anyway. My friend just got engaged so we’re going out to celebrate. Fingers crossed I find a hottie there.”

  She giggles and I wink. “See ya Monday.”

  “Enjoy your weekend, and try not to catch any diseases this weekend,” she jokes.

  I laugh. “Same to you, my friend. Same to you.” I push my way out of the swinging doors and head for my car in the parking lot.

  I open the door to my blacked out Jeep Wrangler and climb behind the wheel. I drop my bag into the passenger seat and drop my keys into the cup holder as my foot presses the break and my finger finds the start button. The motor turns over and purrs to life. The air that blows out of the vents is hot from sitting around all day so I roll down the windows until it cools off. Summer is just starting and already it’s unbearable.

  I click my seatbelt and shift into drive. Looking both ways, I pull out onto the nearly empty street. As I drive, I can’t help but to feel more alone than usual. Maybe it’s because my only single friend is now on the marriage train. Her and the girls will be doing married lady things and I’ll be forever alone and left out. On the sidewalk across the street, a man and a woman walk hand in hand. He looks at her and she looks back with a smile. He tugs her to him and they kiss. I roll my eyes and scoff. “Oh come on! Get a room,” I mumble to myself.

  I guess I should get it all out of my system now. I have to be happy and excited for Cora. I can’t let my bitterness and jealously ruin this for her or me. This could be one of the last nights we get to party together. Soon, she’ll be consumed with wedding planning and then married life. Maybe it’s time I find a few unmarried women to kick it with.

  Fuck that. I need to stop thinking about marriage altogether. I’m twenty-four. I have a full-time job making very little money. In fact, more than half my income goes to paying my car and bills. Luckily for me, I don’t eat much. And I date a lot so I get free meals, but still. Does that scream ready for marriage and kids to you? It doesn’t to me. I need to grow up before I can think of settling down with anyone. I need to be more responsible before I think of having kids. Or…do I even want kids? Maybe I can find a man like me, always ready to have fun and doesn’t want to be tied down. Now, that would be the life. But I’m sure my girlfriends would disagree.

  I pull into the driveway and park my Jeep. I shut the engine off and grab my things as I unbuckle. I hop out and before I get to the door, I can hear the dogs barking with excitement from inside. They’re my kids, for now anyway.

  I unlock the door and let myself in. Four dogs greet me and I fall to my knees to play with them in the doorway.

  Bob licks my face. Gizmo is jumping all around, wagging his tail and beating me to death with it. Juno is hanging out in the back, she’s the newest addition and isn’t sure what’s going on yet. And Dozer, well he’s all over me, making me fall back until I’m laying on my back on the floor. I can’t hold back my giggles at how excited they are.

  “Okay, okay. Who wants to go outside?” I ask, pushing them back as I work to get myself off the floor. They all start barking, whining, and running for the back door. I walk through the living room, kitchen, and into the laundry room where the back door is located. I unlock it and open it, and all the dogs go running out at full speed. I step outside to watch them run and play in the fenced in back yard. I got lucky with this place.

  This is my grandmother’s house and I only got it after she moved into her assisted living condo across town. The place is paid for, but I still have to pay water, power, and property taxes. Plus the upkeep of fixing anything that breaks and paying the company that mows the lawn. It’s a great place and I couldn’t even find an apartment on what I make, especially one that is okay with me having foster dogs. But fostering the animals is a part of my job, and it’s often one of my favorite parts.

  I work as the PR director for a local no shelter so I handle all the advertising, adoption and foster events. But no kill also means non-profit. I get paid very little. I know I could probably go elsewhere with my talents, but this is where my heart is. My dad once said, find a job you love and you’ll never work a day in your life. Well, I may have taken that a little too seriously. There should have been something in that speech that included money somewhere, you know, so I can provide for myself a little better. Don’t get me wrong, I make enough to stay afloat, but it would be nice to not constantly be trying to figure out if I can afford to go on a three day weekend once a year or get my eyebrows done. It would be nice just to skip out of work for a fancy lunch and a shopping spree, but this is the life I chose. Sometimes, I think I’m doing this whole adulting thing wrong.

  As I watch the dogs run and play, my phone chimes from my back pocket. I pull it free and read the message on the screen from Cora.

  Stella’s Bar, eight o’clock. Be prepared to party it up!

  I laugh and shake my head before turning the screen off and sliding it back into my pocket. I stretch and let out a loud yawn. Maybe I just didn’t get enough sleep last night. Maybe I’ll take a nap before hitting the town. That’s probably why I feel weird today; it’s not because Cora is engaged. That thought makes me feel a little bit better.

  I clap my hands and call for the dogs. They come running immediately and we all go back inside. They rush off to the living room, ready to lay down, a couple playing tug-of-war with their rope toy while I make myself a late lunch. I eat a sandwich and some chips and drink a glass of tea before locking the house and going to the bedroom for a nap. I leave the bedroom door open and every single dog climbs into bed with me. I really need a bigger bed.

  The alarm on my phone goes off two hours later and my eyes flutter open. I silence the alarm and look toward the window where the late afternoon sun is filtering through the blinds. The dust particles in the air are light up like glitter as they float down to the ground. It’s five o’clock, but thanks to it being early summer, the sun is still high in the sky, not ready to go down and call it a day yet.

  I stretch and yawn, trying to force myself to wake up. Finally, I push myself to my feet and trudge to the shower. I strip out of my jeans and don’t buy, adopt T-shirt I wore to work today. I climb beneath the hot flow of water and tilt my head back, allowing the hot water to wash over my hair and face.

  I take extra time in the shower since there is still a couple of hours until the party. I shave and wash and condition my hair. I do a hair mask and a face mask, and then use my in-shower lotion so I’m nice and soft. Finally, I have nothing left to do so I climb out and wrap a towel around myself.

  I decide to throw on some pajamas while I do my hair and makeup and find something for dinner. I end up ea
ting a salad on the couch while my hair air dries. Once I finish, I’m back in the bathroom to get ready for the long night of partying that’s sure to come.

  At seven I’m finally fully dressed and ready to have a night out on the town. I stand back and look myself over in the mirror. My black skinny jeans hug every curve of my hips and thighs. The holes and rips from the distressing gives a peek at my tanned legs. I tuck in a simple white tank and throw on a black and gold belt. I pair the outfit with a pair of black high heeled boots. I went extra heavy on the eye makeup, with a smoky eye, false lashes, and a shiny lip. My long dark hair is full of curls and body, looking a little messy just like I like it. I grab my purse and head for the car, more than ready to celebrate with my girls.

  I walk into Stella’s and the place is already crowded. Every table is occupied. Every barstool already taken. The dance floor is filled with moving bodies and groups stand in almost every free area of the bar. I find the girls in a back corner booth. I put a smile on my face and make my way back.

  “Harley!” Cora yells with a smile when she sees me. She rushes up to me, throwing her arms around my neck for a big hug.

  I giggle. “You hit the sauce already?,” I ask her, hugging her back and picking pink boa feathers out of my mouth.

  She pulls back and laughs, smoothing down her boa. “I might have pregamed,” she winks at me dramatically. “You ok? You seemed a little sad today.”

  I wave her off. “I was just tired…and hungry. Both problems have been solved now. I’m good. Now, what do you say to getting hammered and not remembering this night?” I ask with a wide smile.

  She throws her arms in the air and lets out a long howl before leading me the rest of the way to the table where shots are already lined up.

  Shots are poured quickly and the beer seems to be in an endless supply. I don’t remember making the conscious decision to attempt to kill myself with alcohol tonight, but that’s apparently what I’ve done. My vision is blurring and my body feels extra sensitive. Of course, that could have something to do with the arms I’m engulfed in. A sexy man who’s tall, muscular, has thick dark hair, and a scruff to his jaw is holding me close, his body grinding against mine.