Hungry Boss

by Charlize Starr

  “I never scammed you.” He walked into the bathroom and took her hand, stopping her packing. “I care about you. We’ve got two more weeks.”

  She jerked away from him and zipped up her bag. “Exactly the wrong thing to say, Matt. We have no more time because I’m not giving you another minute to break my heart.”

  Before he knew what was happening, she’d grabbed her purse and, rolling the suitcase behind her, walked to the bedroom door. “I’m going to have the driver take me home. I’ll send him back after I get there. Whatever else I’ve left here, you can keep. Donate it to charity, give it to your next girlfriend—I don’t care.”

  And then she was gone, her heels clicking down the tile hallway. Matt dropped down onto the bed, head in his hands. What had he just done?

  He hadn’t prepared himself to give her up yet and she obviously wasn’t coming back.

  How could she be so mad about something that hadn’t even happened? She wasn’t pregnant—didn’t that make all the rest irrelevant?

  A horrible thought occurred to him and he tried to banish it as soon as it appeared. What if she’d tried to become pregnant to trap him into staying married to her? Despite what he’d given her monetarily, she would have a better, easier life if they stayed married.

  But how could she have done that? He’d been in charge of the birth control they used—condoms—every time. There was no way she could, or would, have sabotaged it.

  He was being a fool, coming up with conspiracy theories so he didn’t have to deal with the fact he had lost her. And he didn’t know what to do, how to live his life without her.

  Chapter Six

  Brooke sat in her messy apartment, trying to figure out what to do next. She didn’t believe that she could work with Matt anymore. It was ironic because she’d been insistent that she keep her job, but she couldn’t imagine having to see him every day when all she wanted was to be with him.

  She had to get over him. It was the only way to move on with her life. And she wasn’t going to spend any more time searching for the perfect man. As awful as their fight was, Matt was her soul mate. She’d found him too late after he’d lived with heartbreak, and he wasn’t able to open his heart to love.

  Or maybe he’d just never felt more for her than lust. She had no way to know. It’s not like he ever talked about his feelings.

  She pulled out her laptop and typed up a letter of resignation. Because of the position Matt had promoted her to, she’d have to take it to Matt’s father, but she would do whatever it took to get away.

  Seeing Matt every day would only reopen the wound, refresh the pain of losing him again and again. She couldn’t do it.

  She went into her old bedroom. She was so glad she’d moved for the duration of her “marriage.” There were no memories of Matt here, nothing but the new clothes and lingerie to remind her of how she’d spent the last three months.

  When she got into the shower, she let go of the brave face she’d been trying to force herself to wear and had a good cry. She needed to look at this without regret. She’d wanted to wait for a man she could love, who would make her happy and Matt had been that man. He just didn’t want more, and she’d have to be an adult and live with that choice.

  After she’d applied her makeup and admonished herself not to cry anymore, she pulled her hair up into a bun and put on a black skirt and blouse. She was in mourning, even if no one else knew. She’d lost the love of her life.

  She walked out to the parking lot and got into her old, beat-up car. It was a good thing she hadn’t upgraded. She’d need a new job as soon as possible and she didn’t need some big car payment hanging over her head.

  At the office, she parked in her old spot. The nameplate had been changed to Mrs. Brooke Cross. She closed her eyes, wondering why Matt had done something like that when it was just a temporary change. She hadn’t even used her parking space since they’d married—she’d rode to work with him in his chauffeured car.

  She looked in the mirror. “Okay, toughen up. No crying. Just go in, hand in the letter of resignation, and get out. No problem.”

  Inside her office building, people called out to her and she forced a smile and waved. What had she been thinking? She’d forever be Matt’s second ex-wife if she’d stayed here. She couldn’t face it.

  “I need to see Mr. Cross,” she said to Richard’s assistant. Once she and Matt were married, her father-in-law had insisted she call him by his first name. He’d forever be Mr. Cross to her, though, especially since this marriage was nothing more than a sham.

  “He asks that you come right in, Mrs. Cross.” The assistant put down the receiver of the phone and gave her a big smile.

  Ugh, she wished people would just call her Brooke. Being called Mrs. Cross was salt in her wound.

  Brooke let herself into Richard’s office and crossed to his desk. He was on the phone, so she took a seat and waited, spreading the letter of resignation out on her lap.

  Finally, he hung up. “So sorry to keep you waiting, Brooke. You know how it can be. I was talking to some shareholders in Tokyo.”

  “Of course. I completely understand, sir.”

  “What have I told you about this ‘sir’ business? We’re family now.”

  “Right, sorry. I just wanted to give this to you personally.” She handed the letter across the desk and Richard took it, quirking an eyebrow at her as he read it.

  “So, you’ve decided to quit. Well, I advocated for that from the beginning. Please tell me it’s because you and Matt have decided to start a family right away.”

  Brooke took a shaky breath. “You should really discuss that with Matt. I just think this is for the best.”

  “All right, then. I understand. Matt does know you’re doing this, right? He’s been a strong proponent of you staying on to work with him as he takes over the company.”

  “No, I’m afraid he doesn’t. I made this choice on my own. I believe he’ll respect it and I have no doubt that he’ll do a wonderful job leading this company into the future.” She kept her face stoic, her words a monotone.

  If Richard were too kind to her, she worried she’d break down all over again, and that would be breaking her agreement with Matt. “If you don’t mind, I think I’m going to go visit my father today. Work has kept me very busy and I haven’t had the time to visit as often as I’d have liked.” Work and her affair with Matt, honestly. Still, she’d been out to see her father at least two or three times a week since he’d moved.

  While she focused on finding a new job, she’d spend more time with her dad. That would help her remember why she’d put herself in this position to begin with.

  ***

  Matt was doing his best to concentrate on the documents in front of him when a call from his father was put through. “Yes?” Matt answered.

  “Your wife just left my office. She resigned her position and she says you didn’t know she was planning to do it.”

  “She did what?” Matt nearly shouted into the phone. Brooke couldn’t quit. She needed her job, needed the income. He didn’t inhabit that world, of living payday to payday, but she’d told him enough of the struggle she and her father had faced.

  “I think you ought to get up here and tell me what’s going on.”

  Brooke hadn’t told his father about their “fake” marriage, which was perfectly legal in every sense of the word. Legal, but troubled, all the same.

  “I’ll be right up.”

  Upstairs, he stormed into his father’s office and held out his hand. “Let me see the letter.”

  Richard handed it across the desk then sat back and crossed his arms. “I think you owe me an explanation, son.”

  Matt read through the letter. Brooke had cited “personal reasons” for leaving. She spoke of her father’s illness, but Matt knew the truth—she’d left because of him. Matt plopped down in the seat across from his father’s desk, at a loss as to how to fix the mess he’d made.

  Brooke was doing everything
she could to eradicate herself from his life, scrub it clean as if their marriage had never existed. As if she had never existed.

  And Matt didn’t want to live in that world. He wanted to come home to her open arms and smiling face. He needed to spend his nights with her, he needed her by his side as he took this company into the future. He needed her, damn it.

  He’d fallen in love with her. It had been obvious for weeks, but he’d tried to pretend otherwise. He spent every waking moment with her and he never got tired of her kind words or sweet caresses. And he’d never grown weary of the hot nights, making love to her over and over. She said he’d driven the relationship, but she was the one in control now. He had to find a way to win her back.

  “My marriage was an accident.” He looked up at his dad, clutching Brooke’s letter in his hand.

  “Fender-benders are accidents. How do you accidentally get married?”

  “We got drunk. We were both tired, worn down, stressed to the max. We had too many drinks. We kissed and… Brooke was waiting for marriage so—”

  “Waiting, as in waiting? She’d never…”

  “Right. And, somehow, in an alcohol-induced loss of reason, we thought it would be a good idea to marry. None of that matters now. What matters is I love her and she’s leaving me.” He waved the letter in his father’s direction. “Those are her ‘personal reasons.’”

  “Why is she leaving?” His father’s brow was furrowed in confusion.

  “We had a pregnancy scare. I blamed her, lost my temper. I was an ass.”

  “Did you tell her all of this?”

  Matt sighed, regret coursing through his veins. “No. I told her she was overreacting.”

  “You never do that. Women hate that.” Suddenly, he was a kid and his dad was giving him advice on women again. And despite all the women Matt had known, had been with, he needed the help. He’d loved his first wife, but she hadn’t loved him. But Brooke?

  Brooke was different. For one thing, he loved her far more than he’d ever loved his first wife. And another thing was in her anger, she’d admitted to being in love with him.

  Now, he just had to figure out the one thing he could do for her, could give her, that no one else could. The one thing that would prove, once and for all, that he loved her.

  “This never happened.” He ripped up the letter and stood. “I know what to do. I’m going to need some help.”

  “Does she make you happy?” His father steepled his fingers on the desk and offered Matt a stern expression.

  “Very much.”

  “Then everyone in this company will be at your disposal. Get your wife back.”

  ***

  Two days after turning in her resignation, Brooke woke up because her phone wouldn’t stop ringing. She’d gone to see her father day before yesterday. Then she’d come home, put on her pajamas, and spent the last forty-eight or so hours crying.

  She was finally getting some sleep, and someone was calling her at… what time was it?

  “Eight-thirty on a Saturday? Ugh, why?” She picked it up to see a number she didn’t recognize. She did, however, know the caller ID. Cross Hospitality Industries.

  She sat up in bed and tucked the covers tighter around her. She was not answering that call. Except, she kind of had to. What if it were something only she could handle? She’d given her notice but promised on her resignation to be available for the next month to answer any questions.

  “Oh, hell.” She slid her finger over the answer bar. “Yes?”

  “Brooke, don’t hang up.” It was Matt, talking fast.

  “I’m hanging up. I promised to be available to the company, not to you.” She tried to tell herself to hit the end button, but she waited a moment longer.

  “Are you still here?” Matt asked.

  She sighed. “Yes. What do you want?”

  “I need to show you something. There’s a car outside your apartment. I want you to go get in the car, gorgeous.”

  “Why would I do that? I’m not sleeping with you for twelve more days only to go through this heartbreak again.”

  “I promise you, I will not ask you for twelve days.”

  Brooke climbed out of bed and went to her window. His normal car wasn’t outside—there was a full stretch limousine. “Why the fancy car? Fancier car,” she corrected. His regular customized Mercedes was hardly drab.

  “The sooner you get in the car, the sooner everything will make sense. Please, I know I haven’t earned it, but if you could just give me a little trust today, you won’t be sorry.”

  “I’ll be down in a minute.”

  “I’m not in the car.”

  Brooke glanced at the phone as if it could explain away her confusion. Slowly, she put it back up to her ear. “Then why am I getting in the car?”

  “Because it’s customary for the groom to not see the bride on their wedding day.” There was a slight chuckle in his voice. He knew how crazy this all sounded. Knew her curiosity would get the better of her because he also knew her.

  “We’re not getting married. We’re supposed to be getting divorced. Please tell me this isn’t some freedom party or something.” She walked over to her closet and started rummaging. She wasn’t getting dressed up. She didn’t care how Matt saw her, not anymore.

  “No, but it is a celebration. Just throw on some clothes, get in the car, and do exactly as my father says.”

  “Excuse me?” She’d been in the process of pulling a pair of jeans out of the closet, but she froze.

  “My dad is going to take you to a church. There’s a team there waiting for you, to do whatever you’d like. If you want to wear one of the white dresses I bought you, that’s fine. If you want to come in cutoffs and a t-shirt, that’s fine, too. What matters is I need to ask you something, in front of God and everyone we know. Will you come to the church?”

  For the first moment since she and Matt had agreed to stay married, Brooke had no clue what was happening. Even when they’d split up, she’d known it was only a matter of time. It was expected. This was not. “Yes.”

  She had to know what he wanted to ask her. She was sure of one thing—he wouldn’t gather everyone just to ask her for a divorce.

  ***

  Matt stood at the front of the church in his tuxedo. He’d been waiting a half-hour longer than the longest he’d anticipated. What if Brooke had changed her mind about showing up?

  He didn’t care if she didn’t want to wear the dress—would understand it, even. More importantly, he didn’t care what she wore or how she looked. He just wanted her to show up.

  He hadn’t heard a peep from either her or his father. The plan had been clear. Bring her to the church, hand her over to the makeup artist, stylists, and seamstress, and then his father would take his place in the church.

  Over the last two days, Matt had enlisted the help of nearly everyone he knew to make sure this went off perfectly. All their friends and coworkers had helped plan this and he was so proud they’d be here to help them usher in the best part of their lives.

  Matt had brought Brooke’s father here, and he waited by the door to escort her down the aisle. If she said yes, he intended to make sure she got the wedding she’d always dreamed about.

  Just when Matt was deciding that maybe he should go check in, see what had gone wrong, the doors opened. Brooke stood in the doorway, the most beautiful woman he’d ever known. She was even more breathtaking than usual, dressed all in white. He’d had several dresses and veils brought for her to choose from and left his mother’s diamond earrings for her to wear.

  She’d chosen perfectly. A gown fitted down to below her hips flared out and a veil fell in cascades down her back. She gave him a nervous look then saw her father and smiled at him.

  Matt’s father hurried to his seat on the front row. He gave a sheepish shrug when Matt arched an eyebrow at him. His father and Brooke had scared him out of his wits. He’d been a wreck, but she was here now.

  The music swelled and h
er father slowly walked her down the aisle, bringing her closer. Matt tried to remember all the things he wanted to say, wondering if he’d be speechless when the time came.

  She stopped and the pastor said, “Who gives this woman away?”

  Mr. Monroe said, “I do,” in a querulous voice. When Matt had called and told him what he wanted to do, her father had been thrilled.

  Brooke joined him up on the stage. Matt held out his hands and she took them both in hers.

  “Why are you doing this, Matt?” She murmured to him so that the room full of guests couldn’t hear her words.

  “Because I’m crazy about you. I’ve fallen so in love with you over the last few months.” “Maybe it’d be better if we talked in private.” She gave a pointed look at his father.

  He clutched her hands tighter. “He knows everything. I’m not ashamed of how we came together. I’m so grateful for that night, the night I really saw you.”

  “Is this for real? It’s not some game to grab power in the company or to keep me in your bed a little longer?” Tears rimmed her eyes.

  “It’s completely real, wife. The company will always be there, but I nearly lost you. I couldn’t let that happen. We’re a perfect team and we’ll be one for the rest of our lives if you say yes.” He swallowed around the lump in his throat. She didn’t look convinced. “Will you please marry me again?”

  “Does that mean a family, too? Because I want kids.” Her voice shook.

  “A boat load, if that’s what you’d like. Just please, marry me—again. Forever this time.”

  “Yes.” She placed her lips on his and the room erupted in applause at the kiss.

  The pastor went on to perform the wedding ceremony. They both spoke their parts without too much fumbling. He couldn’t stop beaming at his wife.

  Matt would forever remember both their wedding days—the day fate had brought them together and the day they had finally found their way to each other, in love, and started their future.