SECRETLY MARRIED TO MY BOSS

Chapter 15

Giffin

Cora yawns and sprawls out on the couch, her feet dangling. She holds the document she’s reading high above her head.

She puts the paper down and tilts her head back to look at me. “I think we should get going. It’s late, and it’s been a long day.”

Which is likely a polite way of saying she wants nothing to do with me after I f****d her on my desk.

But I want everything to do with her.

There is no good way to tell her that. Our relationship is complicated as it is. I don’t need to make it worse by telling her that I want her all for myself—no, I realize I need her like I need air.

I stretch and get up from the chair, collecting the evidence files to bring home with me. “Alright. Let’s pack this up, and I’ll take you home.”

I don’t know when my desperation for her started. It would be impossible to pinpoint an exact date.

Somewhere between when she started working for me and right now, I started caring a lot more about what Cora thinks about me.

Cora collects the papers and stacks them in a neat pile. “I can take myself home.”

I give her a flat look and stuff the stack into my briefcase. “I’ve seen the car you drive, Cora. I’m pretty sure it'll break down on the side of the road one day. If that happens, I don’t want that to be well after midnight on your way home alone from work.”

Her lips purse, hesitation in her gaze. “Griffin, are you sure about this?”

I close the briefcase and grab my jacket from the closet near the door. “Yes, I’m sure. Go get your things; let’s get out of here.”

She leads the way out of the office, and I stand beside her desk as she puts her heels back on. Cora grabs some files and stuffs them into her purse before nodding at me.

We leave the office together, and something about this moment feels right.

Hell, something about us feels right, even if she can’t see that yet.

I could make her see that. I could take as long as possible with this divorce. If she just looked a little harder, she would see that there was something between us.

But getting closer to her comes with its own risks… I’m mainly concerned about my friend Jake. It would only hurt him.

He would worry when I was going to hurt his sister. He’d never accept us together because he’d think I was only using her for the short term to fill a void.

But there is nothing short-term about a relationship with Cora.

I unlock the doors to my car for her, and she slides into the passenger seat, setting her purse on the floorboard.

The drive to her house is quick and filled with the soft sound of music playing in the background.

Tension resides between us, making me feel like there is nothing I can say to break the uneasiness.

We slept together, and although I know I should regret it, I don’t.

I want to spend the foreseeable future tangled up in the sheets with her for as long as possible.

Cora’s finger darts out in front of me. “Take that street there. My apartment building is at the end of it.”

My eyebrows raise, but I keep my mouth shut.

The neighborhood surrounding us is rundown. Houses look like they are barely held together.

Children’s toys and rotting cars litter overgrown yards. People rest against fences under flickering streetlights.

Cora’s apartment building is right in the middle of it. I pull up in front of the main door, my hands tightening on the wheel at the lack of security.

“Why is there no code to enter your building?” I glance over at her as she grabs her purse.

Cora rolls her eyes. “It’s a safe enough building. Keep your head out of everybody else’s business, and nothing will happen.”

I twist to look at her. “You’ve got to be kidding me, Cora. If that’s how you feel about your neighborhood, maybe it’s time to look for a new place to live.”

“I’m fine where I am.” She gets out of the car and slams the door behind her.

I turn off the engine and get out, following her to the door. “No wife of mine is going to live here. You’re going to pack a bag—right now—and you’re going to come with me.”

Cora shakes her head and leads the way down the hall to a staircase with a flickering light. “You can’t tell me what to do just because we’re married and we—"

We f****d.

I point at the dried blood splatter on the wall. “This is not a safe place to live in.”

“And why should you care? It’s not where you have to live, so everything will be fine.” She climbs the stairs to the second floor and opens the door to her unit. “I’m fine here, and besides, it’s only until I have my debt paid off. After that, I can go rent somewhere nicer to live.”

The carpet that lines the hall is dark brown. As I gaze at the swirls in the carpet, I ponder whether they’ve always been that color or if they’ve just never been cleaned.

“Cora, you know your brother would lose his s**t if he knew you were living here.”

She unlocks the door and steps inside. “Which is exactly why he doesn’t need to know that I live here.”

I pull out my phone and look at her. “Alright, so either you come with me to my house, or I call Jake and get him to come pick you up.”