In bed with my boss

CHAPTER 16

EMILY

“Mommy! Guess what happened today!”

I smiled before I could stop myself. “What happened, sweetheart?”

“Grandma took me to the park, and this girl pushed me.”

My smile vanished. “She pushed you? Are you okay?”

“Mhmm.” I heard a tiny sniffle. “I fell on my knees, but grandma took me to the clinic.”

Relief loosened the knot in my chest. “Did the doctor take good care of you?”

“Yep! And I got a Barbie plaster.” Her excitement returned in an instant. “It’s pink! Wait, look!”

A brief silence followed.

“Oh…” she murmured. “You can’t see.”

I laughed softly. “No, baby. It’s not a video call, so I can’t.”

“It’s really pretty, though. Grandma said I was so brave, and then she bought me chocolate ice cream because I cried.”

“You cried?”

“Just a little,” she said quickly. “Only because it really, really hurt.”

I listened as she told me about her day— the new friends she’d made at school and at the park, the toys grandma had bought for her— and I couldn’t help the smile growing on my face.

Annie had canceled on me less than an hour ago after the guy she’s been seeing suprised her with a last-minute date. We’d planned to order pizza and watch The Notebook, but I couldn’t exactly ask her to turn him down for me. So, with an unexpectedly free evening on my hands, I’d called home instead.

“I’m sorry that happened, baby.” I said, hoping she’d hear me over the SpongeBob theme song playing in the background.

“I’m okay now, mommy!” She squealed into the phone.

“Aria?” My mom’s voice drifted from somewhere in the background. “Have you seen my phone?”

“I’m talking to mommy!” She yelled back before lowering her voice into a whisper. “Grandma always forgets where she puts it.”

“Oh my gosh! Give me that phone before you tell her I fed you nothing but ice cream.”

Aria giggled. “I already did, Grandma!”

“You naughty girl,” she chuckled as I heard a brief shuffle over the phone.

“Go pack your sleepover bag while I talk to your mom.”

“Okay, Grandma!”

I smiled as her little voice faded into the background.

“Emily, my dear,” my mom said. “How are you?”

“I’m fine, mom.”

“Emily, baby, I don’t have to see your face to know whether you’re fine or not. So tell me, how do you really feel?”

“Exhausted mom.” I let out a slow breath. “Work’s been busy. I just got back from a business trip, and now I’m trying to adjust into my new life here.”

My gaze drifted around the small living room, and landed on the boxes still tucked against the wall.

Work might’ve been excruciating, but coming back to a quiet apartment instead of my mom’s and Aria’s delighted faces was even harder.

“Pumpkin,” my mother said gently, “don’t be too hard on yourself. You just got there, and as for work, it’s always going to be busy and stressful. But I promise, it’ll get better with time.”

I had always trusted every word that came out of my mother’s mouth, but the whirlwind of events since moving back to New York made believing her a little harder.

“I hope so, mom, because it feels like everything’s happening all at once.”

She chuckled softly. “Emily, please trust me.”

I swallowed past the lump in my throat and slowly let the tension leave my shoulders.

She was right.

Just like before, everything will eventually fall into place.

“I’m only going to trust you because you somehow always end up being right.”

She burst into laughter, and before long I was laughing with her.

“Grandma!” Aria’s tiny voice interrupted. “I’m done packing my bag!”

“Good job, my little pumpkin,” my mom cheered. “Now come say bye to your mommy before we go.”

“Mommy!”

She shouted so loudly that I had to pull the phone away from my ear.

“Hi, little lady.” I smiled as I placed it back against my ear. “Where’s your grangran taking you?”

“To my friend Mia’s house for a sleepover!”

My brows pulled together.

“But mom, how are you taking her when you’re not fit enough to drive?”

“Please, Emily, it’s just knee surgery. And before you have a heart attack, Drew’s doing the driving.”

The knot in my chest loosened.

“Mom… you should’ve led with that.”

She laughed. “And miss hearing you panic?”

I shook my head with a smile.

We listened as Aria excitedly listed everything she planned on doing during the sleepover.

I couldn’t help smiling.

She’d come a long way.

There was a time she could barely look another child in the eye, but the more we too her to the park, the more she slowly came out of her shell. Knowing she no longer hid behind us every chance she got filled me with a quiet kind of relief.

“Speaking of Drew, have you had time to speak to him?” Mom asked.

“Yes. We talked last week, and he mentioned he’ll be in New York to display his art at a friend’s showcase.”

“I’m so proud of him,” she said warmly. “Make sure you—”

Knock.

The sound echoed through my apartment making my shoulders immediately tensed.

I wasn’t expecting anyone.

Annie was the only person who knew where I lived and she was out on a date.

“Who’s there?” Mom asked.

“I have no idea,” I said as I pushed myself off my couch. “I’ll go check.”

“No, pumpkin!” She exclaimed. “What if the person standing at the other side of your door is Micheal Myers?”

A laugh escaped me.

“Mom, stop being dramatic.”

“I’m not, Emily. There are too many serial killers walking around these days, so if you’re opening that door, you’re staying on the phone with me.”

I smiled despite myself. “Okay, mom.”

I unlocked the door and pulled it open.

To my utmost surprise, I found myself face-to-face with Jack.

Cole’s driver.

What the hell was he doing here?

My gaze swept past him, searching for any sign of Cole, but the hallway behind him was empty.

“Mom, I’ll call you back later.”

“Emily.”

“I promise.”

There was a brief pause before she sighed.

“Okay, pumpkin. Don’t forget to take your vitamins and get enough rest.”

“I won’t. Goodbye, mom.”

I ended the call before turning my attention back to Jack.

“Hello, Ms. Carter,” He greeted.

“Please, call me Emily.”

He nodded politely.

Silence settled between us.

“Did I… leave something in the car?” I asked, already eager to get back inside and prepare for work tomorrow.

“No, you didn’t.”

His expression remained unreadable.

“Mr. Calloway asked me to deliver a message personally.”

Personally?

I swallowed. “What message?”

“He’d like you to come to his office first thing tomorrow morning before work begins.”

I frowned. “For what?”

Jack held my gaze for a beat before answering. “He said he’ll explain everything himself.”

A chill crawled up my spine.

Cole wasn’t the kind of man who wasted time.

If he had sent his personal driver across the city instead of emailing…

Then whatever waited for me tomorrow wasn’t just an assignment.

It was something bigger.