Total pages in book: 54
Estimated words: 49814 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 249(@200wpm)___ 199(@250wpm)___ 166(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49814 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 249(@200wpm)___ 199(@250wpm)___ 166(@300wpm)
"Fuck," he growls, burying my face in his throat as I break. "Come on, Constance. Let's get you inside before I decide to kill the prick."
I called him on the way to give him a brief overview of recent events. Naturally, he's furious—both because I've been sleeping with my boss and because I'm crying over him.
Caleb has been overprotective for my entire life, and he's always hated when I cry. So Bastian is not his favorite person right now.
"You c-c-can't kill him," I choke, clinging to him as he practically hauls me into the foyer before slamming the door behind me.
"Oh my," Sutton whispers as their tiny terrorist of a dog tries to climb my legs. "Koda, behave." She says it as if she expects him to listen, but Koda has never listened a day in his life. He does what he wants.
Caleb hauls me into the living room before settling me on the plush sofa. A second later, he shoves half a box of tissues into my hands. Less than a second after that, Koda is in my lap, trying to steal the tissue.
Sutton plucks him up, placing him back on the floor.
He protests with a growl—which honestly sounds more like he's yelling than anything, really. Little dogs are wild.
"Here." Caleb settles beside me, wrapping one big arm around my shoulders. "Please stop crying. It's making me homicidal."
I choke on another protest.
"You're not helping, Caleb," Sutton murmurs from my other side.
"Fucking clearly," he says, resignation heavy in his voice.
"I'm s-sorry." I dab at my face, trying to get myself under control. "I d-don't even know why I'm crying."
"I do." My brother's dark glower somehow grows even darker. "You're in love with the prick."
"Caleb, you can't just call him that," Sutton chastises gently. "Obviously, he's not a horrible person, or she wouldn't love him." She's definitely more sensible than my brother. I'm really damn glad that he has her.
"If he were worth a damn, she wouldn't be crying over him right now," he growls.
Sutton just shakes her head before sitting beside me to lean her head against mine. "Do you want to talk about it, Constance?"
"No." I hiccup. "Yes. He gave my j-job to someone else. Why would he do that?" I stare at the blank television screen across from the sofa.
I've tried to make sense of it all the way here, but it still doesn't add up to me. I still don't understand why he just decided to hire someone else. I can't figure out why he didn't talk to me about it first.
Bastian doesn't do anything without thinking it through. He doesn't make split-second decisions. He's methodical…except when he's inside me anyway. I'm the only person who ever makes him lose control.
But that's not what this is. What can't he tell me? Why can't he tell me? He said so many perfect things yesterday. It feels like they all got ripped away today, and I don't get it.
"Are you saying that he fired you?" Sutton gasps, offended on my behalf.
"No. Yes." I shrug helplessly. "I don't know. He s-said that I belong there, and I'll always have a p-place there." I dab at my eyes again. "But he's giving my job to someone else."
"Why?"
"I don't know."
"Did you ask him?" Sutton asks.
I nod. "He said he can't tell me yet."
"What the fuck?" Caleb's scowl darkens again. "What the fuck kind of answer is that?"
"I don't know!" I cry, burying my face in my hands. "Yesterday, he was talking about getting me p-pregnant, telling me that we belong together, and then he just decided to give my job to someone else without even talking to me. Who does that?"
"Jesus." Caleb massages his forehead like this whole thing is giving him a headache or stressing him out. "Constance, I'm the last one to defend the motherfucker. Believe me, I don't even like him right now…but a man doesn't just talk about getting someone pregnant and then fire her."
I sigh, shredding a piece of tissue. "He didn't even talk to me about it," I whisper. "That's what hurts the most. I'm supposed to be someone he wants to build a future with, but he couldn't even talk to me."
Caleb and Sutton share a look.
"What?" I growl.
"For the record, I'm mad as hell that I'm defending the guy," my brother says, his voice full of weary resignation. "But…maybe he's not wrong."
"What the hell?"
"He's your boss, which is obviously an issue. If the two of you are going to build a future together, he can't be your boss, too," Caleb says. "It'd never work."
I bite my lip because he isn't wrong. Hasn't that been my fear all along? That the lines are too blurred, and it's going to mess everything up? And I wasn't entirely wrong either, was I? It did mess everything up. I needed Bastian to be my partner and talk to me today. Instead, he acted like my boss and made an executive decision.