Free Boss Me Good (Boss Me #1) by Eva Grayson

knowing that he must have used those family gatherings and vacations we all took together as chances to pursue my wife—makes me sick to my stomach.
    I can’t do this. “I gotta go,” I say, about to hang up.
    “Wait, wait.” He huffs a frustrated sigh. “Shit. Just…think about it, okay? Mom misses you. She says you haven’t been returning her calls lately. I offered to reach out to you because I don’t want there to keep being bad blood between us. I’m extending the olive branch, for the good of the family.”
    My brother, the selfless martyr. What a laugh. “I’m not the cause of the bad blood here.” I feel myself becoming numb, growing colder inch by inch. This isn’t what I want to do at work. I hate that I’ve let Eric drag me into a conversation I don’t want to have. I’ve put his betrayal behind me and focused on moving forward with my life the best way I know how. But the past keeps trying to drag me under. “I’ll call Mom.” That’s the only concession I’m going to make to him. He isn’t going to force me or guilt me into doing anything.
    He sighs again, but this time it’s world-weary. “Okay. Thank you. I’ll let you go. I know you’re probably busy.”
    “Bye.” I hang up before he can say anything else.
    I’m being stubborn, I know. But I simply can’t let go of what happened and forgive my brother. And I divorced Marianne so I could get away from her, not continue to see the woman existing happily with my brother, still in family pictures, still part of my world.
    If I could get past the feeling that Eric betrayed my trust, I would. But the truth is that I know, deep in my soul, that he wanted her from the very beginning. And so my personal loss quickly became his gain.
    I simply can’t let that go.
    But I know my absence is making my mom grieve. She longs for her family to be united again, no matter the cost to my pride or feelings. I get it. She needs the stability with a desperation I can’t quite understand, given what a wretched husband my father is. Doesn’t mean I have to accept it or bend to it.
    I rest my elbows on the desk and drop my head in my hands. This is so fucked up. I don’t want to think about it anymore.
    A soft knock on my door jars me from my thoughts. In the aftermath of the phone call, I forgot I told Emme to come to me.
    Shit. I’m so out of that mindset now. But that isn’t her fault. I can still give her pleasure, even if I’m struggling with my own personal issues.
    “Come in,” I say. I school my expression to make sure my rampant negative emotions aren’t leaking through. She doesn’t need to be dragged into that shit.
    She opens the door and closes it behind her, a handful of papers clutched in her fist. I hear the click of the lock behind her and give a genuine smile for the first time since I came in here. Making Emme come as hard as she can is suddenly the only thing I want to think about. It will be my mission, something I can do that takes me out of the bad memories, the betrayals, the hard feelings that have calcified around whatever’s left of my heart.
    I rise from my seat and stride toward her, my eyes absorbing the sight of her hips in the black skirt, the form-fitting thin purple dress shirt. The urge to kiss her and lose myself in her is so strong I have to fight it back. But this isn’t about me—it’s about her. This innocent, sexy and spirited woman who’s occupied my thoughts far too much lately.
    “Have a seat at my desk,” I say in a smooth voice.
    Her lips part slightly and I see her breath hitch. She nods and moves over there, pulling herself up against the desk.
    I grab the documents and scroll through them, highlighting three entries. I hand the papers back. “I need you to call these companies on my behalf to schedule initial evaluation appointments with them. I’ve already met them in person, so they know to expect these calls.” I step toward her, peering down into those wide green eyes, fixed on