Just Before My Wedding: Trapped By My Ruthless Boss novel Chapter 60

Chapter 60

KISAREL

The words Minnesota‘ kept ringing in my head all evening, even as I sat at the table across from where my boss was having his business dinner, staring at the same page of my notepad for the last twenty minutes without reading a single line of it.

I had been a bit too distracted, even when I arrived. I had arrived at the restaurant to find Oceans already striding through the entrance, so I had simply fallen into step beside him the professional way – no casual greeting exchanged, no acknowledgment beyond the brief, sideways glance he gave me that moved over my dress and came back to the front without comment. We looked like two people who had spent the whole day doing nothing but being professional.

We took our respective tables and focused on things that were important to us. And for me, the most important thing right now was understanding why anyone from Minnesota would call me in the first place.

I had an extremely small circle. The kind of life I had while growing up didn’t lend itself to wide networks or casual acquaintances scattered across the country. I knew the people in front of me, and I knew Elgin, and I knew the walls of whatever room I was currently surviving in, and that was the full geography of

I knew nobody in Minnesota,

Nobody in Minnesota should know me.

“Hey, gorgeous.”

my world.

Someone’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts. I lifted my gaze to see who it was.

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“Oh. It’s you.” I forced a polite smile. “Have you been able to sort it out?” I asked as the blonde guy who looked around twenty–eight, took the seat opposite mine.

It was Mr. Garret’s PA.

“Oh. That? I did. Just barely through the skin of my tooth. Otherwise, Garett will have my head on a stake by morning,” He said with a grin. “I’m Alex, by the way.”

I laughed despite myself. “Kisarel.”

“Kisarel. He tested the name. “Beautiful name. Sounds like it belongs to someone who has their life together.” He gestured

between us.

“Thank you, Alex,” I said with a smile, and he nodded.

“It’s been a really long week.” He leaned into his chair.

“It’s just Wednesday.” I replied.

“Exactly” He pointed at me. “It’s been a week, and it’s Wednesday. That’s how this week is going, with a boss like Garett.”

I laughed again.

So, you work for Stark”

He looked at me for a moment. And you’re still alive.

Tanghed. Why does everyone keep saying that?

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hapter 60

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Because we mean it. He glanced toward the table where our respective bosses were deep in conversation. “Mr. Garrett once made me redo a seating arrangement four times because the fourth chair was two inches off.” He turned back to me. “Two inches, Kisarel.”

“At least he noticed the chair,” I said. “Mr. Stark once told me my glasses didn’t suit me and threw them behind him.”

Alex stared at me.

“Behind him,” he repeated.

“Behind him.”

We both laughed again.

He made me comfortable enough to forget all about Minnesota for a moment.

We talked. About the dinner, about the Garrett–SSC deal that had apparently been in negotiation for longer than either of

looked our tenures, about the universal suffering of being the person responsible for making sure the person above you organized when they fundamentally were not.

It was fun.

I was mid–laugh, my head tilting back slightly with it, when I felt the pressurized awareness of eyes that had weight to them.

I turned. and Oceans was looking directly at me from across the room, with focused, flat intensity.

His jaw was set. His dinner companion was talking, and Oceans was not listening to a single word of it.

I held his gaze for one second.

Then I turned back to Alex and picked up my water glass.

Why would he stop me from making friends? I was sitting at a table doing my job, talking to another PA about work, at a professional dinner that he had brought me to. This was normal. This was what normal people did at dinner functions.

“So,” Alex said, apparently having noticed none of the above, “has anyone explained to you yet why the Garrett–SSC deal has taken eight months when it should have taken two?”

“No,” I said. “Tell me.”

He leaned

than toni “ward with the delighted expression of someone who had been waiting to tell this story for considerably longer

And I had no plans of spending the whole evening, monitoring Oceans‘ expression every other second or for every single time I laughed.

The doors of the car closed, and we both settled into our seats.

Oceans hadn’t said a single word to me since he shook hands with Mr. Garrett and we walked out of the restaurant.

were wrapping up

Although I had exchanged numbers with Alex before we left a quick, easy swap over the table while our respective bosses and the moment I sat down in this car, I had texted the number to Elgin, deleted the text, and saved it properly. Just in case. I was half expecting Oceans to do what he had done earlier today with the cab guy’s contact.

The tension in the car was so thick that you could feel it on your skin.

I kept my eyes forward and told myself I had done nothing wrong. I had attended a professional dinner, spoken to a

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Chapter 60

colleague, laughed at things that were genuinely funny, and conducted myself with complete propriety. There was nothing to account for. Nothing to apologize for. Nothing that warranted whatever was currently radiating off the man sitting eighteen inches to my left like a weather system that had made a personal decision about me.

I watched the streets through the window and noticed the driver take a turn that wasn’t leading to Elgin’s house. And neither was it leading to my new house.

“Oceans.” I kept my voice carefully neutral. “Do you want the driver to drop you off first before taking me home?” I asked. hoping that was his plan.

He was quiet for a while before responding, still without looking at me, “You’re spending the night at my place.”

Something crashed against the inside of my ribcage.

“What? No. I’m not – I didn’t bring anything, and I haven’t-”

He turned, and the look on his face when his eyes found mine reached somewhere that my carefully maintained neutrality had no defense for. It was dark, holding a dangerous stillness of a man who had been sitting on something for the better part of three hours and had made a decision about what to do with it.

you scared?”

“I don’t give a fuck. Kisarel,” He bit out through gritted teeth. He tilted his head slowly, “Are y

The smile that followed wasn’t a real smile. It had the shape of one and none of the warmth.

“Oceans… I did my best to sound brave, even though my heart was hammering in my o

chest.

“You should be.” His fingers found my chin. “Because I have been thinking about what I’m going to do to you tonight for the last three hours.” His thumb traced my jaw slowly. “And I am even a little afraid of it myself.”

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