Page 298 of Manhattan Bossholes

“Look,” I said, taking a deep breath to get a handle on my frustration. “You have to understand⁠—”

“Understand?” he snapped. “What the fuck do I have to understand?”

“Can you calm down for two seconds?” I gritted out between clenched teeth.

“Why should I be calm?”

“So I can explain what really happened.”

He let out a bitter, mocking laugh. “I’m pretty sure I’ve put the pieces together. All I’m missing are a few little details. Was this your plan all along, ever since I got you fired? When we met again at Dee’s and you saw your opening, is that when you dreamed up this whole revenge scheme? Fuck, you’ve been manipulating me all along, haven’t you? And I was just too stupid to see it.”

“Oh my God,” I said. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Did you or did you not talk to my mother?”

Geez, he was infuriating! “Yes, I did, but⁠—”

“That’s all I need to know,” Trent said, cutting me off again. “What else could you possibly have to say?”

“Well, nothing, the way you’re carrying on.”

“The way I’m carrying on?” he roared. “You have no idea what I just had to deal with up there, staring the board members in the face as my mother used the ammunition you gave her to tear down my reputation!”

I’d had enough of this. Trent obviously wasn’t in the right headspace to have a rational conversation right now, and I wasn’t going to stand here and take his abuse. “You need to leave,” I said.

He scoffed.

“Get out of my office!” I said. Louder. Bolder. “Until you can calm down.”

“This is my company!” he shot back. “You’re the one who needs to leave!”

My spine went rigid. Was he…no, he couldn’t possibly be serious, could he? I thought we needed some space from each other to cool down, but this sounded like⁠—

“Pack your shit and get the hell out!”

Like that. A sad little sound of disbelief escaped me. I felt like I’d been transported back into Echo’s offices as I got fired for telling the truth; back into the apartment I used to share with Fisher as we had that last fight; back into my bed when I got that middle-of-the-night call from my parents’ neighbor telling me about the house fire. Back into all the moments when the ground disappeared from underneath me, and everything I’d counted on vanished. Stupid, was all I could think. How could you be so stupid to think that wouldn’t happen here? That you’d finally found a safe place to land?

“Trent—”

“Go, Natasha! I don’t want to see you here ever again!”

“Right then,” I said, forcing myself to react. I grabbed my purse from my desk. “Consider me gone.”

I brushed by Trent on my way to the door, swinging it open and storming across the conference room. Office doors quickly shut, and I knew the team had been listening to every horrible accusation he’d thrown at me.

The humiliation burned, as did the anger over him treating me that way. And yet, some ridiculous part of me actually slowed down as I reached the hall, hoping, waiting, wanting for him to call me back. For him to admit he’d overreacted and to say that he’d let me explain—that he wanted us to work this out. But that was a fantasy.

I reached for the elevator button. Trent didn’t try to stop me, and when the elevator came, I stepped in without looking back.

22

TRENT

Can’t make it tonight, I messaged the guys, bailing on our squash game. I slumped back in my office chair, twisting to face the window. Dark grey clouds hung heavy in the sky, washing out the entire street. It was all just ugly and miserable.

My phone buzzed in my hand. I looked down at the group chat.

Ah, come on, Aiden messaged. I promise not to beat you and Dom as badly as last time.