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My daddy is going to be a daddy, I think as I rub my belly and turn toward my mother, drinking her in with my eyes again.
I feel like luckiest girl in the world.
The End. Thank you for reading!
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BOSSY
Copyright © 2017 by Jess Bentley
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Opening
Harper
Numb with grief, I sit in front of Jayson Satyros. His massive desk may be a huge barrier between us, but our losses have brought us together. “I still can’t believe it.” Even seeing my father’s coffin, with his smiling face displayed in a photograph perched on top of the glossy mahogany, hasn’t yet made it real.
“Look, I get it. It’s an enormous shock, Harper. I’m sorry,” says Jayson, looking for a moment much older than his thirty-five years. He rubs the bridge of his nose between his dark eyebrows. For a moment he c
loses his eyes, and the heavy fringe of lashes softens the look of his strong jaw and cheekbones.
Jayson buried his older brother and sister-in-law yesterday. Had things been different, I’d never have missed Dmitri and Ione’s funeral, but I had my own father’s to sort out.
“So…have you thought about the future yet?” asks Jayson.
I shake my head, folding the edge of my black skirt between my fingers. It’s a bit short, but it’s black, and I hope that’s respectful enough. I found it hanging in my closet a couple of days ago, likely where my mom had left it two years back, when she died. “It’s difficult enough to deal with the present.”
“You know, my brother found Mitch invaluable to the Satyros Corporation. They were much more than employer and employee. Mitch was also his friend.”
I nod, wishing my father and Dmitri hadn’t been so close. My dad wouldn’t have been on the plane that crashed, taking the only person I had left in the world. Mitch’s tradition was to accompany the Satyros family on vacations, in order to deal with any business matters that might arise. His loyalty to Dmitri and the Satyros Corporation ended up costing him everything.
“I took the liberty of making some inquiries.” Jayson shuffles some papers, though he doesn’t look down at them. His dark eyes remain on me, the gravity in his expression doing nothing to mar the classic perfection of his features. Before the crash, I would have been giddy to have so much of Jayson’s undivided attention, but today, my heart won’t muster even a slightly rapid pulse. I remember when I worked at Satyros over the summer and I would find myself slick from him just walking by my desk. “How much do you know of your father’s finances?” he asks.
That’s an unexpected question. With a shrug, I say, “Not much. It wasn’t my business.” My stomach clenches with sudden anxiety. “Why?”
“Your mother’s illness was… expensive. My brother offered to help, but you know how proud your father is… was.”
I nod tightly, my anxiety increasing by the moment. I want to run back to my summer job where Jayson is just an object of desire, not someone tasked with bringing me bad news.
Jayson offers his first smile of the day—a weak, half-hearted curl of the lips. “It drove Dmitri crazy, but Mitch continued to refuse his offers.”
“What’s the bottom line?” I can’t take not knowing. Just say it, Jayson.
“I’m sorry to be the one to have to tell you, but you’re penniless. Mitch died with everything leveraged, including your family home. He’d borrowed everything possible from his life insurance policy and still owes a substantial amount to creditors.”
I blink, unable to fully process what Jayson is saying. I may understand the words, but I can’t yet figure how they affect me. How will my life change? I already lost my father. It seems impossible that things could get any worse. I barely have any money left over from working in the summer.
“Dmitri would never forgive me if I didn’t settle your father’s accounts and provide for you.”
Instinctively, I shake my head. “I can’t accept that. Dad wouldn’t want me to take charity.”
Jayson sighs, leaning back in his chair. He rubs the bridge of his nose again. “It wouldn’t be charity. I have a business proposition—of sorts—for you to consider.”
What kind of business could I assist with? I’m only a sophomore in college, studying botany, for crying out loud. Sure, a summer job is one thing, but I’m hardly qualified to work for the Satyros Corporation in earnest. Imports and exports? I’d be utterly lost. “What possible use could I be?”
