Page 34 of Played By my Grumpy Boss

“No,” he said, “but Clarissa messaged me. As I expected, she’s all over this. She’s turned it all around and she’s claiming that my behavior has damaged Kayla’s mental and emotional health. She also says it has ruined her plans to announce her engagement to Andrew this weekend. She’s only saying that because she’s found out Kayla knows it’s more serious that she was letting on. She wasn’t really going to. But she’s an expert at damage control, on the outside anyway.”

“I think you should just focus on Kayla, and not get involved in Clarissa’s circus,” I said. I know it was harsh, but I couldn’t stop myself. I was still sore about him shouting at me that Kayla was his daughter, and that I should stay out of it. As if this didn’t concern me at all, when our relationship was the whole reason for it.

Alex sat down heavily in a chair and looked deep into my eyes. “I don’t think you understand what’s at stake here,” he said. “Clarissa’s circus, as you call it, is what could come between me and my daughter – permanently. I realize now I wasn’t giving Kayla the time and attention she deserved over the last couple of years. I’ve been thinking about that all night. You brought us together and I’ll be forever grateful to you for that but…”

A big swell of feeling began to swirl in my stomach. This didn’t sound good. This didn’t sound good at all. “Alex…”

“But…”

Oh, no, not but. Angry as I still was with Alex, and upset about Kayla, I didn’t want to lose them from my life – either of them.

“But I have to think of my daughter first. She’s been through so much since her mom turned the divorce so nasty, and now she doesn’t feel she can trust me. I have to focus on her, and on my relationship with her, and on earning that trust back. I-“

My heart opened again then, and a rush of love for him burst out of me. “Alex, please, don’t do this-“

“I need to take a step back.”

I couldn’t take it in. “You’re breaking up with me?”

He sighed, sat back in the chair and rubbed his face. “I think it’s best, for the moment.”

All the rejection from my dad, and Caleb, came back and my heart closed to him – slammed shut like a door. I wasn’t going through that again.

If he wasn’t all in, then I was out.

“Forget ‘for the moment’,” I said, low and quiet. “If you’re that lukewarm about me, forget it. It’s over. I’ll look for somewhere else to live right away, and in the meantime, I’ll go stay with Mom.”

With that I stood up, my hands shaking. I wanted to head for the door and storm out, but I couldn’t help touching him on the shoulder as I went by him.

He reached up and took my hand, and looked up at me. There were tears in his eyes. “I’m sorry,” he said.

But he didn’t ask me to stay.

I kissed the top of his head and squeezed his hand twice, our secret signal. It would be the last time we used it.

He squeezed mine back twice too, and a wave of hurt and upset rose up through me. “I’m sorry too,” I croaked, and then I hurriedly left the room before the deluge of tears came.

18

ALEX

When Kayla came out of the art class a couple days later, she found, not Caprice, but me waiting for her. I couldn’t stand that she wouldn’t return my messages and calls, and I’d somehow persuaded Clarissa to let me pick her up and take her for pizza or something before dropping her back at their place in Williamsville.

She gave me a hell of a look when she saw me, but she did get into the car, thank goodness.

‘”hy are you here?” she demanded, scowling at me from under the curtain of hair.

I reached over and tried to sweep it out of her eyes, so I could see her properly, feeling my heart swell with love for her. “I really wanted to put things right with you, honey. I thought you’d maybe like to go for pizza.”

“Well, I don’t.”

I bit back the temptation to tell her not to be rude. I drove out of the parking lot and turned right, heading towards her favorite pizza place, Guiseppe’s, anyhow. Just in case she changed her mind.

“How was the workshop?” I asked her. “I’m glad you kept up with it. I heard you enjoyed it, even though there was no one there your age.” I avoided saying that Mary-Beth told me that. And I felt annoyed with myself that I hadn’t talked about it with Kayla before and encouraged her.

She shrugged and fiddling with the end of one of her long braids. “It was okay. Marissa says I’m doing well but…”

“You don’t think so?”

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