“Claire?”
His voice was clear and steady, though there was a note of surprise it.
“What are you doing here?”
There was no point trying to slip away now that I’d been caught. So, I stepped forward, put on my most professional smile, and greeted him.
in 1/2
Chapter 6
“Mr. Ford.”
Aaron glanced around and asked, “Are you alone?”
He must have remembered me telling him that I was here to visit my boyfriend’s family.
“Yes, just finished dealing with something,” I replied vaguely.
Noticing that my expression was a little off, a flicker of concern appeared on his face.
+25 BONUS
Aaron pressed his lips together, hesitating for a moment before saying, “If something’s wrong, you can tell me. I’ll help however I can.”
It had been a long time since I’d heard that tone from him, and for a moment, I was stunned. But I quickly pulled myself together.
“Thank you, Mr. Ford. I’m fine, really.‘
His dark eyes seemed to deepen, his expression a mix of frustration and something else I couldn’t quite read.
Still, as a good employee, there was no way I’d drag my personal issues into the path of my boss, who was clearly working overtime during the holidays. What if he got annoyed and decided to dock my pay?
That would be tragic.
I was about to make some excuse and slip away when, of course, life decided to throw me another curveball.
“Claire! You’ve gone too far today!”
That irritating voice rang out behind me. I rolled my eyes internally and let out a long–suffering sigh. Turning to Aaron, I gave him a weak smile before facing Nicolas, who was storming over like a lunatic.
Nicolas‘ face was dark as thunder, but the moment he noticed Aaron standing next to me, his expression twisted
even more.
“What’s he doing here?”
I looked at him, my voice dripping with sarcasm. “What does that have to do with you?”
“Claire, what the hell is wrong with you today?” Nicolas snapped, finally losing his temper. “My whole family was there, and you just had to choose that moment to cause a scene?”
Grabbing my arm, he growled, “Let’s go. We’ll talk about this back at the house.”
Before I could react, a hand reached out and grabbed Nicolas’s wrist–the one holding my arm and flung it off with sharp precision.
Startled, I looked up and met Aaron’s eyes, icy and unyielding.
e
For a moment, I froze, caught off guard by the coldness in his gaze.
ex
“She doesn’t want to go with you. Can’t you tell?” Aaron’s voice was low and calm.
