"Working late my ass. He's out boffing...someone. I'm not even up on who he's currently screwing these days."
"Oh, Nora," Ellie said and hugged her friend.
Nora pulled her close. "Want to come over to my house and get drunk with me? We can complain about men all night."
"Sure," Ellie said, unable to ignore a friend in need.
She followed Nora to the Young's back door, then waited outside on the redwood porch as Nora disappeared inside for a few minutes. She was briskly rubbing her hands up and down her arms to ward off the chill in the air when Nora reappeared with a half-empty bottle of wine and two jackets.
She tossed one of the coats at Ellie.
As Ellie gratefully pushed her hands into the arm holes, Nora whispered, "Keller's a light sleeper, so we have to stay out here."
After they moved toward the umbrella-covered round table, Nora took a drink straight from the bottle and then wordlessly passed it to Ellie.
Ellie chugged. The potent liquid did as much toward warming her as the double-lined jacket did. "How is Keller?"
she asked, passing the wine back to Nora.
Nora's shoulders slumped as she sighed. "Oh, he moped around the house all evening, looking out the window toward your place every five seconds as if he thought Cassie was going to come home any moment."
Ellie swallowed guiltily and looked down at her hands.
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"He's so dependent on that girl of yours. I swear if she didn't live next door to him, I'd leave that worthless father of his and take him away from here."
"Want us to move?" Ellie offered, only half kidding.
Maybe it would be better to wean the poor boy away from her daughter now. With Boston in her life, she was going to need Keller less and less, and it was going to break the poor boy's heart in slow, painful portions to watch Cassie slip away from him.
Nora snorted and slapped a hand her way. Then she sighed and flopped back in her seat to smoke some more.
"Honestly, I sometimes really think it'd be better for him if we just up and left Mendel," she murmured thoughtfully. "At least that way Keller wouldn't have to be reminded day after day how much his father ignores him. He could get on with his own life."
"I guess I should be grateful Cassie doesn't have that problem with Boston," Cassie murmured to herself. "When she's with him, he actually spends time with her. I'll give him that much. He's a very attentive father."
After taking a long swig, Nora passed it over and lit up another cigarette. "Now, honey. That's one man you shouldn't have thrown off your front porch."
Ellie had just been taking a drink from the bottle but stopped to choke.
"Excuse me?"
Nora laughed. "Oh, yeah, I know about that Thanksgiving night he pinned you to the front door."
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Ellie gaped, but Nora only shrugged. "Hey, it's not my fault you've got men trying to come on to you when I'm having my nightly smoke fest. But let me tell you, dear, you've had more action on that porch in the last month than I've had all year.
And it's December!"
Ellie laughed even as her mind strayed to Boston. "So, you really saw me and Boston kiss?"
"Saw? Hell, darling, I made some popcorn and camped out. And I'm here to say that you are...STU-PID. That man is hot. He's sweet. He adores Cassidy. He's smart, rich, HOT, and he looks at you like you are...oxygen to a suffocating man."
Ellie was quiet for a moment. Nora was right. Boston was all those wonderful things. But... "We have a bad past," she said.
"Oh, right," Nora said after a second. "He's got so many positive attributes, I keep forgetting he's a cheater too, isn't he?"
Ellie frowned. "Actually...he's not really."
When Nora sent her a confused look, she repeated the story Boston had given her about Heather from American history class.
"Well, damn," Nora grumbled. "Now, you're just rubbing it in. Not only is he turning out to be a damn good father, but he was incapable of sleeping around on you too. Sorry, El, but you're not cheering me up here."
"It ended so horribly for us," Ellie went on, ignoring Nora's sarcastic complaint. "I just...I don't think I can get past that.
How can I ever trust him again?"
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"A bad past can be fixed," Nora said. "A quiet, lonely future is just...sad."
Ellie didn't answer, but she couldn't stop thinking over Nora's words either.
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Chapter Nineteen
Boston was up early Saturday morning, making breakfast for his daughter. He was scrambling eggs and pouring them into a hot pan when a yawning Cassidy shuffled barefoot into the kitchen.
"Morning," he said cheerfully. "Hungry?"
Cassie quit rubbing her eyes and peered into the pan to see what he was cooking.
She immediately wrinkled her nose. "Eggs? Yuck!"
Boston stopped pouring. "You don't like eggs?"
"No way."
He looked down at the eggs that were starting to cook and sighed. Eggs were the only decent breakfast he knew how to make. Grinding his molars, he picked up the pan and carried the whole thing outside to scrape them into his dumpster.
When he came back in, he was smiling.
"What do you say we go to McDonalds for breakfast?"
Cassie's eyes lit. "Yeah!"
Boston's cell phone rang just as they pulled through the drive-thru. Rolling his eyes when he saw that it was Cameron, he answered with, "No, I'm not coming in today. I told you, I'm spending the weekend with my daughter. And besides, it's Saturday. My day off."
"We have a problem," Cameron told him, his voice grave.
"A big one."
Boston closed his eyes. "What?"
"Just get over here."
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Boston sighed. "What about Cassie?"
"Bring her. She can keep Livy occupied while I explain."
Boston growled and cut the connection. He tossed the phone into the tray divider between the two seats, which made Cassie jump.
Next to him, his daughter sent him a face full of sad blue eyes. "You have to go to work?"
"No," he said immediately, then sighed and ran a harassed hand through his hair. "We're just going to stop in for a few minutes. Don't you want to see where I work?"
He wasn't expecting that to excite her, but Cassie's eyes lit, and she sat up straighter. "Yeah, okay."
So, Boston drove Cassie to EarthNet. Olivia greeted them at the door to his office and Boston threw a look past her to glare meaningfully at Cameron, who paced the floor.
"Livy just fired your secretary," Cameron blurted out, sending his wife an annoyed scowl.
"Oh, and you were going to keep her employed after that?"
Olivia demanded, glaring back.
"No," Cameron admitted, looking suddenly sheepish,
"but...well, hell, it feels better to blame you."
Boston pinched the bridge of his nose, not really wanting to know what this was about. Putting the questions off, he turned to Cassie and led her to the couch, where he helped her set up her breakfast on the coffee table. As she dug in, he finally turned back to the arguing married couple.
"Okay, what happened? And why was Crystal here on a Saturday, anyway?"
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"Oh, yeah, about that," Cameron said and laughed guiltily.
"Well...since you refused to come in, I asked her to, because, ah, well, because she's your secretary, right. She should know where you keep things. Anyway, she acted only too eager to work some overtime when I called her, so I had her come in.
"
Boston groaned, knowing exactly where this was going.
Crystal's version of overtime had nothing to do with actual work.
"So, I walked in here," Olivia butted in to continue the story. "And I found your secretary kissing him and trying to stick her hand down his pants."
Boston looked at Cassie. She appeared to be listening to Cameron and Olivia's tale with avid interest.
Grinding his teeth, he turned to Cameron, who shrugged.
"I stopped her before she did anything too traumatic to me, but Livy still caught a good portion of the show, just as I yanked Chrystal's sticky palms off me. And then she"—he pointed accusingly at his wife—"blew completely off the handle and tried to rip the poor girl's hair out."
"Poor girl?" Olivia echoed incredulously.
Cameron merely grinned. "Hey, can you really blame her for trying? I mean, look at me. I'm irresistible."
Boston rolled his eyes and groaned.
"Be that as it may," Olivia ground out, "I'm sorry, but any woman who tries to have sex with my husband is going to lose her hair and her job. That's all there is to it."
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"Whoa!" Boston said, sending a warning look toward Cassidy. "Excuse me. My nine-year-old daughter is sitting right here. Ick-snay on the ex-say."
Cassidy rolled her eyes. "Oh please, Dad. I know what sex is."
As Olivia told Cameron what she'd do to the next woman she caught trying to come on to him, Boston gaped at his daughter. "You do?"
"Of course," Cassie said, rolling her eyes one more time.
"Since I was, like, seven."
"Oh my God," Boston murmured, falling down on the couch to sit next to her. Why would Ellie tell a seven-year-old about sex?
"When Keller's cat had babies, I wanted to know where they came from, so he looked it up online and told me everything."
Oblivious to Boston's shocked comatose position, Cameron turned back to him as he held up a hand in front of Olivia's face to block out her ranting. "Bos, the fact of the matter is we need to get you a secretary. And we need one now.
Preferably someone with a legal background. We're just about to head into a huge business transaction, and I'm going to need you out in the field with me. Not at the office trying to fill in for some absent secretary."
Cassie sat up straight and announced, "My mom's a legal secretary."
Cam stopped talking and blinked at Cassidy. The girl grinned at him blissfully as she forked more biscuits and gravy into her mouth.
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Her uncle arched a brow. "Oh, she is, is she?" His eyes slid meaningfully toward Boston. "Well, what do you know."
"No," Boston said.
He couldn't think about Ellie right now, not without wanting to break something. She'd turned him down only to go out with some loser named Ted. He was still swimming in jealousy, and no woman had ever made him jealous before.
He wasn't at all happy with Ellie for accomplishing such a feat. He kept wondering how her date had gone. Had good old Ted gotten any farther than he had? He certainly hoped not...just to be spiteful.
"But—"
"I said no," Boston cut his cousin off. "No way on God's green earth." He cast a quick warning look toward his daughter. "Hey, Livy," he asked suddenly. "Could you take Cass to the vending machines so she can wash down her breakfast with something to drink?"
Olivia didn't look too happy about being dismissed. But she followed Boston's request and ushered Cassie from the room.
As soon as the door closed behind them, Boston immediately swung Cameron's way.
"Look, I'll find somebody, okay. Just...somebody else."
God, anybody else.
"Why not Ellie?" Cameron countered.
"For one thing, I don't sleep with my secretaries."
Cameron frowned. "But, you're not sleeping with— Oh, my God. Are you?"
Boston blinked and gave his cousin a dry look. "Where do you think Cassidy came from?"
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Cam snorted. "I meant recently."
Pausing before he answered, Boston took a deep breath.
"No," he said, "not yet."
"Not..." Cameron started to repeat. Then his eyes went wide. "Not yet? Well, well. You and El are getting back together, are you? That's great, man. I didn't even think she was interested in you."
"She's not," Boston muttered.
Cameron's smile wavered. "Oh," he said lamely. "So, you want to, but she doesn't, huh? Man, that blows."
"She went on a date last night...with some guy named Ted."
"Hmm." Cameron looked sufficiently depressed for his buddy for a good minute before he sat up straight and snapped his fingers. "You know, maybe she just did that to make you jealous, like—"
"I wasn't supposed to find out about him. If I'd picked Cassie up on time last night, I wouldn't have even known this other guy existed." Hissing out a swear word, he ran his hands through his hair. "Jesus, Cam. I stood there and told her I loved her, and she still opened the door for him."
"Wow."
"I can't..." He glanced toward his cousin. "I can't hire her.
I'd go insane."
Cameron blew out a long breath. "Okay," he said, his shoulders slumping in defeat. "We'll find somebody else then.
No biggie. We'll find someone...somehow."
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Chapter Twenty
Monday morning, Ellie showed up to work at her regular time. She'd been so sure Boston would quiz her about her date when he brought Cassie home. She would've bet money on it. She was also prepared to tell him Ted was a jerk. Then she'd graciously let him know she'd changed her mind and was ready to try one more time with him.
But he didn't even walk Cassie to the door. He stayed in the car, buckled into the driver's seat as he watched their daughter troop up the front steps to where Ellie was waiting at the entrance to receive her.
As Ellie held the screen door open, her eyes slid toward the Infiniti. Boston sat at the curb a couple of seconds, watching her from shuttered sunglasses, before he put the car into gear and drove off. Mouth dropping, she was swamped with a mixture of disappointment and relief. She wasn't all that settled or comfortable over the whole idea of starting over with him. More time to think it through before letting him know what she'd decided was much appreciated.
On the other hand, it was going to be two weeks before she saw him again, before she could touch him, kiss him. Ellie thought it'd be in bad form to take off running after him down the street and inform him she'd changed her mind. So, she just stood there and watched him go.
Monday morning, She was still indecisive as she pushed open the front door of Young and Mercer. Deep in thought, she didn't notice the figure standing in her boss's opened 290
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doorway until she was behind her desk and bending over to turn on her computer.
"Ellie?" the male voice came from behind her.
She screamed and jerked erect.
Winston folded his arms over his chest.
"What in the world are you doing here so early?" she gasped, pressing a hand to her heart. Her boss never showed up before she did.
"I need to talk to you," he said without preamble.
"Ah...okay."
He stepped out of the doorway to his office and turned to the side, giving her an expectant arch of the brows, silently commanding her to enter before him. She frowned and immediately moved to comply. As soon as he stepped into the chilly room behind her, she swerved around and gave him a strange look. This was way beyond unusual.
"What's going on?" she asked, her mind instantly going to Nora and Keller. Had Nora done what she'd promised to do Frid
ay night? Was she divorcing Mendel? If she was, that would definitely put Ellie in an awkward position with her and Nora being so close and Winston being Mendel's only brother.
"Have a seat," Winston answered, making sure not to share any kind of eye contact with her as he motioned awkwardly to a chair.
Ellie sank down warily. What in the world had happened?
He looked so sober, like someone had—
Oh, God. Had someone died? Ellie sprang to her feet.
"What happened?" she demanded to know.
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Winston gave a tired sigh and perched himself on the edge of his desk, facing her. "Just...sit down, Ellie." He scrubbed at the back of his neck.
"Just tell me," she countered.
He stopped rubbing, but kept his palm latched around his neck as if to give himself an excuse to keep his head lowered while he mumbled, "I hate this like hell. But...I'm afraid I'm going to have to let you go."
Ellie blinked. "W-what?" she managed to say after a pregnant pause.
Pressing a hand to her chest, she slowly took a step back and sank gingerly into the chair before her shaky legs gave out from under her. As she stared at the top of her boss's balding head, she watched the greasy skin there turn a bright, embarrassed red.
"You're fired," he said, lifting his face and wincing when he saw her expression.
She blinked. "But...why?"
She could barely breathe, barely think. None of this made sense. What in the world was going on?
Winston's gaze slid away. "I..." he tried to start and then fell silent. Finally, he cleared his throat, straightened his shoulders stiffly as if seeking some courage there and looked up. "You know how important my clients are to me, Ellie."
She nodded, not even realizing she was still pressing the flat of her palm against her ribcage. "Of course," she managed.
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"Well..." he said. Then his gaze flitted guiltily away. "It's a top priority here at Young and Mercer to keep every client happy, and when Ted Barnaby called me Saturday morning—"
"Ted Barnaby!" Ellie repeated in alarm as she surged to her feet.
"Threatening to cancel his account with us if I didn't let you go—" Winston tried to continue.