Hate Notes – A Grumpy Boss Romantic Comedy Read Online Penelope Bloom

Categories Genre: Alpha Male, Contemporary Tags Authors: Penelope Bloom Advertisement

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I knew I should be mad at her. I was mad. But my damn soft side hated seeing her cry, and it took all my self control not to pull her into a hug and tell her it was all okay. Instead, I waited, eyes steely as she gathered herself and continued.

"I never cared about helping Cole. The whole idea was just a petty way to get revenge. I wanted to drag it out and see how long I could get him to keep paying me while I was working somewhere else. And I imagined how pissed he'd be when he realized I was only stringing him along with no plans to help him. After reading all those Hate Notes and reading online about you, I thought you were probably just as bad as Cole. So I thought if I accidentally hurt you somehow to keep the game going longer, it wouldn't be that big of a deal. But," she added quickly, probably seeing the stunned and hurt expression on my face. "I realized I was wrong. Something about you... and something about working for Foster Real Estate... it changed my plans. I liked the job and, well, I even liked you."

I thought about the email from Roman and felt my expression harden. "But you still betrayed me."

Ember's expression of pain was so clear it made my chest ache. I watched a tear roll down her cheek as she shook her head, lips trembling.

"Not on purpose," she managed. "I... I was trying to buy just a little bit of time early on. Cole made it seem like he was going to call the whole thing off if I didn't give him something. And I just blurted the name Davenport. I didn't know how important the contract was and I had no idea who he even was. I didn't expect it to matter, but Cole latched onto it immediately. And then I found out recently he got access to my cloud files by guessing my password. He was using information from my proposal documents to try to win over Davenport. I changed the password, and he texted me asking for it just a little bit ago. And..." Ember sniffed, wiping at her eyes. "And I'm so sorry, Orion. I should have told you sooner, but I liked you and the job, and I was worried you would hate me or fire me or⁠—"

"Stop," I said, holding up my palm. "That's enough." There was an odd coldness in my chest. All the warmth and change I had felt beginning to spread over the past few weeks seemed like it had been snuffed out by a sudden, icy breeze. "Thank you for informing me. You can go now."

"Orion?" Ember asked, fresh tears welling in her eyes. "I really am sorry. I know I should have⁠—"

"We're done here. You can keep your job, but you'll be under close scrutiny until I know you can be trusted again. Otherwise, there's no need for us to speak further. Have a good night, Miss Hartwell."

"Orion, I—" Ember had wrapped her arms around herself, shoulders shaking as she cried in the hallway.

Good, I told myself. Let her hurt like I was hurting.

I stepped inside my mom's apartment and closed the door, knowing even in that moment that it wasn't true. I didn't feel good knowing she was hurting. Hadn’t I betrayed her in the same way by keeping the truth about our plans for Davenport’s factories a secret?

But I bucketed those… Just like she stopped trying to help Cole weeks ago, from the sounds of it.

“Dammit,” I muttered, punching the doorframe and ignoring the concerned looks of Remmy and my mom. I yanked the door open and rushed back out into the hallway, but Ember was already gone.

I stared at the empty hallway and thought about texting or emailing her, but all I could do was sink down with my back to the wall. There was a chasm of emptiness in my chest that felt so cold and empty it practically burned.

I deserve this.

37

EMBER

Iwalked without direction through Manhattan, unable to stop replaying everything that had just happened. I kept walking, even when thunder cracked overhead and the sky darkened. I didn't stop when it poured rain and people around me either opened umbrellas or scrambled into shops for cover.

Every step took me further from Orion's mom's apartment, but I couldn't escape the look in his eyes when I confessed—like I'd killed something fragile that had been growing between us.

My feet carried me through familiar streets until I found myself standing outside a large, old brownstone mansion. I recognized the address. It was Eleanor Golding's house, and warm yellow light spilled invitingly from the windows.

Before I could talk myself out of it, I was walking up her steps and raising my hand to knock on the elaborate double doors.


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