I couldn’t get to sleep that night. I wasn’t sure why, but for some reason I had the strangest feeling over dinner that Tenor wasn’t happy with me working for Bachelor International. Although why that would be the case, didn’t make sense.

Seriously, it wasn’t my idea of the perfect job and I wasn’t head over heels happy with the situation myself, but honestly, he was the one who put everything in motion. It made no sense for him to be unhappy with the way things turned out.

More than likely, I was reading the entire situation wrong. Typically, I was nearly almost always accurate when it came to reading body language, but I’d be the first to admit that it had been a trying few months and it made sense for me to be a bit off my game.

After thinking about it more, that had to be what it was. In fact, it made total sense when I stepped back and looked at the situation more objectively. Before we parted ways earlier, Tenor told me he didn’t expect me to be at the office until next week. He said he knew it was a difficult time for me and he could see that I was still dealing with my mom’s passing.

And what had I done in response to his very nice and very polite offer?

Laughed and said I’d see him in the morning. Although now, I wasn’t so sure. Should I call him back and admit I’d thought about it and decided he was right and I’d see him Monday? Or would that make me look too wishy washy?

Damn, I didn’t know what to do.

Maybe send him a text? Or would a call be better? He appeared at times to be so easy going and down to earth, I could already tell it might be hard to keep myself in the right frame of mind around him. It was his combination of confidence and good looks. His intelligence and his humor. It set me off my game.

He was my boss and that was that. The sooner I got that through my head, the better.

Like it or not, I was no longer my own boss and the company I worked for belonged to someone else. I was in the process of closing down Cross My Heart and even though it would take time to finalize everything, it felt final to me. The truth of the matter was, I wasn’t just in a whole new ballgame, I was playing a different sport altogether.

The best thing I could do was make sure I not only read the rules and knew what they were, but also followed them.

I’d told Tenor I’d be at work tomorrow and that was what was going to happen. No phone call. No text. And no more thinking of him as Tenor. As far as I was concerned, he was Mr. Butler.

I arrived at Bachelor International early the next morning. So early, in fact, I expected to be the first one there. I was shocked, to say the least, when I walked in and saw, Sara, the admin already behind her desk. Makeup completely done. Hair just right. And too free and easy with the smile. God save us all from morning people. At least until the majority of us have had a cup of coffee.

She stood up. “Do you need some help?” Without waiting for me to reply, she took the boxes out of my hand. “To your office?”

“Yes, thank you.” I couldn’t help but look for Tenor as we walked down the hallway. But the entire office was silent.

Sara put the boxes on the spot I indicated, but appeared to be in no hurry to return to her desk. “Can I help with anything else?”

“No. I’ve got the rest of it. Thank you so much for carrying the boxes to my office. If you hadn’t been here, I’d have probably dropped at least one of them on my toe.” I peeked outside and into the empty hall. “What time do people usually get here?”

“Most arrive before nine, but Mr. Butler is almost always here by seven-thirty.”

In fifteen minutes, then. Maybe he’d be happier today.

He would stop by my office, wouldn’t he? Being polite and all? Swing by to say hello and welcome to his newest employee?

How great would it be if I already had my area set up?

So great, I decided. I grinned and went to work.

An hour later, I’d met six other employees and most were shocked to see me. Obviously, Tenor hadn’t told everyone I would be working for him and I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. At first, I was a bit hurt. After all, I had been a direct competitor and now I was one of his employees. Wouldn’t that naturally be something you’d bring up?

“You know that badass matcher, Mia? She works here now.”

But then, maybe it made sense that he hadn’t told everyone. Because they’d want to know why and how would he answer?

“Her mom owed me a quarter of a million dollars.”

Yeah, on second thought, it was a good thing he hadn’t told everyone.

But even if that had been the case, I couldn’t come up with any reasons why he wouldn’t stop by or at least pop his head in my office to say hello. I tried to convince myself that he hadn’t made it to the office yet. Traffic was bad or perhaps he was sick. But no, I heard his voice as he walked down the hall. He was in the office today; he just didn’t want to talk to me.

And why should he? I asked myself as the truth hit me. He’d gotten exactly what he wanted. I was working for him and my agency had closed down. Why bother being nice to me anymore? I could have kicked myself for letting my guard down any at all where he was concerned.

My initial assessment had been the correct one. He was an asshole who would stop at nothing to get what he wanted. Actually, the more I thought about it, he was even worse than I’d originally thought. Because he’d led me to believe there was a good guy under that gruff exterior and the truth was, there wasn’t.

I tapped my pen on the top of my desk. This wasn’t over, not by a long shot. I’d concede the battle to Tenor, but I had all intentions of winning the war.