All Chapters of Chasing The Boss: Chapter 41 - Chapter 48

Three weeks had passed since our conversation in Lucian's office. Three weeks since I'd slipped off my engagement ring with shaking hands and placed it gently on his desk. Three weeks since we'd both admitted we were rushing into something that deserved more time.I thought it would hurt more than it did. I thought taking off that beautiful ring would feel like losing him. Instead, it felt like I could breathe again."Miss Carter, Mr. Cross is here to pick you up," Jenny, the receptionist at The Daily Buzz, called out with a knowing smile.I looked up from my computer screen, my heart doing that familiar flutter it always did when I knew I was about to see him. "Tell him I'll be right down."I saved my article and grabbed my purse, checking my reflection in my phone camera. We'd been dating properly for three weeks now, and I was still getting used to the butterflies that came with it. Real dating. Not hiding from cameras or managing scandals, just... getting to know each other."Goin

I was sitting on my couch in my pajamas, with a cup of tea in my hands, when my phone buzzed with a text from Lucian."Had the most perfect evening with you. Sweet dreams, beautiful."I smiled, typing back. "Me too. Can't wait to see you tomorrow."The evening had been exactly what I needed after the overwhelming gala. Just us, no pressure, no society mothers trying to set him up with their daughters. At Antonio's, Lucian had been completely himself, relaxed, funny, attentive. Not the polished CEO everyone wanted something from, just the man I was falling in love with.I was about to head to bed when my phone rang. Lucian's name flashed on the screen."Miss me already?" I answered with a laugh."Lexi." His voice was tight, strained. "I need to tell you something."My stomach dropped. "What's wrong?""Giselle is here. In my apartment. She somehow got past security and she's..." He paused, and I could hear muffled voices in the background. "She's in my bedroom." He whispered.The words

The security detail was discrete but obvious enough that I felt like I was living in a movie. Jerome, a tall, silent man in a dark suit, had been assigned to me and was currently sitting in the lobby of The Daily Buzz building, trying to look inconspicuous while reading a newspaper. I'd arrived at work an hour early, hoping to lose myself in the familiar routine of editing articles and managing deadlines. But every few minutes, I found myself glancing toward the lobby, watching Jerome's vigilant presence, and remembering why he was there in the first place. "Your mysterious bodyguard is causing quite a stir," Jake, a co-worker said, sliding into the chair across from my desk. He joined us just three weeks ago and Mia had already gotten too close to him that we were now a circle of three. He practically knows everything about Mia and I. And Mia wasn't at work today, now I'm stuck with someone talkative. "Half the office thinks you're dating a celebrity, the other half thinks you're in

The cab ride back to my apartment felt like the longest twenty minutes of my life. Jerome followed in a separate car, maintaining his protective distance while I tried to process everything that had just happened.Giselle's words echoed in my mind: "He's not the man you think he is, Lexi. He's charming, yes. Attentive when he wants to be. But he's also controlling. He needs to own everything and everyone around him."I pressed my palms against my temples, trying to push away the memory of her voice, so confident and matter-of-fact. She'd spoken like someone sharing an unfortunate truth, not someone spinning lies.But it was the photos that haunted me most. The one she'd shown me looked so real, Lucian in a navy suit I recognized, sitting across from her at what appeared to be an upscale restaurant. Their hands weren't quite touching on the table, but the body language suggested intimacy."This was taken last Tuesday," she'd said. My phone buzzed with a text from Mia. "Heard you left