Secretary’s your New mom? Great—Here's Your New Family Package Deal - Chapter 98: Chapter 98

I kept up my usual overtime schedule, and Amaury started staying later too.
Sometimes he'd give me a ride home. Late fall in Washington had that crisp, dry cold that made everyone bundle up in coats, and somehow the chill made people seem farther apart, instinctively wanting to huddle together for warmth.
We'd talk about company projects, catch up on what we'd been doing, and I'd complain about difficult clients. Sometimes he'd actually agree with me:
"Yeah, that guy's a total fucking idiot."
Then we'd both laugh.
Over time, I could feel his interest growing, so when the first snow started falling, I decided to make my move.
I asked for time off. When he pressed for details, I hesitated.
"It's a family thing."
Normally, that would be the end of it, but Amaury frowned.
"Is someone sick? Is there anything I can help with?"
I smiled awkwardly. "No, it's... my mom's making me go on a blind date."
Amaury looked stunned.
I'd never seen that expression on his face before. I quickly added, "I'm twenty-seven, and my family's been pushing really hard. I've been putting it off, but I can't dodge this one."
After a long pause, Amaury looked down.
"Fine, but you know how busy we are right now. I can only give you—" He made a show of checking his watch. "Two hours. Should be plenty for a blind date. You now have one hour and fifty-nine minutes."
I wasn't lying to Amaury—I really did have a blind date.
My recent dating attempts had been disasters, and Mom was losing her mind.
This guy was actually promising though. Stanford MBA, worked at Microsoft, six feet tall, well-spoken, and respectful. No mansplaining or condescending bullshit.
I was genuinely interested, so we talked longer than usual.
When he excused himself to use the restroom, I checked my phone. I felt someone sit down across from me and looked up, expecting my date.
It was Dante.
At six-two, he made the perfectly sized café chair look cramped, his long legs having nowhere to go as he leaned back awkwardly.
Dante picked up my date's VW keys from the table, rolling his eyes.
"You broke up with me for this? To come back here and date basic-ass guys?"
My smile disappeared. "I thought you said you were here with the band. Why haven't you left yet?"
"Plans changed. You think I want to be stuck in this shithole town?"
I straightened up. "I need you to respect my date. He's a good guy. Please leave and don't ruin this for me."
Dante's face darkened, his smirk vanishing completely.
When my date returned and saw the situation, he looked confused. "Um, who's this?"
Dante didn't even glance at him, his voice low and threatening. "I'm her boyfriend. Walk away if you know what's good for you."
I tried to explain. "No, he's not, I—"
But Dante stood up and grabbed my wrist. "What, you need me to kiss you right here to prove it?"
By the time I pulled free, my date had stormed off in disgust.
I was furious. "What the hell is wrong with you, Dante? We broke up!"
Dante lounged back in his chair with that infuriating smirk.
"You said we broke up. I never agreed to it."
"Dating isn't marriage—you don't need mutual consent to end it! And you said you'd never take me back!"
"I changed my mind," he said like he was discussing the weather, zero guilt in his voice. "You're pretty good at taking care of me. I was comfortable with you. I don't want to break up anymore."
I was so speechless I actually laughed. "Well, I'm not comfortable."
"I gave you my best years, and you have the nerve to complain about being uncomfortable!"
He raised his voice, making other customers stare. I wanted to disappear as I leaned forward to cover his mouth.
"Shut up—"
Dante grabbed my hand, grinning with malicious satisfaction.
"You haven't found anyone better since we split, have you, Katrina? Deep down, you know I'm the best you're ever gonna get."
"And we're great in bed together. Instead of settling for these losers, we should just—"
His words cut off abruptly as someone pulled me away.
I looked up to see Amaury still in his black work suit, frowning.
"I thought you were on a blind date. What's with the grabbing? Is he harassing you?"
I was completely frozen.
My plan had been to make Amaury jealous, but he hadn't shown up during the actual date. Instead, Dante had appeared out of nowhere.
And now that Dante was being a psycho, Amaury suddenly materialized!
"I'm her boyfriend. Who the fuck are you to interfere?" Dante stood up, and the two tall men faced off.
"I'm Katrina's boss," Amaury said calmly. "And as far as I know, Katrina doesn't have a boyfriend."
"Since when does she need to report her relationship status to you?" Dante looked back at me with a nasty smile.
"Oh, I get it now. This is why you dumped me so fast. Got your eyes on a new guy already."
"Katrina, does he know what a manipulative bitch you really are? You gonna use the same tricks on him that you used on me?"
Even though I usually kept my cool, this pushed me over the edge. But before I could respond, Amaury spoke up.
"So you're the ex who got dumped. If Katrina broke up with you, it means she doesn't want you. Stalking won't change that."
Dante's face went dark.
Amaury turned to me. "Your time off is up. We have a meeting at the office. Let's go."
I couldn't worry about anything else. I glared at Dante.
"I don't know what your problem is, but Dante, I never owed you anything. We were together because we both wanted to be. I never forced you into anything."
"I'll say it one more time—I hope we can end this civilly. Please stop bothering me."
Dante started to respond, but after hearing me out, something shifted in his expression. He said nothing else.
Amaury grabbed my wrist and led me outside.
"Was that really your ex?" Amaury had his arms draped over the steering wheel, his voice heavy.
"Aren't we supposed to be going back for a meeting?"
"Was that your ex-boyfriend?" he repeated.
"Yes." I rubbed my face and laughed bitterly. "We were together for three years. I used to be crazy about him, but he cheated over and over. I couldn't take it anymore."
"The reason I came back home was because of our breakup. I was devastated. These past few weeks, being around you—" I glanced at Amaury's expression and looked down sadly.
"I was finally starting to feel better. Then he shows up and starts harassing me again."
Amaury looked at me. "He doesn't deserve you. Don't let him manipulate you."
"Cheating is never a one-time thing. His infidelity shows he can't control his basic impulses—he's basically an animal. No self-control, and he obviously didn't love you enough."
"You should find a responsible man."
I couldn't help but smile, though I quickly suppressed it and said sadly:
"But good guys like you are so rare. Where am I supposed to find someone like that?"
Amaury's ears slowly turned red. He cleared his throat.
"Well, I guess I'm about the only one who'd be good enough for you."