My Arrogant Boss by Kylie King
Chapter One
FINN
“Oh, wait! Turn here!” my best friend Aaron shouted from the passenger seat. The tires of my Range Rover screeched as I took a sudden short turn onto a car-packed street.
“You know what? Maybe you should’ve driven,” I grumbled, gripping the steering wheel.
“Like hell you would’ve agreed to that,” he countered.
I laughed. He had a point. I didn’t like riding with anyone. I preferred to be the driver, and perhaps that stemmed from my need for control in all aspects of my life, but I didn’t care. I probably would’ve offered no complaints to him if my nerves hadn’t been on edge since that morning. I wasn’t up for the night planned, but Aaron was my best friend, and I couldn’t deny him my presence for his special event.
I could see the house we were to visit down the road, one side of it lined with parked cars. My fingers gripped the steering wheel as I found a spot to squeeze into a block away.
“I still don’t think this is a good idea,” I said, sighing as I put the car in Park.
“It’ll be fine. Just chill.” Aaron capped my shoulder before stepping out of the car. By the time I unfastened my seatbelt and stepped out of the car, Aaron was already standing by the front of it, waiting impatiently as he stared at the front of the house that had an elegant white awning above the entrance door.
He turned to me and, sensing my reluctant mood, and said, “Look, as long as you keep to yourself, tonight will be fine. Rachel is hosting for Katie, and you know Katie needs me here tonight, and I’d hate having this night without you. After all, you are my best man.”
“Best man,” I scoffed. The title didn’t suit me. And it said a lot about Aaron because best man were two words a person would never use to describe me as a man. There was a person waiting inside that house, and I knew she wanted to call me all sorts of derogatory names. Jackass. Asshole. Shithead. The list went on.
I didn’t want to go in there and deal with the glaring daggers she was ready to throw at me. I wanted to take the first flight back to California and put the biggest gap ever between me and Rachel Quinn. The way we first met was far from pleasant and resulted in her throwing a flute of champagne in my face. Of course, I deserved it. I was a jerk to her that day and took my irritations out on her.
Now, I was standing outside the sleek house where she was hosting an engagement party for Aaron and Katie, to whom she would be playing bridesmaid to the day of the wedding.
I followed after Aaron in my three-piece suit, adjusting my collar and preparing for the worst. The music amplified the closer we got to the house, and Aaron suddenly pulled me to the side. “Seriously, I know I’ve said it many times, but you don't have to like Rachel, alright? All you have to do is pretend to get along for the sake of the wedding.”
What a load of bullshit. I wasn’t the type to "get along" with people I didn’t want to be friends with. On the Finn Weston scale, other people's views of me meant nothing. Aaron, who I’d known since high school, knew that about me, but he also knew I wouldn’t make an ass out of myself during his engagement party.
Aaron walked ahead again. “And if you can't say anything nice to or about her, don't say anything at all,” he added for good measure.
“Yeah, yeah. I got it.” I would have had to have been speechless for the rest of my life if I followed through with that.
I couldn’t say anything good about her because I couldn’t allow myself to consider anything was nice about her. For fucks sake, I struggled to look the woman in the eyes because all I felt was a burning resentment for her. Yes, it was that deep. I’d never been so humiliated by a woman in my life until I met her.
We approached the door, and I braced myself. Aaron pulled at the handle to open it, and as soon as we walked in, there she was.