A month later Christine was still chastising herself. She could have had something good with Mac, but instead she had to put her company first. That was what made her a great CEO, and a shitty girlfriend.

Mac was doing well though. He’d taken their design department by storm and she frequently got emails thanking the department manager for bringing him on. She knew it was for the best, but she also went out of her way to avoid him. The boss couldn’t be tempted by one of her employees.

Late Friday Christine was ready to go. It’d been a long week, a good week, but still long. Her mom was bringing Angela home later so Christine could stop by the grocery store and have a little while to relax before turning into mommy. She loved the title, just like she loved her CEO title, but she was itching to have another one added. One that started with girl and ended with friend, but was anything but friendly.

Being CEO made it hard to date. She saw it as soon as she offered Mac a job. His opinion of her changed once he realized she would be his boss, and she was the CEO of her own company. She was no longer a woman, but someone to fear.

Or someone to manipulate.

Pushing aside thoughts of her failed relationships, Christine packed up her stuff for the weekend and left the office. She drove straight to the grocery store, ready to face the crowds. She parked at the back of the lot, cursing her heels and the long walk in the rain to get inside the store.

Christine worked her way through the other shoppers for almost an hour. She was ready to get home and out of her heels, but she had to find the cooking wine. She was planning a nice dinner with her mom the next night to thank her for helping so much with Angela. If only she could find the Marsala wine.

“Dammit,” she cursed under her breath, going down the same aisle again, knowing she wasn’t going to find what she was looking for.

“Do you need help?” a voice asked from behind her.

Christine ignored him and shook her head. She hated asking for help. It was her biggest weakness. Even though she was slowly losing her mind, and the melting ice cream in her cart. She huffed and accepted defeat, spinning around to face whoever was willing to help her.

“Mac.”

He looked up at her, startled, and a sad smile covered his face. “Hey. Sorry, I didn’t realize that was you. I, uh, I used to work here. Still know my way around pretty easily.”

She smiled at him and nodded slightly, wondering why it had to be so awkward between them. “It’s fine. I just can’t find the cooking wine. I’ll ask someone else.”

“Are you ashamed you went out with one of your underlings?”

“Excuse me?” she blurted. “I think that’s the most insulting thing anyone’s ever said to me.”

He had the decency to look sheepish. He opened his mouth to say something, but she brushed past him, not sticking around to hear whatever shit he could come up with.