Signed To A Certified Boss

Chapter 1

ONE

KENEDI

When I walked into my office today, I had no idea that things would turn out the way that they did.

I should’ve known by the smirk on Logan’s face that the day wasn’t going to go well.

However, against my better judgment, I proceeded to my office, coffee in hand and ready to tackle whatever messes my clients had managed to get themselves into over the last twenty-four hours.

While some people dreaded the work, I loved it.

I liked to think that I was born to be a publicist. Cleaning up other people’s messes was a skill that I’d had since high school, and I loved every single minute of it.

As I sat down at my desk, I flipped through all the mail, messages, and other random pieces of paper that I needed to look at before I headed home for the day.

While I combed through them, I sipped my coffee and enjoyed the caramel latte that I got every morning.

It was a sweet treat I allowed myself to have because one, coffee was a must in this industry, and two, I mainly ate healthy to maintain my slim figure.

So, as long as I didn’t overdo it, a latte to start the morning was perfectly fine in my book.

I prided myself on my appearance and had no problem using what I had to get what I wanted, within reason and my morals, of course.

“What the fuck?” I yelled, damn near spilling my coffee all over me.

As I gently set the cup down, my hands trembled, threatening to spill it all over me.

On the paper in my hand, I saw my fiancé’s name accompanied by a bunch of pictures of him with some random woman.

According to the report, the woman was claiming to be his side chick and pregnant with his baby.

From the pictures, she was probably right, especially about the side chick part.

While I combed through the dozens of pictures, messages, and more, I saw nothing but red.

“How the fuck could he do this to me?” I asked myself as I pulled up the Find My app on my phone.

This wasn’t a conversation I wanted to have via text.

Nope, I wanted to see that lying ass bastard in person.

I wanted to see him face-to-face so that he could tell me why the fuck he’d do something like this to me.

We were due to get married in just under six months, and within a matter of minutes, all of that was gone out of the window.

There was no way I would marry him after this, and I for damn sure wasn’t going to be the one to clean shit up for him.

He was going to have to find another publicist to handle this, because I for sure wasn’t going to be the one.

Once I figured out where he was, I grabbed my things and left my office.

I could see Logan standing next to the break room with a smirk on her face.

I had no idea why, out of all the women in the office, she was so focused on me, but every day she found herself competing with me.

It wasn’t my fault that I was much better at my job than she was, and our bank accounts and office sizes proved it.

But I couldn’t focus on her at the moment.

Ray was the focus, and knocking him upside his fucking head was the mission.

As I pulled into the parking lot of the building I’d tracked Ray to, I quickly parked and hopped out.

Walking around to the back of my car, I grabbed the bat that I kept in my trunk for safety reasons and headed inside.

Once inside, I could hear him talking to someone, and the closer I got, the more upset I became.

Before I knew it, I was standing in front of him, and instead of hitting him, I let the bat connect with everything in front of him, his phone included.

As I went to work on the table, products, and everything around him, I imagined it was his head that I was bashing in.

“Why would you do this to me, huh? What the fuck did I do to you to deserve some bullshit like this, Ray?” I asked, throwing the pictures at him.

“Baby, calm down. Let’s go to the back and talk about this. I promise I can explain all this shit,” Ray said, trying to snatch the bat and push me toward the back.

“You can explain? Fuck your explanations,” I barked, charging at him.

It wasn’t until I heard the clearing of someone’s throat that I realized where we were and how I had severely fucked up my life in a matter of minutes.

In my haste to confront Ray, I had completely forgotten that he was doing a live ad and the entire world had just witnessed my crashout and me at my lowest. I knew I was good at my job, but I had no idea how I was going to get myself out of this shit. Fuck my life!

As I heard my name on the news for the twentieth time this morning, I couldn’t do a damn thing but shake my head.

I really had let this nigga break my heart and ruin my career all in the matter of a few minutes.

I wished I could say that I regretted how I reacted, but I honestly didn’t.

I regretted doing the shit while he was in the middle of a live interview, and the entire world got to witness my crashout as it happened.

But trying to kill him? Nope, I didn’t regret one fucking second of that shit.

Unfortunately, acting on my emotions without considering the consequences until it was too late was something that had always been a problem for me. Now my bad habits had caught up to me, and I had to deal with the consequences of them alone.

Raymond Daniels was the man I thought I would spend the rest of my life with until I found out that his ass was doing a lot more than catching footballs.

I went against every rule I’d set for myself when I decided that I was going to work with athletes as their publicist to give him a shot.

He was charming and promised me the world, and I believed him.

I wasn’t sure where shit went wrong with us, but I knew that somewhere a switch was flipped, and I unfortunately wasn’t paying close enough attention to what the fuck he was doing for me to notice.

Now, both of us had a lot of shit to deal with, and I was on the shitty end of things.

“You may as well get the fuck up and face this shit head on,” my best friend, Zaveah, said as she came into my apartment and opened the blinds. The sun made me squint and pull the covers up even further.

“Not right now, Zaveah. I can’t deal with life right now,” I said, not in the mood for any motivational speech she’d come over to give me.

I knew that I couldn’t hide from the world forever, but until I was out of my feelings and back in my bag, that was exactly what the fuck I planned on doing.

I couldn’t sit and wallow in my own pity forever, but a day or two wouldn’t hurt anybody.

Besides, I needed the time to figure out what the fuck was next for me.

I had already been informed via email that I was let go from my position, and I didn’t have the energy to fight for it.

I knew I’d violated our ethics clause, and probably a few others, so there was no need to fight that losing battle.

With the way everyone was painting me out to be this horrible monster, I had no doubt that I’d probably never work in public relations again.

Hell, I was lucky if Walmart would hire me at this point.

Giving up wasn’t in me, but at the same time, I had no fight left in me.

I was sure that once I got up and got myself together, I would be able to come up with a plan, because that’s what I did for a living, fix messes, but again, with the way that I was feeling, this wasn’t the right time for that.

“Girl, fuck all that bullshit you’re saying.

Did you forget that you’re a publicist? You’d better figure out a way to spin this shit and make his ass look like the bad guy here.

I can’t believe they’re trying to paint you out to be crazy when he was the one fucking around on you,” she said, sighing as she took a seat on the chair next to me.

“Yeah, tell me about it. And then on top of all that, I’ve been let go from my job. I have no idea what the fuck I’m going to do. I have bills to pay,” I said, still under the covers.

“Exactly, so get your ass up. I know you’re not trying to go back to your parents’ house.

Because, you know, I love Ms. Tracey, but baby, it would be a cold day in hell before I went back home to her.

She will make your life a living hell. So, if that’s not motivation for you to get the hell up, I don’t know what is, friend. ”

That did it for me. Mentioning the fact that if I didn’t attack this shit head-on, I would be back on my parents’ couch was enough to get me up.

I loved my mama and my daddy, too, but going back home to them wasn’t an option for me.

I wasn’t in the mood for all their lectures or for them attempting to control my life.

After something like this, all it would do is confirm to them that I didn’t know what I was doing with my life, and I didn’t have time for that shit with them. Going home would be my last resort.

“I thought that would get your ass up. So, what’s the plan?”

“I have to figure out a way to get ahead of this shit. I can’t let him win, and I for damn sure can’t let the media paint me out to be something I’m not.

And, I need to find a damn job,” I said, getting up and heading to the bathroom.

I hadn’t showered or done anything to improve my hygiene since I came home, so I needed to fix that first.

“That’s what I’m talking about, friend! Get on your shit, and boss up on that nigga. Don’t let him take anything else away from you. And, you know my brother is still willing to end that nigga’s career if you need him to,” she yelled loud enough for the entire building to hear.