The Boss Lady Ran Away Again

"Babe. Do it." The villain was in the middle of a business meeting and I handed him a gun. The villain took one in the leg, and I sat on him and called him names. "Useless. Useless.

Useless." The System in my head was screaming. [I told you to be difficult on purpose so he'd DUMP you.

I did not tell you to lose your mind!] I'm the idiot who got dropped into the wrong book.

The System put me in the wrong world, and I came out the other side as the villain's kept woman.

The System told me to burn through his patience and get out early, so every single day I went dancing on the line. Six months later, the villain brought the heroine home.

She was undercover. I sat in the upstairs bedroom and looked at the test in the trash and didn't move. The System sighed. [Get rid of it.

I'll find a way to pull you out of this world early.] Chapter 1 My father sold me to Dorian Guan. Sophomore year.

My father owed money at Dorian's card room and got caught cheating at the tables, so he handed me over. The back room of the card room.

Dorian was sitting in a dark brown leather chair, lighting a cigarette with his head down. The guy who'd dragged me in asked my name. I set my jaw and said nothing.

He lost patience and started in on me. "What's the act for, you little—" Dorian lifted his eyes and shot the guy's right ear off. Under the screaming.

Dorian waved everyone out, stood, and came toward me. There was a smile somewhere in his eyes, and behind it, want he didn't bother hiding.

The hand with the cigarette landed on my shoulder. He didn't bring up my father at all. He said: "Be my woman. I'll pay for your school." I kept it simple in my head at the time.

Go along with him. Wait for him to get bored. And given Dorian's face and Dorian's build, even if I got rich later, I probably couldn't buy something that looked like that.

So I decided to treat it as my garbage father handing me an early gift. A male model who cost nothing and paid me instead. The problem was that this particular model had needs.

I came to dread school breaks. But then again, guys in the life have a pretty solid chance of getting themselves killed out of nowhere.

Thinking about it that way, life had something to look forward to. I looked forward for a while. Dorian paid my way through a master's degree. Okay. Turns out he's hard to kill.

And strange taste, because he still wasn't bored of me. The shower shut off in the bathroom. Not long after, damp heat came in under the blanket.

Dorian wrapped an arm around me from behind. A callused hand worked slowly under the hem of my shirt. Please. I'm a veteran.

Handling at this level does not compromise my ability to fake sleep. And that was when. A voice went off inside my head.

It said it was the System. [I was supposed to drop you into a fluffy romance as the heroine.

Halfway through the transfer I ran low on power and went into sleep mode, and you landed at random in this dark romance and ended up as the villain's… uh… kept woman.] [Dorian is the villain?] [Is it not obvious?

Some things are going to happen that push him past the point of no return, and then he falls for the woman who gets planted next to him undercover, and at the end he dies badly at her hands.] I said nothing.

The System kept going. [Your job now is to be as difficult as possible, burn through his patience, and get out early.

Otherwise, when the things he does catch up with him, they catch up with you too.] Small kisses landed behind my ear. Dorian's voice came out low. "Solene.

How long are you keeping this up?" "Until you go soft." He laughed, annoyed, and reached for my shoulder to turn me over.

Chapter 2 I got a hand up against his chest. "Seriously, I'm on my period." Dorian narrowed his eyes. "What kind of period runs two weeks?" "…" There was a rustling under the blanket. "Solene.

You're different tonight." Equipment started leaving the bed, one piece at a time. I made a noise. "Am I holding you up?" He raised an eyebrow. "Not particularly.

But you're somewhere else, and it makes me feel like you're planning something." That got me. I put my arms around his neck and smiled. "You read people so well, babe.

I'm planning a baby. What do you think?" In our line of work, the last thing anyone wanted was a pregnancy.

Sure enough, Dorian, who had been working his way down me with great focus, lifted his head.

A small crease appeared between his brows. "You're serious?" I kissed his chin. "Obviously, babe. I already picked the name.

Gwen." He ran his fingers through the hair at my temple, unbothered. "That sounds like a girl's name. You want a daughter?" "Mm. A daughter who looks like you.

Wouldn't that be nice." Dorian laughed, leaned down and kissed me, and reached for the nightstand drawer. "Solene. Now isn't the time." I took the exit immediately. "Mmhm.

Whatever you say." The System surfaced. [The villain won't let you go right now, but that doesn't mean it's love. Just keep being difficult until he can't stand you, then leave.

That's all this is.] After that night, Dorian got extremely busy. Out early, back late, every day. I couldn't find a single opening to be difficult in.

The System got antsy on my behalf. [Dorian has a sitdown with Old Man Shen over drinks tonight to talk about working together. He's coming back to switch cars in a bit.

Beg him to take you.] [And then?] [And then you improvise!] The System got suddenly aggressive. [Guys like that hate women getting into their business. Think about it.

Has he ever once brought you along to a meeting?] Is not bringing me the abnormal option here? What am I supposed to contribute besides eating more of the food?

I kept that to myself. The System summed up. [So! From the second you beg him to take you, you have already started being difficult. Understood?] I nodded quickly. [Mmhm.

Understood.] Quarter past five in the evening. Dorian's car pulled into the front yard. At the same time, Huck, who'd stayed home, brought an SUV up out of the garage.

I had a vague memory that the windows on that one were reinforced. Whatever they were discussing, it was not legitimate business. Dorian hung up a call and came toward me.

He kissed the top of my head. "I've got a thing tonight. Tell Ms. Zhou what you want for dinner.

No skipping meals." I smiled and grabbed his arm and started sticking to him like taffy. "Babe, take me with you.

I'm so bored at home." Dorian frowned at me for a moment. "You actually want to go?" "Mmhm." He said yes. I went up on my toes and kissed his mouth. "Give me two minutes, babe.

I'm changing." The System: [This isn't a normal meeting. Find a way to blow up the deal and then run.] The meeting was at Old Man Shen's house. A fivestory place.

Before we went in, Huck pushed something into my hand. Cold. About the size of my palm. Chapter 3 Apparently there was a patdown at the door.

The bald one finished with Huck and Dorian. Then his eyes came to me, and he half smiled. "Well.

Is this Boss Lady?" Dorian buttoned his jacket onehanded, put an arm around my waist, and moved me next to him. His voice stayed flat. "She can skip it.

Old Man Shen isn't afraid of a woman." The bald one gave me a crooked, ugly smile. "Same rule for everybody.

Besides, a woman standing next to Boss Guan is never just a woman." Nobody moved. I stepped forward and put my arms out. "Go ahead, get it over with.

But I should warn you about something." His hand had just reached my shoulder.

He looked up. "Please, Boss Lady." I made a noise at him. "You touch my chest and my husband will blow your head off." "…" The corner of his eye twitched.

He patted the sides of my waist for form, backed up to the wall, and waved us through, sulking about it. "After you. All three of you." In the sitting room.

Old Man Shen was in the main chair with four lowlevel guys standing behind him.

He looked me over with a smile and then turned to Dorian. "Rare to see you bring a woman." Dorian gave a polite laugh and pulled out my chair. "She was bored at home and made a scene about coming." I gave Dorian a wounded look and buried myself in the food.

Every time that old bastard opened his mouth, it came out in the way they talk. I followed none of it. "Your boat is sitting there empty. Let me use it.

Thirty you, seventy me." That one I followed. And judging by Dorian's face, he wasn't about to nod. Right then Huck leaned down behind him and said something in his ear.

The finger Dorian had been tapping against the table stopped. He raised his eyes, slowly, and then he smiled. "Sure, Mr. Shen." He agreed? Just like that?

I slammed the table and stood up. "Why do we take thirty and you take seventy? We take seventy, you take thirty, or there's no deal." Old Man Shen's face dropped.

He laughed once, cold, and picked up his tea. "Your woman doesn't know how to behave." Dorian's smile didn't move. He unhurriedly put a meatball in my bowl. "Forgive her, Mr.

Shen." "Solene. Sit down and eat. One more word and you're walking home." My eyes went red on cue. I sat down and obediently ate the meatball.

I watched the old bastard tip his head to drink, then reached into my boot, came out with a pocket pistol, and pushed it into Dorian's hand. "Babe.

Do it." I hadn't even made it under the table before there was a bang. I stopped midmotion and looked back.

Old Man Shen had a hole in his upper chest and Dorian had a gun against his temple. Wait. He actually did it? The guy in glasses behind Shen came at me.

I panicked and backhanded him across the face. "Babe, my nail broke!" "…" I ducked under his punch and got myself under the table.

I'd just pulled the small pistol out of the lining of my bra when somebody flipped the table.

I took one second to process that, screamed, and opened up in both directions with both hands. "Boss Lady, on your left!" I pivoted left and squeezed the trigger. Bang.

The round went into the forehead of the guy with the knife. One, two, three, four. All down. Rest in peace, I said, internally. I tossed the gun to Huck.

Chapter 4 Then I climbed onto the windowsill using both hands and both feet and said, wiping my eyes: "Babe, I'm turning myself in. Don't bail me out and don't come looking.

Love you, bye." Dorian: … Every security guy in that house came pouring toward the room. I went out the window and took the small streets, turning at random. An hour later.

I was sitting in a pho shop, thoroughly enjoying a bowl of pho. It's not that I wanted it. It smelled too good. The System had run out of words. [I told you to blow up the deal.

I did not tell you to kill four people. Since when do you know how to shoot?] I swallowed. [Dorian made me learn. He said any woman of his has to know how to shoot.

He taught me some grappling too. Oh, and going out a window is also his.] The System was quiet. [Just run.

Run now, before it's too late.] I finished the last of the broth and wiped my mouth. [In a minute.] I was about to get up and pay. Then a weight came down on my shoulder.

Something familiar closed in from behind me. I turned my head stiffly and smiled. "Evening, babe." Dorian smiled too. "Evening to you. Long night, wife.

Want another bowl?" "…" Dorian carried me out to the car over his shoulder. The door shut and Huck started up from the driver's seat. "Boss Lady, you were unbelievable tonight!

If it weren't for you, that dead old bastard would have dragged us into it for real!" I sat pressed against the door and smiled politely. "How so?" Huck made a noise. "The old bastard was deliberately moving product through Boss's place and pulling cops in after it.

The boat was the cover. The point was to drag Boss down with him." I glanced at Dorian, whose face was doing nothing, and asked Huck: "Where's the old man?" "Asleep in the trunk.

Boss used some methods and got the stash location out of him. We're leaving him outside a precinct.

That's what took us so long—" Huck switched directions without warning. "Not to criticize, Boss Lady, but you ran fast.

Boss was so worked up he almost called the police himself." "…" I laughed weakly and snuck a hand over to hook Dorian's pinky. "Babe, that pho place is actually great.

Let's go together next time?" Dorian lifted his eyelids and smiled at me, warm. "Run again and I break your legs." "…" Two weeks went by. Both my legs were fine.

Dorian's leg, on the other hand, was not. Old Man Shen's godson, Nash Shen, had come back at him. The System: [Put the sunflower seeds down, I'm begging you.

This is your opening!] I put the seeds down and grabbed a handful of pistachios. [What opening now?] The System was disgusted with me. [You RUN, obviously!

Dorian is the kind of man who settles every score. Nash crippled him, so he's going to go after Nash's entire family. His head is full of revenge right now.

He does not have the bandwidth to care whether you leave.] I nodded thoughtfully. [Fair point. Although I've never had one with a bad leg.

Let me enjoy that first, then I'll go.] The System: [!] That night. I kicked open the door to Dorian's study.

Since he'd come home from the hospital, he hadn't slept in our room once.

He heard the noise, put away the gun he'd just loaded like it was nothing, and looked up. "You need something?" I put on a nasty face and said, impatiently: Chapter 5 "When is that leg of yours going to be fine?" Nothing moved in Dorian's face.

Both elbows were on the arms of the wheelchair. "No idea. Maybe never." I made a cold noise. "That's what I thought. Enjoy the chair for the rest of your life.

You can't expect me to spend the best years I've got babysitting some useless piece of— hey!" I went forward all at once.

Dorian had pulled me down onto his lap, and his hand closed around the back of my neck and pressed. "Who's useless?" I braced against his chest and fought it. "Whoever's upset about it." He laughed, annoyed, took off his belt, had my wrists tied in about three moves, and brought a hand down on me once. "Sit still." "!" My whole face went up in flames.

I grabbed his collar and bit down on him. "Now you're giving me orders?" Dorian licked the blood off his lip and got an arm around my lower back. "I forgot.

We used to play a lot rougher than this. Go ahead, wife." "Don't call me your wife. I don't have a useless husband." "Fine. I'm useless. So what are you stalling for?" "Shut up.

I have my own pace." Dorian watched me with something halfway to a smile. The hand on my waist tightened by degrees. Then he did something on purpose.

I pulled in a breath and looked up, not believing it. "You—" "I what?" He undid the belt around my wrists. "Still think I'm useless, wife?" I set my teeth and got a hand around his throat. "Useless.

Useless. Useless." He held my waist with both hands and gave me the worst grin in the world. "That's it. Keep going." "…" At the end of it I had nothing left and lay against him.

One hand worked slowly through my hair where it had come down. "Still coming after me?" I lifted my head and pressed my swollen lips together. "Babe, I concede that you are extremely useful.

But you have to understand my position. This is exhausting for me. Let me go find somebody else." Dorian's face went dark by inches.

I sat up and touched his cheek. "And if you won't let me go, that's fine too. You've got one leg. You'll never outrun two. Hee hee." I ran. I got brought back.

After that night, Dorian spent every day either in rehab or hunting me down, and never once had time for Nash. I, on the other hand. Ran into Nash during one of my escapes.

So what was there to discuss. I pulled my piece and put a round through his right knee.

Nash went down screaming, and his three guys all raised their guns at me, and not one of them dared fire. I was still puzzling over that when I caught a familiar cold scent.

I turned around, and Dorian was standing behind me on a cane. His face could have sunk a ship.

I smiled and carefully tugged his sleeve. "Babe, that really good pho place is right around here. Want to go?" He was genuinely angry. He wouldn't even look at me.

So I went up on my toes and kissed his chin. "Babe. I won't run anymore." Huck stuck his head out the car window. "Really, Boss Lady?

I haven't had a day off in months." "…" I narrowed my eyes and nodded. "Really. No more running." Because Dorian's leg was almost healed.

For the moment, I couldn't find a reason to. Chapter 6 Two months later. Dorian gave up the cane entirely.

Coming out of a followup appointment, he offered to take me to that pho place.

I waved him off. "Not hungry." He frowned. "You barely ate at lunch." I pushed him toward the car. "Because I ate too many snacks, so I ate less at meals.

Don't you have things this afternoon? Go, don't be late." Dorian caught my arm. "I'm taking you home first." I shook my head. "I want to walk around the mall for a bit.

Have Huck pick me up later." Only then did he let go. "Fine. Buy whatever you want. Don't try to save me money." "Yes, yes.

Bye." I watched his car pull away and turned into a pharmacy. I really am something. Two weeks late and it only just occurred to me. Home, test, done. Two lines, of course.

I put a hand over my eyes, threw the test in the trash, and sat on the closed toilet lid.

The System: [I don't even know what to say to you.] [Then don't.] It started muttering insults at me. [Do you understand that Dorian has already brought the heroine home? [Do you remember the plot I told you?

He falls for her on sight and he dies at her hands! Every time I tell you to run, why do you do extra? Don't think I can't see what you're up to. He is the VILLAIN.

Whether he lives or dies has nothing to do with you!] [Right! I'm extra, I'm too clever for my own good!

If you hadn't put me in the wrong world I'd never have been in the same zip code as him!] The System went silent all at once. After a long time, it sighed. [Get rid of the baby.

I'll find a way to pull you out of this world early