You Can Be the Boss | Kylo Ren x Reader AU

Chapter 29

The past week was hell. Kylo hadn't shown up at work at all since your argument. No one had heard from him, not even Hux. Everyone was worried, including yourself. You hated yourself for it. You still cared for him even when he wasn't willing to say he cared for you. It was pure insanity. You felt as if you were going completely crazy. You were checking your emails, your messages, any chance that you might find a clue as to where Kylo might be. You shook your head. It's not my responsibility, you thought. Kylo Ren is part of the past and I do not want to recall the past.

It was the weekly 12 o'clock meeting today and everybody was sitting in the conference room, waiting for the uncertain arrival of Mr Ren. You looked at your watch. 12:05. He was never late, not even one minute. Your leg was bouncing rapidly and you were tapping your pencil manically on your notepad. Today wasn't just 'the meeting day' it was also the day of Edward's deadline. Kylo told you nothing about what his final decision was. You didn't even know if he'd bothered to look into it. It was in his hands at the end of the day, but you were still involved in the situation, and now that your boss was your ex, you definitely did not want the public to know about your relationship.

"Sorry for the delay everyone." You looked up from your notepad to see one of the most heartbreaking, shocking sites you'd ever witnessed. Kylo was a mess. His hair was no longer tidy, strays of his locks messy and uneven. He wasn't wearing a tie and his shirt was buttoned incorrectly, and his face—his eyes were dead. It looked like he hadn't gotten any sleep in days, and there was a faded shadow of a stubble on his cheeks. You could even see the hickeys you had left on his neck from last week and it only cut deeper into you.

"Sir," Hux said with a surprised look on his face. Clearly, no one was expecting him to show up, but especially not like this. "Please, sit down."

Mr Ren sighed as he did as he was told. An absolute mess, you thought. You tucked a strand of your hair behind your ear as you looked down, trying your best to stop the tears from streaming down your face. You couldn't bear to see him like this.

"Fucks sake," he whispered audibly as he rubbed his eyes. "Okay, let's start with the food production team."

"Erm, sir, they're not here today," one of the employees said.

"Why not?" Kylo said sternly.

"You told them to come every other week," the employee said quietly.

"Right. Sorry." Kylo shook his head. "Your team can start then."

"W-What?" he said nervously.

"Go ahead, start your presentation."

"Okay, erm, okay," the employee began to stutter. It was clear that he was only prepared to make his presentation at the end of the meeting as per usual, but Kylo was not in his right mind to keep on schedule.

He began his speech. There were a few seconds of technical difficulties. The computer started on the wrong slides and at some point the clicker in his hand wasn't working at all. You tried to focus on the presentation because you knew if you didn't, you would be staring at Kylo the entire time, reminiscing about your relationship and wondering if you could just take him back right there. You had to stay strong. Taking him back was not an option. It was a dead-end. There was no use to dating him. He didn't even love you.

You looked at him for a split second, meeting his unexpected gaze and it immediately broke you. You stood up from your seat abruptly and everyone looked at you. "I can't do—I'm sick I have to go," you said and sped out of the conference room before Kylo could object.

You were headed towards the bathroom. The only place where Kylo couldn't come to find you. Only, you were stopped on the way by a gentle grip on your forearm. It wasn't Kylo—his hands were much bigger. You turned around to see Hux. You were confused. You expected him to know part of the story, but you didn't know why he was chasing after you.