Chapter 82: Weird Rules

As spring blossomed into summer, Emily hoped to spend more time with her boyfriend, but all he seemed to think about was work.

Merging their two companies had done the trick. The financial crisis was mostly behind him, but he couldn't relax. He was up at all hours, and then wake up at six in the morning and head to work again, his handsome face marred by under-eye puffiness.

This had to stop.

When they had dinner, one of the few times of the day when Byron was not buried in work, she brought up the issue.

"Are there some other financial troubles I don't know about?" she asked.

"Huh?" he said, his mind obviously not focused on the present.

"I read the reports," Emily said, "I read the business news even though it's really boring. Everything says we're doing well. Why are you working so hard?"

"I'm not," he objected, "this is how much I normally work."

Emily gave him a look to indicate he wasn't fooling anyone. "Are you still worried about the company?"

"A little bit," he said,