Page 57 of Obeying the Owner

She’s not wrong, but I need a new work friend. I need someone serious and pious in my life. Someone who’ll talk me out of doing inappropriate things instead of encouraging me.

Fine, don’t tell me. I’ll remember this when you want details of one of my hookups.

That’ll never happen.

Some things are meant to be private.

I put my phone away and get back to taking care of the emails I didn’t read earlier. When I’m done replying to all of them, it’s after five o’clock, and I’ve procrastinated long enough.

Dammit. I don’t know why I have a bad feeling about this.

He’s been nothing but professional this week, so why would tonight be any different? If he tries something, it’s not like I can’t say no.

I just don’t know if I’m that strong.

I miss James and Mae so much. My chest aches with longing. But that version of us is gone.

I log out of my email and head to Trey’s office. With the door open, I see him staring at his computer, looking bleary eyed.

“Knock, knock,” I say.

He doesn’t glance away from the screen. “Come in and close the door, please.”

I do as he asks, and walk over to the front of his desk. “What do you need my help with?”

“I’m arranging a retirement celebration for my dad and I have to figure out the guest list. I’ve enlisted my mom’s help and she sent me the names and addresses of their closest friends. I need you to track everything on an Excel sheet or whatever method you want to use.”

“Sure, I can do that.”

“Also, I need you to help me make this celebration amazing. Whatever details or personal touches you can come up with would be a huge help. The first thing we need to do is find a venue to hold it at. And it needs to be ASAP because, apparently places get booked like a year in advance. Who fucking knew?” He shoves his fingers through his hair.

“I could’ve told you that,” I say. He unblinkingly stares at me. “What? Don’t you know anyone who’s planned a wedding? A good venue is hard to find.”

He shakes his head. “Fucking fantastic.”

“Don’t worry, I’m sure we can find somewhere that’ll work.”

A knock interrupts before he can reply. I walk over and open the door.

“I have a delivery for Trey,” the young man says.

I smile. “I’ll take it, thanks.” He hands over a bag and disappears down the hallway. I nudge the door closed with my hip and deposit the bag on the coffee table. “What did you order?”

“Cheeseburgers, fries, and onion rings.”

“I haven’t had a burger in ages.” My stomach rumbles with anticipation. I immediately empty the contents of each bag onto the table and sit on the couch. Trey joins me, passing over a bottle of water. “Thank you,” I say, placing it on the wooden surface.

I slide a box with a burger and fries toward him and take the other for myself. The onion rings are situated in the middle of the table for sharing. “Have a napkin,” I say, placing it on his leg. It’s the closest I’ve come to touching him since he became my boss.

“Thank you, Maeve.”

“It’s a napkin, not a venue for the party,” I joke.

“I appreciate you staying late with me. Especially on such short notice.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m getting a delicious dinner out of it.” As if to prove my point, I bite into the juicy cheeseburger and chew.

Trey adds onion rings to his burger before taking a bite, and it looks delicious.

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