Page 2 of Donut Overthink It

I knew I should have gotten lids. But it would have cost me another second. And I don’t feel like getting my ass reamed by my boss this early.

That train is long gone.

“Watch it,” a woman says as she jumps out of my way.

“Sorry,” I holler over my shoulder unable to slow down. I can’t. I’m already late. Just gotta keep going …

“Excuse me!” I shout before I squeeze among three women standing in the middle of the damn sidewalk like they got nothing better to do than gossip on this early Tuesday morning. I shove my way past, even as one of them gasps at me like I was in the wrong.

“Sorry,” I snap over my shoulder this time. “Maybe you could move,” I add as I continue running in my Nikes. I’m thankful I thought to wear them this morning and put my heels in my purse. I learned my lesson a few weeks ago when Mr. Kyle had me running across town to get his dry cleaning, and I scuffed my new heels when I fell off the sidewalk. I was embarrassed, but the man who helped me up off the concrete couldn’t stop laughing. He said I made his week. Possibly his month. My ego was happy to help him out.

Almost there …

I can see the black and white fifty-story building up ahead—Legacy Tower—and pick up my pace as I suck in a breath.

“Hello, Miss Burns!” a man dressed in a black suit with a genuine smile on his face says as I come to a quick stop in front of my destination.

The sudden stop causes tea to run over the back of my hand once again. “Hello, Charles,” I say, thinking I’m going to need a skin graft now.

“Let me help you,” he offers, reaching out for both the teas in my hands.

“I got them,” I say, giving him a warm smile. The damage is already done. “Thanks, though.”

“Well, let me get the door for you then.” He grabs the stainless steel handle on the glass door and opens it for me.

“Thank you,” I tell him with a nod, entering the building.

“Mr. Kyle needs to give you a vacation,” he calls out as I start to walk quickly through the large lobby. My shoes squeaking on the marble floor.

“I second that,” I mumble now as I flat-out run toward the elevator banks. People no longer stare at me because this is a usual occurrence for me.

“Good morning, Miss Burns.” The man nods his head to me as he sits behind the front desk.

“Hi, Earl,” I say, running past him, and he chuckles. “Hold the door,” I shout as one of the elevators starts to close.

A hand slaps over the steel frame and pushes it open, and I squeeze in while the people shuffle around to allow me to fit.

I turn to face the front, sucking in a deep breath. My purse has fallen off my shoulder and sits in the crook of my arm, cutting off my circulation due to the weight of all my shit in it. My heels being one thing among many others.

I suck in another breath. Geez, I need to do some more cardio. Maybe hot yoga twice a week isn’t enough because I sure am out of shape. My boobs are already starting to sweat from the August heat and the fact that I just ran three blocks. My boss has to have some special fucking hot tea from the Tea Place in the morning. He acts like such a diva.

“Hello, Hadley,” the man who held the door for me says with a smile.

He’s a guy I know well who works on the fourteenth floor. I sometimes have to go down there for legal. “Hello, Trevor. And thank you.”

“Anytime.” He looks down at his watch and lets out a low whistle.

“Yep,” I say, trying to flip my hair away from my face. “I’m late.”

He laughs softly and then drops his hand down by his side, and his soft blue eyes look at me. “Well, if he fires you, I’d be more than happy to give you a job,” he says with a big smile. “And I won’t make you go across town to grab me tea.”

I grunt. “I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks.”

My boss is a fucking jerk!

I swear he likes making me run around Chicago like a chicken with my head cut off. He likes to test me, and I hate that more times than not, I fail. You can’t go anywhere in this town within a matter of twenty minutes. But of course, this morning was my fault. I knew I should have just gone to bed last night, but I got my Kindle out and discovered my favorite author had released a new book that I had forgotten I pre-ordered. I love when that happens. It’s like Christmas.

I was sucked in from page one. And by the time I finished, I realized it was almost three in the morning, and my alarm would go off in two hours. Needless to say, I slept through it, and the book had me dreaming of my own little romance. Why would I wanna wake up? And the worst part is that it’s Tuesday. The office was closed yesterday for Labor Day, so now it’s like my Monday. I’m gonna have to pay for the rest of the week.

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