Page 16 of Dear Grumpy Boss

She popped her head back in my office. “She said no.”

“No?”

There was a fire behind Renata’s steely eyes. “Lise Levy said no thank you, she’s too busy to stop for lunch. I asked if there was a better time, and she said she’ll be busy all day.”

My brow dropped heavy over my eyes. “What?”

Renata’s thin lips pursed, most likely to hide her merriment. “I don’t think Ms. Levy wants to have lunch with you.”

What the fuck?

One thing about me: when I made a promise, I stuck with it. Elise may have been too busy to stop working, but she had to eat, and so did I.

Ten minutes later, I arrived on the creative floor, a paper bag of sandwiches specially made for me by the cafeteria in hand. Wandering the floors wasn’t uncommon for me, so while people looked up from their desks to nod or greet me, no one ducked for cover or seemed alarmed.

That was how I liked it.

I never wanted to lose that.

Elise was sitting at her desk, headphones on, typing on her keyboard. When I stopped in front of her, it took her a few moments to look up. Her pink lips parted when she realized who was standing there.

She pushed her headphones back. “Weston.”

I held up the bag. “I brought lunch. Take twenty minutes to eat with me.”

“Um…” She chewed on her bottom lip. “Okay. I can—”

“That’s right. You can.”

Knowing she had no choice but to follow me, I started for the break area on the opposite side of the floor. Everything was open on this level. There were no walls surrounding the four tables, snack bar, and refrigerator. One table was occupied, the rest free. I sat at the table closest to the windows, away from the other group.

Turning my head, I watched as Elise wove through desks, smiling at her coworkers. It had been a long time since I’d seen her in person and social media only showed so much. She was the same yet entirely different. Words couldn’t quite capture the changes.

She slid into the seat across from me, and I took a quick, cursory sweep of her. Unlike most people in the office, she wasn’t wearing Andes clothing. Instead, she wore black trousers and a white top with a little black tie around the neck.

Professional.

All of her was. Even her sleek, black hair.

“You cut your hair.”

Her lips parted again, and she smoothed a hand over the ends. “Yes. A few months ago.”

“Oh.” I pushed the paper bag to her side of the table. “Take your pick.”

“Um…” She opened the bag and took the sandwiches out one by one. “This is a lot.”

“I wasn’t sure what you liked. I noticed you were eating vegetarian in the cafeteria, so I ordered meatless and ones with meat.”

She selected a sandwich and pushed the others back to my side of the table. “I’m not a vegetarian. Thank you for being so thoughtful.”

“Of course. It’s not a big deal.”

Like always, Elise ate her pickle spear before she did anything else. On her last bite, her mouth pulled down into a frown.

I placed mine on a napkin and slid it to her.

Her brow furrowed. I shrugged. She took the pickle, just like the hundred other times we’d done this dance.

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