Page 19 of Rich and Bossy

I could be spotted with him. How would my coworkers respond to that?

Again, stupid. Stupid, stupid.

I need to gather some intelligence and find a way out of this. Yeah, a plan. That’s what I need to do. I start looking around for anything I could use to my advantage, any information to take in.

Like the size of his hands. Dear God, give me strength. I just suddenly realized I’m very into men with large, capable hands. No wonder he was so good with a football. I wonder what else he’s good with.

Hazel Strous!

Why did I just hear my name shouted in my mom’s voice?

What is this guy doing to me? I need to think about Cheryl and Jim and all the other workers who are struggling, lives falling apart. They’re counting on me, even if they don’t know it yet. They will soon enough.

And what happens if they find out I betrayed them? That’s unacceptable. People need a leader they can look up to and respect. Somebody they can trust. Ihaveto be that person. I already put myself in that position.

That’s why my resolve is stronger than ever by the time we reach a virtually empty mall on the edge of town.

There are still a couple of flagship stores open, one on either end, but the sparse number of cars speak to the emptiness of the building connecting them.

The irony isn’t lost on me, either. When I was a kid, everyone came to this mall. It was always jam packed, especially during the holidays. It was fun to go there, everyone did it. And why does it look like a ghost town now? Because the man next to me put it out of business, that’s why.

And just like any other mall, there are surrounding businesses that depend on it. Half of those look like they’re gone, and half look like they’re struggling to hang on. Surely, he’s not taking me to the…

“What, you expect someplace expensive?” He snickers, parking the car close to the entrance. “Trying to shake me down for even more money?”

“Just what’s fair, nothing more.” He’s so smug, so sure of himself. God, sometimes he actually is kind of hot, then he opens his big stupid mouth and ruins it.

And I mean like ridiculously hot, with great big hands and a voice that wraps itself around me like the cashmere he’s wearing.

Now that he took off that stupid hat and sunglasses disguise, anyway.

I still can’t quite believe it when we get out of the car. This has to be a joke, but he seems completely serious as he opens my door and extends a hand as if I need help to get out.

I ignore his hand and get out on my own. “I’m perfectly fine, thanks.”

What is this? I keep glancing around.

“What, never been here before?”

“Oh, I have been.” I glance over at him. “You on the other hand…”

He smirks at me again. “Hah. Please.” He starts to walk inside.

Once again, leaving me to chase after him. I give a silent goodbye to the car and let her know I’ll see her again soon. Very soon.

It seems we’ve become friends.

The place hasn’t changed when I step inside. It’s the same as the last time I came in here, probably five or six years ago. More purple and gold in one place than a human can possibly imagine. Vikings jerseys, banners, helmets. The vinyl seats in the booths? Purple. The napkins? Purple. There are even gold and purple lights strung up across the ceiling, running from one end of the room to the other.

A glance at Paxton tells me he thinks nothing of this. The sign in front tells us to seat ourselves, and I trail behind him, not surprised when he chooses a booth near the back. He might stoop so low as to spend time among the common folk, but he clearly doesn’t want to be recognized.

If there’s anywhere in the world that would recognize him, it’s probably this place.

Most people in here are below him, but they would all recognize the famous Minnesota Gopher quarterback.

I drop into the booth, facing him. “I am surprised you step a foot in places like these.”

“Yeah? You’re judgy as shit, you know that?”

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